Josep Martínez Riera (born 27 May 1998) is a Spanish professional
footballer who plays as a
goalkeeper for club
Genoa and the
Spain national team.
Club career
Las Palmas
Born in
Alzira,
Valencia, Martínez joined
FC Barcelona's
La Masia in July 2015, from hometown's
UD Alzira. On 19 July 2017, after finishing his formation, he signed for
UD Las Palmas and was assigned to
the reserves in
Segunda División B
Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...
.
Martínez made his senior debut on 20 August 2017, starting in a 1–1 home draw against
UD Melilla. He finished
the campaign as a starter, as his side avoided relegation.
Martínez made his first team debut on 28 April 2019, playing the full 90 minutes of a 4–1 home routing of
CD Lugo
Club Deportivo Lugo is a Spanish football team based in Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded on 8 July 1953, it plays in Segunda División, holding home games at '' Estadio Anxo Carro''.
History
The new board of directors was o ...
in the
Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...
championship. On 17 June, he was definitely promoted to the main squad.
RB Leipzig
On 22 January 2020,
RB Leipzig reached an agreement with Las Palmas for the transfer of Martínez, effective as of 1 July. He agreed to a contract until 2024 with his new club.
Genoa
On 29 June 2022, Martínez was loaned to
Genoa in Italy for the
Serie B 2022–23 season.
The first part of the season was difficult for Josep since he had to gain a starting spot in the team. After some great saves like the one against
Bari
Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
(26 December 2022), the decisive one almost at the photo finish in the home match against
Reggina (31 March 2023), or the crazy one in the game vs
F.C. Südtirol (1 May 2023) where, with a sort of instinct dance move he succeeded to deflect the ball with his heel, Josep become the first-choice goalkeeper at the expense of
Adrian Šemper
Adrian Šemper (born 12 January 1998) is a Croatian footballer who plays as goalkeeper for club Genoa.
Club career
Early career
Born in Zagreb, Šemper started his football career with GNK Dinamo Zagreb youth academy in 2004. He was one of t ...
giving a crucial contribution to
Genoa's return to
Serie A allowing only 22 goals in 30 games.
On 9 June 2023, since the inclusion of a "sell-out" right following the promotion to
Serie A, Martínez was bought by
Genoa.
International career
Due to the isolation of some national team players following the positive
COVID-19 test of
Sergio Busquets, Spain's under-21 squad were called up for the international friendly against
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
on 8 June 2021. Martínez made his senior debut in the match.
Career statistics
International
Honours
RB Leipzig
*
DFB-Pokal:
2021–22
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Josep
1998 births
Living people
People from Alzira, Valencia
Footballers from the Province of Valencia
Spanish men's footballers
Men's association football goalkeepers
Segunda División players
Segunda División B players
Bundesliga players
Serie A players
Serie B players
UD Las Palmas Atlético players
UD Las Palmas players
RB Leipzig players
Genoa CFC players
Spain men's under-21 international footballers
Spain men's international footballers
Spanish expatriate men's footballers
Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy