Juan Manuel Martínez

Juan Manuel Martínez (born October 25, 1985), nicknamed Burrito (in English, "Little Donkey"), is an Argentine football forward who plays for Club Almagro. He also holds a Portuguese passport. Martínez is best known for his agility, pace on the ball and brilliant dribbling skills.

Juan Manuel Martínez
Personal information
Full name Juan Manuel Martínez
Date of birth (1985-10-25) 25 October 1985
Place of birth Viedma, Río Negro, Argentina
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Second striker / Winger
Club information
Current team
 Almagro
Youth career
Vélez Sársfield
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2012 Vélez Sársfield 153 (26)
2005–2006 → Argentinos Jrs. (loan) 13 (1)
2007 → Cúcuta Deportivo (loan) 9 (2)
2007–2008 → Al-Shabab (loan) 15 (3)
2012 Corinthians 18 (2)
2013–2015 Boca Juniors 58 (9)
2015–2016 Real Salt Lake 40 (8)
2017 Vélez Sársfield 12 (1)
2017–2018 Independiente 9 (0)
2018–2019 Agropecuario 7 (0)
2019– Almagro 28 (8)
National team
2011–2012 Argentina 4 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 January 2020

Club career

Martínez made his professional debut for Vélez Sársfield on October 1, 2003, in a 2–1 win over Talleres de Córdoba, for the Clausura tournament.[1] Later, he was part of the 2005 Clausura winning squad, playing 13 games and scoring 1 goal.[2] The goal he scored was Vélez's first in that championship, in the fourth match day victory over Lanús (2–1).

After his first period at Vélez, Martínez was loaned to Argentinos Juniors. With his new team, he played 10 games during the 2005 Apertura,[3] suffering a knee injury in the 11th fixture that left him out for almost the entire rest of the season. He returned for the last game of the 2006 Clausura, coming on as a substitute on a 1–0 victory over Colón.[4]

In 2007, after a half-a-year period back at Vélez, Martínez was loaned to Colombian club Cúcuta Deportivo. With the team, he was part of the Copa Libertadores semifinalist campaign. Subsequently, he spent the 2007–08 season on loan at Al-Shabab Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

Martínez returned to Vélez Sársfield for the 2008–09 Argentine Primera División season. Upon his return, he won the Argentine league for the second time, by being part of the 2009 Clausura squad. The forward played 9 games and scored 1 goal during the tournament[5] (against Colón in a 4–2 away win, helping the team come back from a 0–2). He ended the tournament as a starter after replacing injured Jonathan Cristaldo for the last two games, against Lanús and Huracán, which defined the championship.

The 2010 Apertura was Martínez' best season with Vélez. Up until that tournament, he had scored 6 goals in 91 league games for the club, and had never been a regular starter. However, in that Apertura he started in all 19 games, scoring 10 goals.[6] He also achieved his first hat-trick in Argentina, in Vélez' 6–0 victory over Colón in the 10th fixture.[7] Moreover, his last goal of the championship, in the 2–0 away victory over Racing, was defined by various sources as "Maradona styled".[8][9][10][11] Martínez dribbled with the ball from behind the half-way line, passing 6 rival players in the process, to finally beat the opposing goalkeeper. His team finished the tournament as runner-up to Estudiantes de La Plata.

Due to his performances throughout 2010, Martínez was selected by the Argentine Sports Journalists Circle as the best player of the Argentine league for that year, therefore sharing the Footballer of the Year of Argentina award with Lionel Messi (best Argentine playing abroad).[12] In January 2011, the striker renewed his contract with Vélez until June 2013.[13]

In 2012, after Corinthians won the 2012 Copa Libertadores they hired Juan Manuel Martínez, however he did not feature regularly for team. He entered for a few minutes in the match against Chelsea F.C. in the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup.

