Antonio Martínez (footballer, born 1977)

Antonio "Chivas" Martínez (born 9 July 1977) is a Mexican former professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Chivas USA.

Antonio Martínez
Personal information
Full name Antonio Martínez
Date of birth (1977-07-09) July 9, 1977 (age 47)
Place of birth Jalisco, Mexico
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Cal State Fullerton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2003 Dallas Burn 65 (9)
2000MLS Pro-40 (loan) 2 (1)
2003 Los Angeles Galaxy 4 (1)
2004 Salamanca 3 (0)
2004 Necaxa 1 (0)
2005 Chivas USA 25 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nicknamed "Chivas" for his devotion to Chivas de Guadalajara, Martínez played college football at Cal State Fullerton and was drafted by the then-Dallas Burn in the second round of the 2000 MLS SuperDraft. Martínez played three and a half seasons for Dallas, leading the team in assists in 2002, setting a club record for assists in a game, with three.

Martinez was traded to the Los Angeles Galaxy, scoring a goal in his debut game. Martinez spent the first half 2004 with Spain's Salamanca where he became the first Mexican to play for the club in its eighty-five year history.[1] Joined Mexico's Necaxa for the Torneo de Invierno 2004 season. Martínez came back to MLS in 2005, his rights were traded from Galaxy to Chivas USA, a team he seemed destined to play for. Martinez finished the year second in the team for scoring. He has scored 10 goals and 26 assists in five years of MLS league play. Martínez was released by Chivas prior to the 2006 season.

Statistics

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Year Club GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS YC RC
2000 Dallas Burn 17 5 701 2 3 9 5 15 20 1 0
2001 Dallas Burn 19 10 1,060 1 9 9 4 16 19 2 0
2002 Dallas Burn 29 22 2,002 5 11 30 13 26 38 1 1
2003 Dallas Burn 10 5 564 0 1 11 4 4 15 0 0
2003 Los Angeles Galaxy 4 3 212 1 0 2 1 3 4 0 0
2003–04 Salamanca 3 0 61 0 0 4 3 4 6 2 0
2004 Necaxa 1 0 18 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0
2005 Chivas USA 25 16 1,602 2 3 24 11 21 34 5 0
Career totals 129 77 7,763 13 30 109 49 106 164 14 1

References

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  1. ^ Salamanca 2003/04 Football Squads. Retrieved 10 February 2010.