Pity Martínez

Pity Martínez
Martínez with River Plate in 2018
Personal information
Full name Gonzalo Nicolás Martínez[1]
Date of birth (1993-06-13) 13 June 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth Guaymallén, Mendoza, Argentina
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 River Plate
Number 18
Youth career
–2011 Huracán
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2015 Huracán 93 (8)
2015–2018 River Plate 94 (22)
2019–2020 Atlanta United 39 (7)
2020–2023 Al Nassr 43 (11)
2023– River Plate 17 (2)
International career‡
2018–2019 Argentina 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 December 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 September 2018

Gonzalo Nicolás Martínez, commonly known as Pity Martínez (born 13 June 1993), is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Argentine Primera División club River Plate.

Club career

Huracán

Martínez, who trained in the Huracán youth system, debuted with Huracán's first team in the 2011–12 season. While at the club, he won his first Copa Argentina in 2014.

River Plate

Martínez joined River Plate in January 2015. Martínez made his club debut on 16 February 2015 against Club Atlético Sarmiento in a 4–1 away win.[2] On 25 April 2015, his former team Huracán beat River Plate for the Supercopa Argentina title. In the Copa Libertadores, Martínez played in the quarter-final first leg match against Boca Juniors, a match River Plate would go on to win. Martínez won two more Copas Argentinas in a row, in 2016 and 2017. Martínez added two Recopa Sudamericanas, in 2015 and 2016. Martínez also won two Copas Libertadores, in 2015 and 2018, as well as one Suruga Bank Championship in 2015, in which he scored in River's 3–0 win over Gamba Osaka.[3] He was instrumental in obtaining his first Supercopa Argentina title against Boca in 2017.

On 9 December 2018, Martínez scored his side's third goal to seal a 3–1 win, 5–3 aggregate victory, over Boca Juniors in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores held at Real Madrid's Bernabéu Stadium.[4] Following the victory, he announced that he would be joining MLS side Atlanta United after the FIFA Club World Cup, as the club had met his $17 million release clause.[5]

Atlanta United

On 24 January 2019, Martínez's transfer to Major League Soccer side Atlanta United was confirmed.[6] On 12 May 2019, Martínez scored his first goal for Atlanta United during a 1–0 victory against Orlando City.[7][8] He scored the game winner in the U.S. Open Cup final victory over Minnesota United on 27 August.[9]

Al-Nassr

On 7 September 2020, Martínez joined Saudi Professional League side Al-Nassr for a reported transfer fee of $18 million.[10][11]

Return to River Plate

On August 24, 2023, River Plate announced that it had re-signed Martinez.[12]

International career

On 8 September 2018, Martínez made his Argentina national team debut in a 3–0 victory over Guatemala.[13] He started the match, scored from the penalty spot after a handball by Elías Vásquez midway through the first half, and was replaced by Franco Vázquez in the 56th minute.[14]

