Carlos Martinez, the 37-year-old Catalan striker is the latest addition to the team in orange for the upcoming season as FC Goa have officially announced his signing. FC Goa already have another Spaniard in Alvaro Vazquez at their disposal in the forward line alongside Moroccan winger Noah Sadaoui. They have recently announced their Asian signing Paulo Retre, an Australian midfielder coming from A-League side Sydney FC. As we have reported earlier, their Syrian defender Fares Arnaout is on the lookout for another club corresponding to his situation at the club.
Who is Carlos Martinez?
Carlos is a highly experienced striker who has a plethora of experience under his belt racking up more than 350+ games in his entire career. Carlos came through the youth system of FC Badalona in the Primera division – the Spanish third division, where he played almost the entirety of his career.
He represented multiple lower division clubs namely Cerdanyola FC, Sant Celoni CF, UE Rubi, Terrassa FC, UE Olot, and Gramenet B side where he got a senior team call-up eventually after putting out an impressive performance with them. He moved to another third-division side Terrassa in 2010 where he managed to get a make a name for himself and got noticed by scoring 34 goals in 71 games for the team. He was transferred to UE Olot, where he spent the next three years of his career from 2012 and managed to score 52 goals in 114 appearances.
The turning point of his career was his stint with the Villarreal B side where his scoring boot fired up 35 goals and 2 assists to his name for the reserve Laliga side. His performance with the side was indeed noteworthy earning him a contract offer from Asia, a Japanese second division side – Tokyo Verdy. But, it wasn’t a fruitful trial for the Spaniard who failed to replicate the form on Spanish soil scoring only 2 goals in 29 appearances.
He moved back to Spain with Hercules CF where he stayed for a season and moved to FC Andorra during the 2019-20 season. He managed to reinforce the team as a whole to gain promotion for the side to the Segunda division, the second division of Laliga, for the first time in the club’s history. He rejuvenated his previous form by netting 35 goals in 99 appearances for the side.
Playing style and how he fits into FC Goa’s philosophy
Carlos Martinez is a player who carries blistering pace and physical dominance with exceptional finishing capability. Standing at 6 feet, Carlos is a severe threat of aerial duels and a challenging player to manage for the opposition defence.
FC Goa who recently appointed Indian Super League winner Manolo Marquez Roca as their new head coach are in the pathway to rejuvenate their past glory which has been lost for a couple of seasons. Roca, who demands clinical finishing from his strikers is getting a top pick among his cards to rally up his troops for the upcoming season.
Roca usually arranges his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation with a single striker up front involving multiple wingers and wingbacks pushing up front to support the attacking line. Carlos is a perfect pick for the system Roca demands where he always steps up his game when time demands. He also possesses decent close ball control making him dangerous inside the box which is precisely what Roca demands.
With immense experience under his belt, Carlos is a leading figure who can find himself available to motivate the team whenever the situation demands like Bartholomew Ogbeche did for Hyderabad FC during Roca’s tenure with the Nizams.
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