Vicenç Martínez Alama (12 January 1925 — 2 October 2018) was a Spanish footballer who played as a

left 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 ...

Club career

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Martínez began his career playing youth football for local L'Hospitalet club Penya Acció Catòlica. Martínez later joined Racing de Sants, before signing for FC Barcelona. On 19 October 1941, at the age of 16 years, 10 months and 5 days, Martínez became Barcelona's youngest ever player, starting in a 4–3 loss against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

in El Clásico at Real Madrid's Estadio Chamartín. The record still stands today, with Ansu Fati becoming the second youngest ever player only in 2019 at 16 years, 10 months and 23 days old. Martínez made six further appearances for Barcelona in the

1941–42 La Liga The 1941–42 La Liga was the 11th season of Spanish football league. Valencia won the first top-flight title in club history. Team locations Real Sociedad returned to the first division after a three-season absence. Granada, Deportivo La Coru� ...

season, before being loaned out to

Sabadell Sabadell () is a city in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental and its joint capital (co-capital), on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona. Sabadell is located above sea level. Sabadell pioneered the Ind ...

in 1942 for two years. Upon his return to Barcelona, manager Josep Samitier rejected an offer from Valencia for Martínez, before a meniscus injury halted Martínez's progression at the club. In 1945, Martínez signed for Gimnàstic, making 38 league appearances for the club over the course of four seasons. In 1949, Martínez left Catalonia to sign for Linense in southern

Andalucía Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

. Martínez stayed with the club for one season, playing 26 times. In 1950, Martínez returned to Catalonia, joining Igualada, before signing for Sant Andreu the following year. In 1952, Martínez re-signed for Gimnàstic, making three appearances, before retiring in 1953 at the age of 28 due to injury, after a spell at Santboià.

Personal life

Due to the language policies of Francoist Spain, Martínez was also referred to as Vicente, as well as the Catalan name of Vicenç. On 2 October 2018, Martínez died, survived by his two sons Vicenç and Lluís.

References

1925 births 2018 deaths Spanish footballers Footballers from Barcelona Association football defenders FC Barcelona players CE Sabadell FC footballers Gimnàstic de Tarragona footballers Real Balompédica Linense footballers UE Sant Andreu footballers FC Santboià players La Liga players Segunda División players {{Spain-footy-bio-stub