Héctor David Martínez (born 21 January 1998) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for River Plate, on loan from

Defensa y Justicia Club Social y Deportivo Defensa y Justicia, commonly known as Defensa y Justicia, is an Argentine football club from Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, established in 1935.

. Born in Argentina, he plays for the Paraguay national team.

Club career

Martínez's career started with River Plate, initially featuring for their youth system; notably at the

2016 U-20 Copa Libertadores The 2016 U-20 Copa Libertadores ( es, Copa Libertadores Sub-20 2016) was the 3rd edition of the U-20 Copa Libertadores, South America's premier under-20 club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. The tournament, which returned after a four-ye ...

, though only as an unused substitute on three occasions. He first appeared in River Plate's first-team under

Marcelo Gallardo Marcelo Daniel Gallardo (; born 18 January 1976) is an Argentine football coach and former professional player who last managed River Plate. Gallardo began his career in the club's youth divisions, and made his debut in the Argentine Primera D ...

in October 2017, with the defender being chosen on the bench for an

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; en, "First Division"), known officialy as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Binance for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in Argentina, organised by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). Th ...

defeat away to Talleres. His professional debut arrived on 2 December 2018 during a fixture with Gimnasia y Esgrima. In July 2019,

Defensa y Justicia Club Social y Deportivo Defensa y Justicia, commonly known as Defensa y Justicia, is an Argentine football club from Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, established in 1935.

completed the loan signing of Martínez. Across the next twelve months, the centre-back made twenty league appearances and scored two goals; against Godoy Cruz and

Patronato Patronato may refer to: *Club Atlético Patronato, an Argentine football club *Patronato real, an arrangement between the Vatican and the Kingdom of Spain *Barrio Patronato, a ''barrio'' (district) in Santiago, Chile *Patronato metro station Pat ...

. He also made appearances in the

Copa Argentina The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), with the aim of qual ...

and

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

. Defensa extended his loan in April 2020, prior to signing him permanently in the succeeding August.

International career

Born in Argentina, Martínez is of Paraguayan descent through his mother. Martínez represented the Argentina U17s at both the

2015 South American U-17 Championship The 2015 South American Under-17 Football Championship ( es, Campeonato Sudamericano Sub-17 Paraguay 2015, pt-BR, Campeonato Sul-Americano Sub-17 Paraguay 2015) was the 16th edition of the biennial international youth football tournament organi ...

and

2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the sixteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, held in Chile from 17 October to 8 November 2015. Host selection The following four countries bid to host the tournament: * * * * Venues Along with proposing ...

; winning six caps. He was called up to represent the senior Paraguay national team in June 2021. He debuted with Paraguay in a 3–1

2021 Copa América The 2021 Copa América was the 47th edition of the Copa América, the international men's football championship organised by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament took place in Brazil from 13 June to 10 July 2021. The tour ...

win over

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

on 14 June 2021.

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list Paraguay's goal tally first.''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, David 1998 births Living people Copa Sudamericana-winning players Footballers from Buenos Aires Paraguayan men's footballers Paraguay men's international footballers Argentine men's footballers Argentina men's youth international footballers Paraguayan people of Argentine descent Sportspeople of Argentine descent Argentine sportspeople of Paraguayan descent Men's association football defenders Argentine Primera División players Club Atlético River Plate footballers Defensa y Justicia footballers Inter Miami CF players