Alex Martínez Beltrán (born August 25, 1991) is a former Uruguayan 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 lea ...

. Currently he serves as an assistant coach for D.C. United of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

Career

Early career

Born in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, Martínez moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the age of 9 and attended

High Point University High Point University (HPU) is a private university in High Point, North Carolina, United States. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The university was founded as High Point College in 1924, and it became High Point University in ...

where he played college soccer for the High Point Panthers from 2010 to 2011. He then was recruited to play for the

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subd ...

where he played till 2013. He also played for

Carolina Dynamo Salem City FC is an American amateur soccer club based in Bermuda Run, North Carolina that fields a men's team in USL League Two, and a women's team as the North Carolina Fusion in the USL W League. The teams plays their home games at the Truis ...

of the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

in 2013.

Sporting Kansas City

On January 21, 2014, Martínez was selected in the third round of the

2014 MLS SuperDraft The 2014 MLS SuperDraft was the fifteenth SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The first two rounds of the four round draft took place on January 16, 2014, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Philadelphia Convention Center. Rounds three ...

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

and was officially signed by the

club on March 4, 2014. He then made his professional debut for Sporting on March 15, 2014, against

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

when he came on as a 75th-minute substitute as Sporting drew 1–1. He was released by the club on June 30, 2014. In August 2014, Martinez signed with

Orange County Blues FC Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier ...

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

. After the Blues' season ended, Martinez signed a short-term contract with

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. Martinez signed with

expansion side

Charlotte Independence Charlotte Independence is an American soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that plays in the USL League One, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid. The Independence currently play their home games at American Legion Memoria ...

in March 2015.

Coaching

After his retirement from playing, Martínez served as the

Charlotte FC Charlotte Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the e ...

Academy's head of recruitment from 2021–2022. In March 2023, Martínez was named an assistant coach for

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

club Birmingham Legion. On January 23, 2024, Martínez was announced as an assistant coach for D.C. United in

Personal life

He is the younger brother of Enzo Martínez who currently plays for

Birmingham Legion FC Birmingham Legion FC is an American professional soccer club based in Birmingham, Alabama, that competes in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer. The team was established in August 2013 and played under the name Birming ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Alex 1991 births Living people Footballers from Montevideo Uruguayan men's footballers Uruguayan expatriate men's footballers Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in the United States High Point Panthers men's soccer players NC State Wolfpack men's soccer players Soccer players from South Carolina North Carolina Fusion U23 players Sporting Kansas City players Orange County SC players Sportspeople from Rock Hill, South Carolina North Carolina FC players Charlotte Independence players Men's association football midfielders Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Sporting Kansas City draft picks USL League Two players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Birmingham Legion FC coaches D.C. United non-playing staff USL Championship coaches