After stops and starts, emotional Martinez revels in ‘best gift’
Jose Martinez called what transpired after being diagnosed with COVID-19 on Oct. 26 as “basically the worst 10 days of my life.”
Though the Union midfielder was asymptomatic and has no ill-effects from the respiratory virus, it could scarcely have come at a worse point in the season. He had just missed four games while on international duty with Venezuela, his first team callup that resulted in not making the squad for either game, much less playing. Add in travel and training disruptions, and the tenacious midfielder was antsy to get back with the Union, which he did in a 74-minute shift in the 5-0 drubbing of Toronto Oct. 24.
Two days later, his season ground to a halt again with the positive test, ruling him out of two games and sending him back into quarantine.
So when the final whistle blew on the Union’s Decision Day win over New England, a game in which Martinez went the full 90 and played a big role in helping the club clinch
its first trophy, he was understandably overcome with emotion on the Subaru Park pitch.
“That was due to a lot of things happening, good and bad, especially with COVID and the quarantine,” Martinez said last week via a translator. “This was the best gift that I could’ve received. It was what I wanted, and we have to take that next step and keep going and accomplish more, because that’s my goal, to get more trophies with the team. I thought a lot about my family, their support, and it was really, really nice to win it.”
Union manager Jim Curtin has stressed the human aspect of soccer during a global pandemic time and time again. No one’s journey in that regard resonates quite like Martinez’s.
Strip away games played, the fact that he’s become an unquestioned starter, the fourth-place finish in the MLS Newcomer of the Year voting or the Team of the Week accolades. Martinez, 25 when he signed in December, was described by sporting director Ernst Tanner as “a mid- or long-term project” who would need time to adapt to MLS.
Instead, “El Brujo” (the wizard) went from the bench in the opener to winning over Union fans in his first appearance, an 89-minute outing in the 3-3 draw at Los Angeles FC, most of the game played with a bloody gash over his eye, a reward for a particularly robust tackle. He’s been a lineup fixture ever since, while the player expected to start, Matej Oravec, hasn’t played a single minute.
MLS proved the least of what Martinez would have to adapt to in 2020. Here was a player leaving his country for the first time, after five years at two clubs in his home state of Zulia, locked down for three months and unable to do his job or see the only people in America he knew. The Union petitioned MLS to allow Martinez to leave the home market during lockdown to be closer to his agent, based in Miami, one of his few anchors. Martinez rewarded the Union by coming back sharper and fitter, leaving Curtin no doubt who would fill the No. 6 role, which on paper had been a question mark entering this season.
Martinez has supplied iconic embellishments to an unforgettable season. He’s ridden the line of danger time and again, from a suspension in Orlando for what the Disciplinary Committee deemed should’ve been a red card against Inter Miami to a yellow-card accumulation suspension in September. Along the way, he forever cemented
his place in Union lore by getting in the face of Inter Miami’s multi-million-dollar striker Gonzalo Higuain after he airmailed a penalty in his MLS debut at Subaru Park, setting off a mini-fracas.
“I’ve always liked to play like that, with high intensity,” Martinez said. “I’m glad that it’s been well-received by the fans. I’m glad they support it. But the fans also deserve some recognition: Their support is what translates onto the field, and my playing style is also that way because I want to help my teammates.”
The feeling applies in the locker room, too. It’s why Martinez, while not sickened by COVID, felt so lousy. He wasn’t there when the Union needed a second-half goal and
stoppage-time goal-line clearance from Andrew Wooten to beat Chicago. He wasn’t there when they lost in Columbus. The separation stung.
The converse showed in how instrumental his return was in the 2-0 win over New England.
“I was separated from my teammates and I felt like I really wanted to help in that time,” he said. “… I spent that time reflecting on our team, on the future, and thankfully, after the 10 days, I was able to help the team get the Supporters’ Shield and accomplish the goal for that moment.”
“He’s a special ball-winner,” Curtin said. “He’s a leader. He’s done it for us now in different games this year. I can’t say enough good things about Jose. He has
the ability and the talent to play anywhere, I believe, and we’re lucky to have him.”
Martinez’s goals have shifted, from the Shield in the Union’s possession to “chasing the star,” as Martinez puts it, the global practice of adding a star above a team’s crest to indicate a championship. Tuesday’s game against New England is the first step on that path. But Martinez could be in Chester for the long haul, with what he hopes are new installments to build on this special season.
“We’re going to approach it the same,” Martinez said. “We’re not going to change anything because with the way the team is playing, we believe we can get the same results in the playoffs like we did with the Supporters’ Shield.”