Cristian Jesús Martínez (born 6 February 1997) is a Panamanian 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 ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

club

Ironi Kiryat Shmona Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona Football Club () known as Ironi Kiryat Shmona is a professional football club based in Kiryat Shmona, in the northern district of Israel. The club is a current member of the Israeli Premier League, and plays at the Iro ...

and the Panama national team.

Club career

Chorrillo

Martínez joined the youth team of his local side Chorrillo at the age of 8, eventually joining the club's first team in 2012.

Columbus Crew

Martínez signed on loan with

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 ...

side

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

on 17 May 2016. Martínez made his MLS debut on June 1, 2016, coming on as a substitute in a 3-2 loss to

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

. He scored in the 90+3', becoming the youngest Crew SC goal scorer in a regular-season match in club history. Martínez would be loaned by Crew SC to

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1998 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American ...

, the club's

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

affiliate. He made his Riverhounds debut against

FC Montreal FC Montreal was a Canadian professional association football, soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that played in the USL Championship, the third tier of the United States soccer league system. The team served as a reserve team of Major ...

on August 10, 2016. Crew SC would recall Martínez for two more appearances at the end of the MLS season. On January 25, 2017 Martínez was acquired on a permanent transfer. On May 4, 2017, Martínez was loaned to

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 ...

club

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer Leag ...

. He played in one game before returning to Columbus Crew on May 8. The club declined Martinez's contract option following the 2018 season, ending his time in Columbus after three years, 31 total appearances, and three goals.

Chicago Fire

On 12 December 2018, Martínez was selected by Chicago Fire in the MLS Waiver Draft. On 24 August 2019, Martínez joined

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 ...

side

Las Vegas Lights Las Vegas Lights FC is an American professional soccer team based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that plays in the USL Championship. The team made its debut in 2018 and plays its home games at Cashman Field. The team employs neon imagery in its crest a ...

on loan for the remainder of the season.

Cádiz

On January 18, 2020,

Cádiz CF Cádiz Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Cádiz, Andalusia. Founded in 1910, the club competes in Segunda División, holding home games at Nuevo Mirandilla, with a seating capacity of 20,724. Salvadoran ...

announced his signing until 2022 and that he would be loaned to a

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: 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 ...

team. On January 24 it was made official that that team would be

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Huelva, Andalucia, Spain. Founded on 23 December 1889, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play in , holding home ...

. On January 30, 2021,

announced his six-month loan to CD Plaza Amador of Panama.

Najran

On 20 January 2023, Martínez joined Saudi Arabian club

Najran Najran ( '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of Najran Province. Today, the city of Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As of the 2022 census, the city population was 381,431, wi ...

Plaza Amador

On 26 July 2023, Martínez joined

Plaza Amador Plaza Amador is a Panamanian football club based in Panama City, that currently plays in Liga Panameña de Fútbol. It is the oldest team in Panama. History C.D Plaza Amador was founded in 1955 by Panamanian sports legend León Cocoliso Tejad ...

Al-Jandal

On 16 September 2023, Martínez joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Jandal.

Ironi Kiryat Shmona

On 13 July 2024 signed for the Israeli club

International career

In May 2018 he was named in Panama's preliminary 35 man

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

for the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in l ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. However, he did not make the final 23.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

Honours

Panama *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

runner-up:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

CONCACAF Nations League The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...

runner-up: 2024–25

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Cristian 1997 births Living people Panamanian men's footballers 21st-century Panamanian sportsmen Footballers from Panama City Men's association football midfielders Club Deportivo Universitario players Columbus Crew players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players FC Cincinnati players Chicago Fire FC players Las Vegas Lights FC players Cádiz CF Mirandilla players Recreativo de Huelva players C.D. Plaza Amador players Monagas S.C. players Najran SC players Al-Jandal SC players Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona F.C. players Liga Panameña de Fútbol players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Segunda División B players Venezuelan Primera División players Saudi First Division League players Panama men's international footballers Panama men's under-20 international footballers 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2024 Copa América players 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Panamanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Venezuela Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Venezuela Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Israel