Personal life

His nickname, Pity, refers to the wren ("pititorra"), from his native homeland of Guaymallén, in Mendoza, Argentina. He was given the nickname at the age of five, and does not respond to his given name, Gonzalo.[15]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 17 February 2023[16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Huracán 2011–12 Primera B Nacional 15 0 0 0 — — 15 0
2012–13 Primera B Nacional 28 0 2 0 — — 30 0
2013–14 Primera B Nacional 29 4 0 0 — — 29 4
2014 Primera B Nacional 21 4 1 0 — — 22 4
Total 93 8 7 2 — — 96 8
River Plate 2015 Argentine Primera División 24 4 2 0 17[b] 0 5[c] 1 49 5
2016 Argentine Primera División 14 3 0 0 3[d] 0 — 17 3
2016–17 Argentine Primera División 28 7 5 1 5[d] 0 3[e] 0 41 8
2017–18 Argentine Primera División 21 6 4 2 10[d] 1 1[f] 1 36 10
2018–19 Argentine Primera División 7 2 3 2 6[d] 2 2[g] 2 18 8
Total 94 22 14 5 41 3 11 4 160 34
Atlanta United 2019 MLS 32 5 5 2 4[h] 0 3[i] 0 44 7
2020 MLS 7[j] 2 — 3[h] 2 — 10 4
Total 39 7 5 2 7 2 3 0 54 11
Al Nassr 2020–21 Saudi Pro League 18 3 3 1 7[k] 1 1[l] 0 29 5
2021–22 Saudi Pro League 18 8 2 0 0 0 – 20 8
2022–23 Saudi Pro League 7 0 1 0 – 1[l] 0 9 0
Total 43 11 6 1 7 1 2 0 58 13
Career total 279 48 32 10 55 6 16 4 368 66
  1. ^ Includes Copa Argentina, U.S. Open Cup, King Cup
  2. ^ Twelve appearances in Copa Libertadores, five appearances in Copa Sudamericana
  3. ^ Two appearances in Recopa Sudamericana, one appearance in Supercopa Argentina, one appearance and one goal in Suruga Bank Championship, one appearance in FIFA Club World Cup
  4. ^ a b c d Appearances in Copa Libertadores
  5. ^ Two appearances in Recopa Sudamericana, one appearance in Supercopa Argentina
  6. ^ Appearance in Supercopa Argentina
  7. ^ Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
  8. ^ a b Appearances in CONCACAF Champions League
  9. ^ Two appearances in MLS Cup Playoffs, one appearance in Campeones Cup
  10. ^ Includes three appearances in MLS is Back Tournament
  11. ^ Appearances in AFC Champions League
  12. ^ a b Appearance in Saudi Super Cup

International

Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first.[17]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 7 September 2018 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States  Guatemala 1–0 3–0 Friendly

Honours

Huracán

River Plate

Atlanta United

Al-Nassr

Individual

References

  1. ^ "FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2015: List of Players: River Plate" (PDF). FIFA. 11 December 2015. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Sarmiento vs. River Plate - 16 February 2015". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Gamba Osaka 0:3 River Plate" (in Spanish). Conmebol. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  4. ^ "River Plate beat Boca Juniors in epic final to claim fourth Copa Libertadores crown". ESPNFC. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  5. ^ "River Plate's Gonzalo 'Pity' Martinez confirms Atlanta United move after Club World Cup". ESPNFC. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  6. ^ "Atlanta United signs Gonzalo "Pity" Martínez". atlutd.com. Atlanta United FC. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Atlanta 1-0 Orlando". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. 12 May 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Atlanta United 1, Orlando 0: Player ratings". ajc.com. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 12 May 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Atlanta United wins U.S. Open Cup". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Atlanta United transfers Gonzalo "Pity" Martínez to Al-Nassr FC | Atlanta United FC".
  11. ^ "Atlanta's Martinez nears move to Saudi club". ESPN.com. 3 September 2020.
  12. ^ https://twitter.com/RiverPlate/status/1694696829298884669 [bare URL]
  13. ^ "Argentina 3 Guatemala 0: No Messi, no worries as Simeone scores on debut". Goal. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  14. ^ "Argentina without Messi ease to victory, Simeone's son scores". MARCA. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  15. ^ "Pity Martínez, destino de crack". El Gráfico. 3 July 2017.
  16. ^ "Gonzalo Martínez - Atlanta United". playmakerstats.com. Playmaker Stats. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  17. ^ "Martínez, Gonzalo". National Football Teams. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  18. ^ "Atlanta beats Club America to lift Campeones Cup". ESPNFC. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  19. ^ "النصر يضرب الهلال بالثلاثة.. ويُتوج بكأس السوبر السعودي للمرة الثانية (صور وفيديو)" [Al-Nasr strikes Al-Hilal by three ... and crowns the Saudi Super Cup for the second time] (in Arabic). Akhbaar 24. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  20. ^ "It's Official: South American Player Of The Year Joins Atlanta United". WABE. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  21. ^ "Pity Martinez named 2018 South American Player of the Year". SB Nation. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  22. ^ "2019 MLS All-Star Roster". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.