Martínez joined Boca Juniors in January 2013. The beginning of the 2015 season saw Martínez injured for much of the time and fallen down the squad depth chart due to the loan signing of Dani Osvaldo and subsequent arrival of Carlos Tevez. By early July Martínez wanted to contribute to the squad but found it increasingly difficult to do so. With Tevez's return to Boca being the final straw, he approached the Boca front office and asked for his contract to be rescinded. Martínez trained with Vélez Sarsfield as he worked to sign with a new club during the summer of 2015.[14]

On 13 August 2015, Martínez joined Real Salt Lake as a Designated Player.[15]

Martínez and Salt Lake agreed to mutually terminate his contract at the club on 7 December 2016.[16]

On 18 January 2019, Martínez joined Club Almagro.[17]

International career

In November 2010, Martínez was called to take part in the Argentine national team that will solely consist of Argentine League players. They will train twice a week and have friendly matches leading up to the 2011 Copa América.[18]

The striker received his first call-up by coach Sergio Batista on January 25, 2011, for a friendly match against Portugal. He was brought down in the penalty area during injury time to win a penalty for his side from which Messi scored the winner.[19]

International appearances and goals

Career statistics
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
Vélez Sársfield 2003–04 231-000000231-
2004–05 201-000000201-
Argentinos Juniors (loan) 2005–06 131-000000131-
Vélez Sársfield 2006–07 30-00000-30-
Cúcuta (loan) 2007 92-000114-206-
Al-Shabab (loan) 2007–08 153-000000153-
Vélez Sársfield 2008–09 24370000002437
2009–10 222200012123434
2010–11 3713100001337501617
2011–12 246100016334094
Corinthians 2012 18230001001923
Boca Juniors 2012–13 12120009112123
2013–14 30360000003036
2014 9311005001531
2015 7200003221042
Real Salt Lake[22] 2015 8110002101021
2016 12420002001442
Career total 28948351007415153636350

Honours

Club
Vélez Sársfield
Corinthians

Individual

References
  1. "Closing '03 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
  2. "Closing '05 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
  3. "Opening '05 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
  4. "Closing '06 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
  5. "Closing '09 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
  6. "Opening '10 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  7. "Te quiero, Burrito". Olé (in Spanish). 2010-10-10. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
  8. Federico Rozenbaum (2010-12-13). "El gol del campeonato". Olé (in Spanish). Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  9. Ariel Ruya (2010-12-12). "Vélez fue primero en buen gusto". Cancha Llena (in Spanish). Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  10. "Golazo a lo Maradona de Burrito Martínez". Diario AS (in Spanish). 2010-12-12. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  11. "El golazo del "Burrito" Martínez da vuelta al mundo". La Voz del Interior (in Spanish). 2010-12-12. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  12. "Messi y Martínez los ganadores del Olimpia" (in Spanish). Playfutbol. 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  13. "Hay Burro por dos años más" (in Spanish). Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield. 2011-01-26. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
  14. "Juan Manuel Martínez se entrenó en Vélez mientras define su futuro" (in Spanish). ESPN deportes. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
  15. "Real Salt Lake sign 29-year-old forward Juan Manuel "El Burrito" Martinez to Designated Player deal". MLS. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  16. http://www.rsl.com/post/2016/12/07/real-salt-lake-and-juan-manuel-martinez-mutually-agree-part-ways
  17. El Burrito Martínez es un nuevo jugador de Almagro, tycsports.com, 18 January 2019
  18. Fernando Czyz (2010-11-15). "Batista inicia un nuevo proceso de selección local". Cancha Llena (in Spanish). Retrieved 2010-11-15.
  19. Micaela Cannataro (2011-01-25). "Burro de Selección". Olé (in Spanish). Retrieved 2011-01-26.
  20. "Brasil y Argentina se enfrentarán en septiembre". FIFA. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  21. "Acreditaciones de prensa para Argentina-Brasil". AFA. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  22. "Juan Manuel Martinez". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
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