Saúl Asael Martínez Álvarez (Latin American Spanish: [saˈul maɾˈtines]; born 29 January 1976) is a Honduran former football forward who last played for Marathón.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Saúl Asael Martínez Álvarez | ||
| Date of birth | 29 January 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Colón, Honduras | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–1996 | Melgar | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–1998 | Long Island Rough Riders | 41 | (13) |
| 1999 | Miami Fusion | 15 | (4) |
| 1999–2000 | Hampton Roads Mariners | 26 | (16) |
| 2000 | Olimpia | 5 | (1) |
| 2001 | Motagua | 17 | (8) |
| 2001–2002 | Nacional | 7 | (0) |
| 2002–2005 | Shanghai Shenhua | 86 | (36) |
| 2006 | Omiya Ardija | 3 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Shanghai United | 12 | (3) |
| 2007 | Motagua | (1) | |
| 2007 | Shanghai Shenhua | 7 | (2) |
| 2008 | Herediano | 8 | (1) |
| 2008–2010 | Marathón | 24 | (9) |
| 2010–2011 | Victoria | 14 | (14) |
| 2011 | Marathón | 6 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2001–2009 | Honduras | 35 | (16) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2008-09-27 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2009-01-30 | |||
Club career
editNicknamed Speedy, Saúl Martínez was born in Colón, Honduras. He started his career at Honduran second division side Melgar before moving abroad to play for American outfit Long Island Rough Riders. He was assigned to Major League Soccer team Miami Fusion in 1999.[1] His first game in Liga Nacional was on 10 December 2000 with Olimpia against Broncos.
China
editMartínez first attracted the attentions of Shanghai Shenhua when he scored four goals against Slovenia during the Lunar New Year Cup in Hong Kong in early 2002. Shenhua quickly signed him and afterwards, Martinez became one of the most important players in the Shenhua team. He would end up playing in Asia for five years, winning the 2003 Chinese league title with Shanghai Shenhua; that title was however taken away from the club in 2013 due to its part in a match-fixing scandal.[2] He also won the 2003 Golden Boot Award with Shanghai.
In January 2008, Martínez joined Costa Rican side Herediano for three months after a move to F.C. Motagua did not materialise.[3] He then had a couple of seasons at Marathón.
He made a remarkable return from retirement with Victoria in the 2010 Apertura season, topping the goalscoring charts at age 34[4] and ending the season as runner-up behind Jerry Bengtson with 11 goals.[5] In July 2011 he returned for another spell at Marathón.[6]
He retired from football at the end of 2011.[7] In 2013, he returned to playing and joined compatriot Érick Vallecillo at newly formed Miami United of the National Premier Soccer League.[8]
International career
editMartínez made his debut for Honduras in a July 2001 friendly match against Ecuador, in which he immediately scored a goal, and has earned a total of 35 caps, scoring 16 goals. He has represented his country in 11 FIFA World Cup qualification matches[9] and played at the 2007[10] and 2009 UNCAF Nations Cups[11] His international breakthrough however came during the 2001 Copa América, when Honduras surprisingly ended third and Martínez scored the second goal in the historic win over World Cup runners-up Brazil.[12]
His final international was a January 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup match against Panama.
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club performance | League | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals |
| United States | League | |||
| 1997 | Long Island Rough Riders | USISL A-League | 16 | 3 |
| 1998 | 25 | 10 | ||
| 1999 | Miami Fusion | Major League Soccer | 15 | 4 |
| 2000 | Hampton Roads Mariners | USL A-League | 26 | 16 |
| Honduras | League | |||
| 2000/01 | Olimpia | Liga Nacional | ||
| 2000/01 | Motagua | Liga Nacional | ||
| Uruguay | League | |||
| 2001 | Nacional | Primera División | 6 | 0 |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 | ||
| China PR | League | |||
| 2002 | Shanghai Shenhua | Jia-A League | 20 | 8 |
| 2003 | 23 | 14 | ||
| 2004 | Super League | 14 | 6 | |
| 2005 | 21 | 6 | ||
| Japan | League | |||
| 2006 | Omiya Ardija | J1 League | 3 | 0 |
| China PR | League | |||
| 2006 | Shanghai United | Super League | 12 | 3 |
| Honduras | League | |||
| 2006/07 | Motagua | Liga Nacional | ||
| China PR | League | |||
| 2007 | Shanghai Shenhua | Super League | 7 | 2 |
| Costa Rica | League | |||
| 2007/08 | Herediano | Primera División | 8 | 1 |
| Honduras | League | |||
| 2008/09 | Marathón | Liga Nacional | ||
| 2009/10 | ||||
| Country | United States | 82 | 33 | |
| Honduras | ||||
| Uruguay | 7 | 0 | ||
| China PR | 97 | 39 | ||
| Japan | 3 | 0 | ||
| Costa Rica | 8 | 1 | ||
| Total | 197 | 73 | ||
International
edit| Honduras national team | ||
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 9 | 3 |
| 2002 | 2 | 4 |
| 2003 | 5 | 1 |
| 2004 | 11 | 2 |
| 2005 | 1 | 1 |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 3 | 4 |
| 2008 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 35 | 16 |
International goals
edit
Honours
editNacional Montevideo
Shanghai Shenhua
- Chinese Jia-A League: 2003 (revoked due to match-fixing scandal)
C.D. Marathón
References
edit- ^ MLS: Honduran-born forward Saul Martinez allocated to Miami – SoccerAmerica
- ^ Saúl Martínez pierde título en China por sanción al Shanghai Shenhua – El Heraldo (in Spanish)
- ^ Saúl quiere jugar solo tres meses con Herediano Archived 12 April 2013 at archive.today – Prensa Libre (in Spanish)
- ^ Saúl Martínez como el vino, entre más añejo… – Fútbol de Honduras (in Spanish)
- ^ Saúl Martínez: “Para la semifinal estaré listo” – La Prensa (in Spanish)
- ^ Saúl regresa al Marathón – La Prensa (in Spanish)
- ^ Saúl Martínez: “Mejor me retiro que ganar menos” – La Prensa (in Spanish)
- ^ Miami United, Strikers, MLS Expansion – Miami Herald
- ^ Saúl Martínez – FIFA competition record (archived)
- ^ Qualifying Tournament for Gold Cup 2007 – Details – RSSSF
- ^ UNCAF (Qualifying Tournament for Gold Cup) 2009 – Details – RSSSF
- ^ Hace 10 años eliminamos a Brasil de Copa América – La Prensa (in Spanish)
External links
edit- Saúl Martínez at National-Football-Teams.com
- Saúl Martínez at Major League Soccer
- Saúl Martínez at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)
