Ariel Martínez (Cuban footballer)
Ariel Pedro Martinez González (born 9 May 1986) is a Cuban footballer who currently plays for USL Championship club Tampa Bay Rowdies.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ariel Pedro Martínez González | ||
| Date of birth | 9 May 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Sancti Spíritus, Cuba | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Tampa Bay Rowdies | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2015 | Sancti Spíritus | ||
| 2015 | Charleston Battery | 0 | (0) |
| 2016–2019 | Miami FC | 72 | (15) |
| 2020 | FC Tulsa | 15 | (2) |
| 2021 | Miami FC | 29 | (6) |
| 2022 | Hartford Athletic | 22 | (9) |
| 2023– | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2006–2015 | Cuba | 54 | (11) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 January 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 July 2015 | |||
Club career
Following his defection Martínez signed with United Soccer League club Charleston Battery,[1] but was not cleared to play until late in the season due to issues with the processing of his documentation and work permit. Martínez made his only appearance for Charleston in a playoff loss to Louisville City before leaving the club at the end of 2015.
In March 2016, Martínez signed for North American Soccer League side Miami FC ahead of its inaugural season.[2]
Martínez made the move to USL Championship side FC Tulsa on 18 December 2019.[3]
On 19 January 2021, Miami, now competing in the USL Championship, announced Martínez had re-signed with the team for the 2021 season.[4]
On 19 April, 2022, Hartford Athletic announced that they had signed Martínez for the remainder of the 2022 season, pending league and federation approval. [5]
Martínez signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies on 19 January 2023.[6]
International career
Martínez made his debut for Cuba in a September 2006 Gold Cup qualification match against the Turks and Caicos Islands. He was a squad member at the 2007 Gold Cup Finals.[7] He has earned a total of 54 caps, scoring 11 goals,[8] represented his country in 7 FIFA World Cup qualification matches[9] and played at 3 CONCACAF Gold Cup final tournaments.
On 17 July 2015, it was confirmed that Martinez had, alongside teammates Keyler García, Arael Argüelles and Darío Suárez, defected to the United States following Cuba's victory over Guatemala in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.[10]
Statistics
Career
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | Other[b] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Charleston Battery | 2015 | USL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Miami FC | 2016 | NASL | 26 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 7 |
| 2017 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 3 | ||
| 2018 | NPSL | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 4 | |
| 2019 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 10 | ||
| 2019 | NISA | 6 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | |
| Total | 72 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 92 | 25 | ||
| FC Tulsa | 2020 | USLC | 15 | 2 | - | - | 1 | 0 | 16 | 2 |
| Career total | 87 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 9 | 109 | 27 | ||
- ^ Includes appearances in U.S. Open Cup. Note, both the play-in and first round of the 2018 U.S. Open Cup are missing from Soccerway but are acknowledged by the team.[14][15]
- ^ Includes appearances in the league playoffs.
International goals
- Scores and results list Cuba's goal tally first.[16]
| No | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 4 September 2006 | Estadio Pedro Marrero, La Habana, Cuba | Bahamas | 4–0 | 6–0 | 2007 Caribbean Cup qualification |
| 2. | 6 September 2006 | Cayman Islands | 5–0 | 7–0 | ||
| 3. | 4–0 | |||||
| 4. | 14 November 2012 | Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet, Trinidad and Tobago | Suriname | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2012 Caribbean Cup qualification |
| 5. | 10 December 2012 | Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda | French Guiana | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2012 Caribbean Cup |
| 6. | 2–0 | |||||
| 7. | 16 July 2013 | Rentschler Field, East Hartford, United States | Belize | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 8. | 2–0 | |||||
| 9. | 3–0 | |||||
| 10. | 11 November 2014 | Montego Bay Sports Complex, Montego Bay, Jamaica | French Guiana | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2014 Caribbean Cup |
| 11. | 18 November 2014 | Haiti | 1–2 | 1–2 |
References
- ^ "Battery sign Cuban star striker – and defector – Ariel Martinez". ABC. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "CUBAN NATIONAL ARIEL MARTINEZ JOINS MIAMI FC ROSTER". miamifc.com. Miami FC. 12 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
- ^ "FC Tulsa Signs Two Former Cuba National Team Forwards". fctulsa.com. FC Tulsa. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ Communications, Miami FC (19 January 2021). "Miami FC Announce Return of Attacking Threat Ariel Martinez". Miami FC. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ Communications, Hartford Athletic (19 April 2022). "Hartford Athletic Sign Cuban Striker Ariel Martínez". Hartford Athletic. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ "Rowdies Boost Attack with Veteran Ariel Martinez". RowdiesSoccer.com. Tampa Bay Rowdies. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2007 – Full Details – RSSSF
- ^ "Appearances for Cuba National Team". RSSSF.
- ^ – FIFA competition record (archived)
- ^ MLSsoccer Staff. "Gold Cup: Striker Ariel Martinez becomes the fourth player to defect from Cuba". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ Ariel Martínez at Soccerway
- ^ "Miami FC 2 2018 Match Reports". npsl.bonzidev.com. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ "Miami FC 2019 Match Reports". npsl.bonzidev.com. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ . Miami FC. 6 May 2018. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ . Miami FC. 9 May 2018. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ "Martínez, Ariel". National Football Teams. Retrieved 30 November 2017.