For football fans around the world, the name JosefMartinez might not ring a bell just yet, but if the Atlanta United FC striker keeps up the momentum, he could well end up at one of Europe’s top clubs in the future. close.
Blessed with incredible goal awareness and off-the-ball movement, Josef is deciphering the record books for goals per game, expected goal ratio and other metrics used to judge a striker. He’s yet to score the most goals in MLS history, but the frequency with which he puts his chances aside is unparalleled. In his debut season, for example, Josef scored 19 goals in 20 games and finished the season as the 4th top scorer, even though he missed 13 games due to injury.
As far as the footballing landscape of Venezuela is concerned, Josef is a pioneer. He is arguably the biggest name in Venezuelan football plying his trade in MLS – a league that has only a handful of Venezuelan players, but over 500 major league baseball players.
Who is Josef Martinez?
Born on May 9, 1993 in Venezuela, a country best known for its baseball players, Josef was introduced to baseball but soon realized that his talents and skills were more focused on football.
Such was young Martinez’s passion for football that he would take buses three hours a day to practice in Caracas. As a youngster, he went to Estudiantes in Argentina for trials, but was turned down due to FIFA’s rule prohibiting foreign players under the age of 18 from signing professional contracts.
Josef Martinez joined Venezuela’s most popular club Caracas Fútbol Club in 2010, debuting on August 21, 2010 in a match against Estudiantes de Mérida. Coming into play in the 70th minute, his team won 1-0. His first goal for the club was a 2-2 draw against Deportivo Petare on 21 November 2010. In two seasons, Josef netted 38 times netting eight times.
Martinez was sold to Swiss Super League club BSYoung Boys on January 3, 2012 on a four-year deal. He made his club debut on 5 February 2012 in a match against Servette FC. which Young Boys won 3–1. Usually deployed off the bench to influence games, Martinez finally scored his first start for Young Boys on 21 October 2012. In 37 appearances he scored 5 goals. The following season he was loaned out to Thun where he scored 8 goals in 18 games.
Move to Turin
After playing for Venezuela and Switzerland, Josef Martinez felt the time had come for him to make a leap to one of Europe’s top leagues. So when Italian club Turin sparked the player’s interest, it was an interesting prospect for him. In June 2014, he moved to Turin for a fee of 3 million euros. He played his first game for the club in the third round of the 2014-2015 Europa League, with a 3-0 victory against Sweden’s Brommapojkarna. His first goal in Turin came in the second leg of the same game.
He made his Serie A debut in a 2–0 loss to Sampdoria on 14 September 2014. He scored his first league goal on 7 December, in a 2–2 draw with Palermo. Over a period of three years, Josef played 58 matches, scoring 7 goals. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to break into the starting XI and was being used as a substitute at best. Josef was at an age where most strikers don’t want to warm up the benches. He needed game time and it was only a matter of time before he found suitors willing to send him away from Italy.
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Atlanta United
In February 2017, Major League Soccer expansion team Atlanta United made a loan offer to Turin for Martinez. MLS is certainly not as prestigious as the Italian league, but it was an opportunity for him to revive a promising career that was on the verge of extinction. He made his league debut on March 5 in a home loss to the New York Red Bulls. Josef scored his first hat trick in a 6-1 win over Minnesota United FC. Incidentally, it was also the first hat-trick in Atlanta United’s history.
On the back of impressive displays, Atlanta activated the buyout clause in their loan deal for an undisclosed transfer fee.
Josef Martinez was named MLS Player of the Month for March and after scoring hat-tricks in back-to-back games against the New England Revolution and Orlando City SC, he was also named MLS Player of the Month. of September 2017. He ended his first season by scoring 20 goals in all competitions and. finished fourth in the MLS Scoring Rankings and was named in the MLS Best XI for the season.
At international level, Josef Martinez has scored nine times in 37 appearances with the Venezuelan national team.