Sharing the spotlight
Much has been made of the arrivals of European stars into Major League Soccer over the course of the current season. Zlatan Ibrahimovic of LA Galaxy and Wayne Rooney of DC United have commanded much of the spotlight around the league. One star, however, has shone brighter than any other in this season’s campaign, and he is Josef Martinez.
Dream start, almost.
Atlanta United are a relatively new team. They were accepted into the division in 2014, and last season was their first campaign. In many sports, we see new teams have struggled in recent expansion years. New York City F.C. were mediocre in their early campaigns despite having the likes of David Villa, Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard in their line-up. Atlanta have been frighteningly good in their opening campaigns. Last season, they were arguably a penalty shootout away from the MLS Cup in their inaugural campaign. This season, they sit at the top of the Eastern Conference with the majority of the regular season games having been played. Their team is solid from front to back, but one player has stood out.
More humble beginnings
Josef Martinez started his career in Venezuela back in 2010 with Caracas FC. After a decent two-year stint, he was sold to BSC Young Boys in Switzerland. He had a handful of goals before being loaned out to FC Thun in 2013. He made an instant impact there, scoring 8 goals in 18 games, which led to him being recalled back to Young Boys. Italian outfit Torino saw potential in him, and bought him for approximately €3m the following summer. In three seasons with the Turin side, he only managed 7 goals.
Instant impact
In 2017, with the latest MLS expansion, Atlanta United joined the top-flight of American soccer. One of their first signings was a loan deal for a Venezuelan kid in Italy by the name of Josef Martinez. Standing at unsuspecting 5 ft 7 and a half, many didn’t expect a whole lot from him. After a solid debut against the New York Red Bulls, the Atlanta number 7 made himself known to the country with a hat-trick against Minnesota United. He went on to win MLS Player of the Month for that March. The “Five Stripes” instantly activated his buyout clause after the expiry of his loan.
Despite only playing in 20 games last season, mostly due to injury, Martinez still managed to score 19 goals for Atlanta in their successful opening season. He also won two Player of the Month awards and earned himself a spot in the MLS Team of the Season.
No weight of expectation
Big things were expected of Martinez heading into the 2018 campaign. Atlanta rightly wanted to improve upon their solid campaign and their main target being winning the MLS Cup. Josef Martinez has done everything in his power to give Atlanta their dream. He has scored 28 goals in 27 appearances this season and shows no signs of letting up. With that 28th goal, against Orlando back in August, Martinez broke the league single-season scoring record. Given that there is over a month left of the regular season, Martinez looks likely to break the 30-goal mark and give him some distance over the likes of Bradley Wright-Philips and Roy Lassiter in the record books.
Return to Europe?
The question must now be asked as to whether or not Martinez deserves another shot in Europe. Well the answer is obvious, of course he does. He’s only 25 years of age, and while maybe staying for one more season in the MLS may help his growth, he has to be thinking about proving himself where he failed on his previous attempt. While many players who have left the MLS for Europe have proven to be unsuccessful, none have been at the same level as Martinez is currently at.
According to Stuart Holden of FOX Sports, there was serious interest from Spain, England and France towards the end of their transfer windows, but the door was held shut by the Atlanta board with regards to keeping Martinez at the club. If Martinez were to leave, Atlanta would simply have to get a huge offer. Surely $30m would be as cheap as they could accept for him. Even then, given how intent their owner Arthur Blank is on being successful, crazy money may be needed for him to let Martinez leave for Europe.
Onwards and upwards for Josef Martinez
There is no fear of Atlanta United losing Martinez for the rest of this season though. The European transfer window is now shut until January. However, keeping hold of Martinez beyond the next two windows may prove to be an impossible task. For now, he seems to be focused only on bringing a first MLS Cup to the Bobby Dodd stadium.
What are your thoughts on Josef Martinez? Would you want him at your favorite European club? Share your opinions in the comments section here on persources.com or DM me @OB_PerSources on Twitter or Instagram.