His homeland against his employer. His heart against his wallet. Argentina against Mexico.
It would keep others up at night, but not Tata Martino. Mexico's Argentine manager squares off against his native country for the first time as El Tri coach Tuesday, but the 56-year-old sees no room for conflict. He wants to beat Argentina, and do so convincingly.
"I can’t change what I’ve always thought. The fact that there’s a game of football in which two countries play, nationality doesn’t come into play," he said at a news conference Monday. "I work in Mexico, I try to do the best for Mexico. If I represent Argentina in any way, it's through my job, taking it on with seriousness, with honesty. When you work abroad, that’s the best way to represent the country."
That work paying off with a win not only would extend Mexico's unbeaten streak since Martino took over to a dozen matches, it also would prove Mexico can hang with the big boys. While Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero aren't in Texas, Martino still sees La Albiceleste as a cut above other teams Mexico has faced during his tenure.
Some pundits sneered last month when Martino said Mexico was on the second rung of national teams on the world ladder with Argentina still in the top class. The South Americans haven't lifted a major trophy since the 1993 Copa America. Do they really still belong among the likes of France, Brazil and Germany?
They certainly do for Martino, which is why he thinks he can get a good feel Tuesday for where his team currently is at and how far it has to go. He recalled coaching against Mexico in a 2015 friendly, a 2-2 draw in which Martino felt Mexico had a chance to win. That said, rarely does El Tri actually top Argentina, with Mexico able to boast just four victories all-time. While that history may help make Argentina a fearsome opponent, Martino doesn't want his team to have any fear of what he considers a stronger team on the individual level.
"Beyond respect, there’s the recognition the opponent deserves. That’s what we’ll try to do tomorrow, impose ourselves despite the fact that, in front of us, we’ve got one of the big world powers," Martino said. "One time, I said Mexico was at the second level of the world stage, and I think Argentina, despite going a while now without winning a title, is a level above.
"That doesn’t mean we don’t have any type of chance tomorrow. It’s actually the reverse. We have the highest possible expectations in respect to the showing we want to have and also the result we hope to have."
Argentina isn't relying on history or taking Mexico lightly. Plenty of people in his homeland don't think it will take Martino long to take Mexico from a dominating force in Concacaf to one to be reckoned with in the whole hemisphere, with Martino's former Newell's Old Boys teammate Lionel Scaloni chief among the believers.
"We're facing a national team that has a certain level of quality. For me, Mexico surely will be among the best in a short time," Scaloni, now the Argentina manager, said Monday morning before going on to praise Martino's style. "He has a very clear idea of how he wants to play, and it's really important to play against this team. I'm sure it's going to be a tough team for any national team to play. It'll be complicated."
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Martino's 4-3-3 with a high press overwhelmed the United States on Friday, and El Tri often have been able to have the ball basically when they want it against both Concacaf teams in the Gold Cup and South American squads less competitive than Argentina in friendly matches.
It didn't take long for his concepts to be impressed upon the players in his squad, with Mexico seeming to understand what the coach wants it to show in the field since the March friendly matches. However, they have yet to take on an opponent which has more quality at the individual level than they do. That will change Tuesday, even without some of Argentina's biggest names in the group.
For Martino, that's what's important. To test if his team's concept and principles are strong enough yet to overcome a difference in quality. For El Tri to truly have long-term success, to achieve its goals like getting to the fifth game at the World Cup, it will have to - as the sum of its parts - be better than teams that have stronger individuals.
The desire is "fundamentally that we’re able dominate in the idea of play," Martino said. "Beyond the result, which - we always compete to try and win - it’d be really good for us to be able to, I think I said it the other day, play much more time with our idea of how to play than that of Argentina. That would be an important step forward."
That dominance is what Martino wants to see out of his team, whether it comes against his most hated rival or his beloved homeland.