Visiting ex-Bayern player Javi Martínez - The honourable Javi

It’s idyllic at Javi Martínez’s home, but anyone who visits Ayegui should be ready for an adventure. He showed FC Bayern magazine ‘51’ how his home village shaped him – and why Munich became his second home. 

Always Ayegui

Javi arrives at our meeting point in the centre of Ayegui on a Vespa. The area is small, the streets are narrow, the houses shine a golden red in the sun. Everything seems friendly and tidy. This is where Javi grew up. When he was a child, the village was only half as big as it is today, he explains. The growth doesn’t surprise him, though. “When people come to Ayegui, they stay,” he says. It constantly pulls him back, too. He left 19 years ago, first for Bilbao, then to Munich and finally to Doha. But when he’s free, as he is now in early July, he comes home. “The people here have known me since I was little. In Ayegui I’m not the footballer but just Javi. That’s why I love living here.”

We walk to the Iglesia San Martín, the small church in the centre. Right next to it is a paved square with the town's coat of arms embedded in the ground in the middle: two crossed cannons with a crown. “My first Allianz Arena,” Javi grins. As a child he played football on this square every day, at least 1,000 times, he estimates, tapping on an iron grille that bars the large entrance to the parish office on one side of the square. “That was a goal.” On the stone square in Ayegui, you still learn “real football”, he says, pointing to his left knee. “The scars are from here.” Even as a little boy, he never shied away from a tackle, accepting grazed knees in order to go home the winner. The way home wasn't long anyway. Javi points to the main road that runs directly below the square. On the other side of the street, a sign several metres high reads: ‘Martínez’. His aunt lives in the house next door. Directly behind it, the orange façade of Javi's parents' house peeks out.

The Way of St James passes by Javi's first football pitch, and pilgrims with heavy backpacks can be seen time and again. A week ago, one of them missed a turn, Javi recounts. “I showed him the right way and walked with him for a while.” In Ayegui, people help each other, stick together and pitch in. Values like these are important to the 36-year-old. “I want to pass on the values I grew up with to my children.” There are now six of them in the Martínez household: Javi, his wife Aline and four children, including 10-month-old twins. The family lives on the outskirts of town, where they built their house a few years ago. In the garden, the two older children splash around in the pool, behind which is a football pitch. Javi says he likes to play here with his son or friends. He also has a sports hall and a fitness room to keep fit. The area is a fitness paradise, he says. Running, cycling, hiking – there are plenty of opportunities to get active. From Javi's terrace, you can see fields and hills, and hear the birds chirping. His mother is just coming through the garden gate with a pack of dogs. She’s wearing an FC Bayern shirt. 

Munich trophy machine

Even four years after Javi’s departure from Munich, Bayern is still present in his home. Mascot Berni sits behind the front door, while Javi has also kept photos and gifts from fan clubs. The trophies are located upstairs: World Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup… “Nice memories,” he says. Javi reaches for a Meisterschale, it rattles. Sadly it was broken during house moving. In nine years in Munich, he won an incredible 23 trophies. “I was fortunate to play in the best Bayern team of all time,” he says. “We went onto the pitch knowing we were going to win. We were a machine.”

Martínez joined Bayern in 2012, shortly before his 24th birthday. Athletic Bilbao didn’t want to let him go, but because Bayern paid the release clause in his contract, the Basque club couldn’t keep hold of him. The fee of €40m was a lot of money, a record transfer for FCB – and for a defensive midfielder at that. For Javi it was a dream come true, he describes: “I grew up with Effenberg, Élber, Matthäus. In 1999 I saw how Kuffour cried in Barcelona. When the opportunity arose to move to Munich, I didn’t have to think twice.”

The conversations with the then FCB coach did the rest. “Jupp Heynckes said I was exactly the type of player the team needs to win the Champions League,” recalls Javi. He remains grateful to Heynckes for championing him so much and also protecting him from the massive expectations in Munich. “When somebody costs 40 million, the people want to see performance straight away, but Jupp gave me patience and time to get into top form.” As the ‘destroyer’ in defensive midfield, he soon gave the team the required balance and stability.

Javi won the treble in his very first season with the Reds – and was given a hero’s welcome back in Ayegui. “The whole village was out on the street,” he tells. “My family, my friends, everyone. That was very emotional.” Soon after that he also picked up the UEFA Super Cup. He scored the equaliser to make it 2-2 in stoppage time of extra time against Chelsea, before Bayern won on penalties. “It was the first time FC Bayern had won this trophy; even such great players as Effenberg didn’t achieve that,” he adds. He repeated this feat with the team in 2020. Again he scored with his head in extra time against Sevilla, this time it was the winning goal.

Second home Bavaria

Why did Munich suit him, the boy from Navarre, so well? The answer is easy for Javi: “In Munich, I felt like I did in Ayegui.” It didn’t matter that Munich is several times bigger than his home village, or that there’s a language barrier. In the end it’s about a feeling. The feeling of belonging somewhere. And Javi had that in Munich. “I always say: Navarre is like Bavaria. The people are similar, you’re close to each other. The weather is similar – it can get cold in Ayegui too. On some days you see the Pyrenees, like you do the Alps in Munich.”

Of course, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses in nine years at the club. He never made more appearances in one season than in his debut campaign (43), with injuries often thwarting him. Cruciate ligament, patella, meniscus, muscle bundles, groin… Barely a body part that wasn’t affected. He even broke his collarbone once. But Javi is a fighter and kept coming back. An important support in that were three friends who he brought from home to Munich. That meant he always had familiar faces around him, people who he trusted and were there for him. A mini Ayegui in Munich. “They were a big help,” says Javi.

Javi the person

Javi maintains friendships from his childhood. He’s got a padel date with three friends. He races past the old monastery, where pilgrims can refresh at the water fountain (“it doesn’t taste bad at all”), and the Campo Javi Martínez. The football pitch of the local club was named after him a number of years ago. Next to it is the hall with the padel courts. “Padel is just fun,” he says as he greets Iván Iliberri. “We’ve known each other since I was five, six,” explains Javi with a grin. “Iván is a rascal. He always used to try to pinch the ball off us.” Today the pair are playing doubles together. “Javi hasn’t changed,” comments Iván. “He could live in Miami or anywhere, but he always comes back to Ayegui. That shows what kind of person he is.”

Javi is also frequently drawn back to Munich, most recently a few weeks ago for the Champions League final. “Every time I’m in Munich, it’s a nice feeling,” he says. He didn’t get to say a proper goodbye to the fans in 2021 because of the Covid pandemic. “That was strange and sad,” he thinks. But the Munich chapter is not yet closed for him; at some point he’ll come back. “My wife always says she’d like to live in Munich again for a few years. We were very happy there.”

A lot centres around the future for Javi at the moment. He’ll be 37 at the start of September – and perhaps last season really was his last. He’s currently considering whether to carry on for another year or hang up his boots. Physically he feels in top shape, he says, but his head is craving for “a bit of freedom”. Either way, he sees his future in football. He’s just started his coaching badges but he might also move into management. “I need to find out what I want first,” he explains. His gaze wanders to Montejurra. The odd trip there certainly helps to give clarity.

Three weeks after our visit, Javi made his decision: he’s going to continue playing for Qatari Second Division side Al-Bidda SC in Doha. All the best, Javi!

This article is taken from the latest edition of members’ magazine ‘51’ – this is an abridged version.