Martino one of the best, says Maxi Rodriguez

The Newell's Old Boys winger has insisted that his former coach is just the right man for the Barca job and is confident he will succeed

Maxi Rodriguez feels new Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino is one of the best around in the profession and has little doubt that the 50-year-old will succeed at the Spanish champions.

The former Liverpool winger worked with Martino at Newell's Old Boys and he has nothing but fond memories of his compatriot during his spell in Argentina.

"Barcelona have signed one of the best Argentine coaches from the past few years. There's no doubt about that," Maxi told AS.

"Martino has always liked a passing game. His preferred style of play is pretty well known at Camp Nou. He prefers a 4-3-3, but uses some interesting variations.

"The players are the ones who actually get out on the pitch, but they always do so with a clear idea of what's expected. Use the ball well and use your head. His players have a lot of freedom to switch positions. I think Martino is the ideal coach for Barca."

The Argentine coached Barcelona for the first time in this weekend's friendly against Valerenga and steered them to a 7-0 victory.