Luis Enrique "Neco" Martínez Rodríguez, (born 11 July 1982) is a retired Colombian

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 played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He is nicknamed "Neco" for the town of his birth.

Career

Martínez was signed by newly promoted Turkish team

Sakaryaspor Sakaryaspor Kulübü Derneği is a Turkish professional football club, formed in 1965 after the merger of ''Adapazarı Gençlerbirliği'', ''Adapazarı İdman Yurdu'', ''Güneşspor'' and ''Ada Gençlik''. The club is better known as Sakaryaspor. ...

in summer 2006, signing a three-year contract, before moving to Colombian club

Once Caldas Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Palogrande stadium. They were the surprise winners ...

International career

During a World Cup warm-up match between Poland and Colombia on May 30, 2006, he scored a remarkable goal, striking directly from a long distance over the head of the opposition goalkeeper,

Tomasz Kuszczak Tomasz Mirosław Kuszczak (; born 20 March 1982) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Krosno Odrzańskie, Kuszczak previously played for Śląsk Wrocław in Poland, as well as for the German clubs KFC U ...

. After a three-year absence from the national team, he was called back by new coach Hernan Dario Gomez for an international friendly match against Bolivia on August 5, 2010. He was the starting goalkeeper for the Colombia national team during the Copa America 2011, since the starting goalkeeper

David Ospina David Ospina Ramírez (born 31 August 1988) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Saudi Professional League club Al Nassr and the Colombia national team. Ospina began his career at Atlético Nacional, making his ...

was out with a facial injury after colliding with

Hugo Rodallega Hugo Rodallega Martínez (born 25 July 1985) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bahia. Rodallega started his professional career with Deportes Quindío in 2004. An impressive first season with the club earned him ...

days before the tournament. Martinez had a good start to the tournament, being the only goalkeeper to have a clean sheet on all three group games. In the quarterfinal match against

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

however he made two crucial mistakes which led to the two goals of Peru.

International goals

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

Honours

Club

Once Caldas *

Categoría Primera A The Categoría Primera A (), commonly referred to as Liga BetPlay Dimayor (between 2015 and 2019 ''Liga Águila'') due to sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is a Colombian professional league for association football clubs. It is the ...

(1): 2010-II Atlético Nacional *

(3): 2013-I, 2013-II, 2014-I *

Copa Colombia The Copa Colombia ( en, Colombia Cup, link=yes); officially known as Copa BetPlay Dimayor is an annual football tournament in Colombia. It is contested by the 36 professional clubs of DIMAYOR and is the nation's domestic cup competition, equiva ...

(1):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Individual *

Toulon Tournament The Toulon Tournament (officially the Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) is a football (training match) tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams composed of youth players from U-17 to U-23 level. ...

Best Goalkeeper:

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Neco 1982 births Living people Association football goalkeepers Colombian footballers Colombia international footballers Envigado F.C. players Atlético Huila footballers Independiente Santa Fe footballers Sakaryaspor footballers Manisaspor footballers Once Caldas footballers Atlético Nacional footballers América de Cali footballers Categoría Primera A players Süper Lig players Colombian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Costa Rica Expatriate footballers in Turkey 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2011 Copa América players Sportspeople from Antioquia Department