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Josef Martínez
Josef Martínez Atlanta United 2017.jpg
Martínez with Atlanta United in 2017
Personal information
Full name Josef Alexander Martínez Mencia
Date of birth (1993-05-19) 19 May 1993 (age 32)
Place of birth Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
San Jose Earthquakes
Number 17
Youth career
0000–2010 Caracas
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2012 Caracas 36 (8)
2012–2014 Young Boys 37 (4)
2013–2014 → Thun (loan) 18 (8)
2014–2017 Torino 58 (7)
2017 Atlanta United (loan) 3 (5)
2017–2022 Atlanta United 131 (93)
2023 Inter Miami 27 (7)
2024 CF Montréal 23 (11)
2025– San Jose Earthquakes 19 (9)
International career
2011–2013 Venezuela U20 4 (2)
2011– Venezuela 68 (14)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 July 2025
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 03:26, 26 June 2025 (UTC)

Josef Alexander Martínez Mencia (born 19 May 1993) is a professional football player from Venezuela. He plays as a striker for the Major League Soccer club San Jose Earthquakes. He also plays for the Venezuela national team.

Josef Martínez started his football journey with Caracas in Venezuela. In 2012, he moved to the Swiss Super League club Young Boys. He also spent a year on loan at Thun. In 2014, he joined the Italian club Torino. Then, in 2017, he moved to the new Major League Soccer team, Atlanta United. He later played for Inter Miami in 2023 and CF Montréal in 2024. As of 2025, he plays for San Jose Earthquakes.

Martínez holds several impressive records in MLS. He has the most career hat-tricks (six) in his first 44 games. He also holds the record for the most goals in regular and post-season games combined (35). He once scored in 15 consecutive games, which is another league record. He was also the fastest player to score 100 goals in MLS, reaching the milestone in just 125 games.

In 2018, Martínez had an amazing year. He won the League MVP award, the All-Star Game MVP, the Golden Boot (for most goals), and the MLS Cup Final MVP. He also played for Venezuela's under-20 team. He made his debut for the senior Venezuela national team in 2011. He has represented his country in three Copa América tournaments.

Club Career Highlights

Playing for Caracas

Martínez played his first game for Caracas on 21 August 2010. He came into the game as a substitute and his team won 1–0. He scored his first goal for Caracas on 21 November 2010 in a 2–2 draw.

Time with Young Boys

On 3 January 2012, Martínez moved to Young Boys in Switzerland. He signed a four-year contract. He played his first game for Young Boys on 5 February 2012. He scored his first goal for the club on 21 October 2012.

Loan to Thun

After one season, he was loaned to Thun. He scored eight goals in 18 games for Thun. This made him one of the top scorers in the Swiss Super League at the time. Young Boys then called him back to their team.

Playing for Torino

On 7 June 2014, Martínez joined Serie A club Torino in Italy. He made his first appearance in a Europa League match. He scored his first goal for Torino in the return leg of that competition.

He played his first league game on 14 September. On 7 December, he scored his first goal in Serie A. A few days later, he scored two goals in a Europa League match. In April 2016, he scored two goals in a Serie A game against Udinese.

Success with Atlanta United

On 2 February 2017, Martínez was loaned to the new Major League Soccer team, Atlanta United. He played his first league game on 5 March. The next week, he scored his first hat-trick for the club. This was also the first hat-trick in Atlanta United's history.

Atlanta United bought him permanently on 21 March. He was named MLS Player of the Month for March. This was because he scored five goals in his first three games.

On 23 March, Martínez got injured while playing for Venezuela. He returned to play after two months. He then scored hat-tricks in two games in a row. He was named MLS Player of the Month again for September 2017. Even with injuries, he scored 20 goals in his first year. He was also named to the MLS Best XI team.

2018 Season Highlights

2018-03-17 - Atlanta United vs Vancouver Whitecaps (Josef Martinez cropped)
Josef Martinez playing in 2018.

On 2 June 2018, Martínez scored his fifth MLS hat-trick. This tied the league record. He broke the record on 21 July 2018, scoring his sixth hat-trick in only 44 games.

He was voted MLS Player of the Month for July. He scored ten goals and had one assist that month. He also scored the only goal for the MLS All-Stars against Juventus. He was named the MVP of that game.

On 24 August 2018, he scored his 28th goal of the season. This broke the league's single-season goal record. He set this record in just his 26th match. He was named MLS Player of the Month for August 2018. Atlanta United won the MLS Cup that season.

2019 Season Highlights

On 6 August 2019, Martínez won the MLS Player of the Month award for July. He had scored in nine straight matches. This tied his own MLS record from the previous season.

On 23 August, he set a new MLS record. He scored a goal in 12 consecutive games. This helped his team win 1–0. On 18 September, he extended his goal-scoring streak to 15 consecutive games. This is one of the longest streaks in world football history.

2020 Season Injury

On 29 February 2020, Martínez suffered a serious knee injury. He tore his ACL in Atlanta United's first game of the season. Because of this, he missed the entire 2020 season.

2021 Season Return

Martínez returned to play on 6 April 2021. He came on as a substitute in a CONCACAF Champions League game. On 9 May 2021, he scored his first goal of the season.

After returning from the Copa América, he trained separately from the team for a short time. He played his first match back on 21 July. On 30 July 2021, he scored a goal in the first minute of a game. He also scored on 4 August. In that game, he received a red card after an argument. He returned on 15 August and scored the only goal in a 1–0 win.

2022 Season and Departure

Martínez scored his first goal of the 2022 season on 13 March 2022. After another knee surgery, he started his first game since April. He scored a goal and helped set up another.

At the end of the 2022 season, Martínez won the MLS Goal of the Year award. He then left Atlanta United after six seasons with the club.

Time with Inter Miami

MIA-NSH US Open Cup 57 goal celebration (Josef Martinez cropped)
Josef Martinez playing for Inter Miami in 2023.

On 18 January 2023, Martínez was traded to Inter Miami. He played his first game for Inter Miami on 25 February 2023. His team won 2–0.

On 19 August, Inter Miami won the 2023 Leagues Cup. Martínez scored three goals in that competition. Inter Miami also reached the 2023 U.S. Open Cup final. They lost 1–2, with Martínez scoring their only goal.

Inter Miami confirmed that Martínez would leave the club after just one season.

Playing for CF Montréal

On 6 February 2024, CF Montréal announced they had signed Martínez. He joined them as a free agent for the 2024 season. He scored 13 goals and made 3 assists during his time there.

Joining San Jose Earthquakes

On 13 January 2025, Martínez joined San Jose Earthquakes. He signed a one-year contract with the club.

International Career

Josef Martínez (49443552917)
Martínez playing for Venezuela in 2019.

Martínez played his first international game for Venezuela on 7 August 2011. He came on as a substitute.

On 10 November 2016, Martínez scored three goals (a hat-trick) against Bolivia. Venezuela won that game 5–0.

How Josef Martínez Plays

Josef Martínez is mainly a forward. He usually plays in a central role as a main striker. He can also play as a winger. He is known for being an aggressive and powerful player.

He has good speed and dribbling skills. He has a great eye for goal and can finish accurately with both feet and his head. He is also good at making runs without the ball to get into scoring positions. These skills make him a dangerous player in the penalty area.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Caracas 2010–11 Venezuelan Primera División 21 4 7 1 28 5
2011–12 15 4 0 0 15 4
Total 36 8 7 1 43 9
Young Boys 2011–12 Swiss Super League 11 0 0 0 11 0
2012–13 8 1 1 0 9 1
2013–14 18 3 0 0 18 3
Total 37 4 1 0 38 4
Thun 2013–14 Swiss Super League 18 8 3 1 11 1 32 10
Torino 2014–15 Serie A 26 3 1 1 13 3 40 7
2015–16 21 3 2 1 23 4
2016–17 11 1 1 1 12 2
Total 58 7 4 3 13 3 75 13
Atlanta United 2017 MLS 20 19 1 1 1 0 22 20
2018 34 31 5 4 39 35
2019 29 27 2 1 5 4 3 1 39 33
2020 1 0 2 2 3 2
2021 24 12 4 0 1 0 29 12
2022 26 9 0 0 26 9
Total 134 98 3 2 11 6 10 5 158 111
Inter Miami 2023 MLS 27 7 6 2 7 3 40 12
CF Montréal 2024 MLS 23 11 0 0 3 3 26 14
San Jose Earthquakes 2025 MLS 19 9 1 0 0 0 20 9
Career total 352 152 18 8 42 11 20 11 432 182

International Appearances

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Venezuela 2011 3 0
2012 3 0
2013 6 2
2014 3 0
2015 7 2
2016 15 5
2017 5 0
2018 3 0
2019 6 2
2021 4 0
2022 5 2
2023 6 1
2025 2 0
Total 68 14
Scores and results list Venezuela's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Martínez goal.
List of international goals scored by Josef Martínez
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 22 May 2013 Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela 7  El Salvador 2–1 2–1 Friendly
2 14 August 2013 Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela 9  Bolivia 1–0 2–2 Friendly
3 31 March 2015 Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, United States 17  Peru 1–0 1–0 Friendly
4 17 November 2015 Estadio Cachamay, Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela 22  Ecuador 1–3 1–3 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 5 June 2016 Soldier Field, Chicago, United States 28  Jamaica 1–0 1–0 Copa América Centenario
6 6 September 2016 Estadio Metropolitano de Mérida, Mérida, Venezuela 33  Argentina 2–0 2–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 10 November 2016 Estadio Monumental de Maturín, Maturín, Venezuela 36  Bolivia 2–0 5–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
8 3–0
9 4–0
10 22 March 2019 Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain 46  Argentina 3–1 3–1 Friendly
11 22 June 2019 Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil 50  Bolivia 3–1 3–1 2019 Copa América
12 1 February 2022 Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay 57  Uruguay 1–4 1–4 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
13 27 September 2022 Stadion Wiener Neustadt, Wiener Neustadt, Austria 60  United Arab Emirates 4–0 4–0 Friendly
14 25 March 2023 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 61  Saudi Arabia 1–0 2–1 Friendly

Awards and Achievements

Atlanta United

Inter Miami

  • Leagues Cup: 2023

Individual Awards

  • Swiss Super League Team of the Year: 2013–14
  • MLS Best XI: 2017, 2018, 2019
  • MLS Most Valuable Player: 2018
  • MLS Golden Boot: 2018
  • MLS All-Star: 2018, 2019
  • MLS All-Star Game MVP: 2018
  • MLS Player of the Month (6 times): March 2017, September 2017, July 2018, August 2018, July 2019, August 2019
  • MLS Cup MVP: 2018
  • MLS 100 goals club
  • MLS Goal of the Year: 2019, 2022

See also

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