Nicolás Martinez (born 25 September 1987), known simply as Nico, is an Argentine 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 last played 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 Greek Super League 2 club

Apollon Smyrnis Apollon Smyrnis Football Club () is a professional football club based in Athens, Greece, which competes in the Athens FCA first division. It is part of GS Apollon Smyrnis (Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Απόλλων Σμύρνης), ...

. His brother is the footballer

Juan Manuel Martínez ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...

Club career

Martinez was formed in the youth system of Vélez Sarfield, in 2008 he was loaned to Almirante Brown a team in third category of Argentina. In 2009, he joined Independiente but he did not make his first team debut until the year 2010. On 19 December 2010, Martínez scored in a 4–2 victory over Defensor Sporting in the Copa Sudamericana 2010, helping Independiente advance to the quarter-finals. In 2011, he left Independiente and signed with

Santiago Wanderers Club de Deportes Santiago Wanderers is a football club based in Valparaíso, a founding member of the Chilean Football Federation. Their home ground, Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander, is in the north-west of the city. Wanderers have played their ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. In

is overshadowed by Tressor Moreno who held the same post in the field. The departure of the Colombian player gave him the chance to play a vital role for the club in Apertura 2012. When the year ends

did not take advantage of the purchase option and Martinez returned to Independiente. On August 1, 2012, is signed to

Real Murcia Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in , playing home matches at Estadio Nueva Condo ...

. It started well gaining his role in the starting XI. In his second day in the club at Estadio El Molinon against Sporting Gijon scored a wonderful goal putting his name in the scoreboard. This match was eventually won by Real Murcia, but gradually the club lost the title. Eventually during the season lost his place and remained on the bench. He concluded his contract with the club in July 2013. On August 8, 2013, he signed for a year contract with

San Martín de San Juan Club Atlético San Martín, mostly known as San Martín de San Juan, is an Argentine football club from the city of San Juan. The team currently plays in the Argentine Liga Profesional de Futbol, the first division of the Argentine football league ...

Panetolikos

On January 17, 2014, he signed a contract with

Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club (), or with its full name officially romanized as Panaitolikós Gymnastikós Filekpaideftikós Sýllogos (''; Pan- Aetolian Gymnastic and Educational Club''), is a Greek professional football club. It is based in Agrini ...

and will play at

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

till the summer of 2015. In September 2014, Martinez expands his contract with the club till the summer of 2016. The 27-year-old Argentine playmaker has been in excellent form since the start of the 2014/15 season and AEK are chasing his signature. AEK will consider making a bid after the end of the season and the possibility of completing this transfer is highly likely as the two clubs share an amicable relationship. Branco Milovanovic, AEK's technical director, is in contact with Martinez's agent and it is likely that an offer to land

attacking midfielder is on the cards. On the other hand, the Argentinian midfielder is linked with the Greek champion Olympiakos. According to Goal newspaper Panetolikos have accepted a bid in the region of €600,000, as Olympiakos manager Vitor Pereira is a big admirer of Martinez.

Olympiacos

On 2 July 2015, Martinez signed a 4 years' contract with Greek champions Olympiakos for over €600,000.

Loan to Anorthosis

A month after he signed a year contract for

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

club

Anorthosis Famagusta Anorthosis Famagusta (), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Famagusta multi-sport club founded in 1911 in Varosha, Famagusta.

on loan from Olympiakos. Negotiations between the two clubs had finalized with media reports suggesting that the player will spend the season on loan at the club and that

Anorthosis Famagusta FC Anorthosis Famagusta (), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Famagusta multi-sport club founded in 1911 in Varosha, Famagusta.

will foot €200,000 of his €350,000 per year salary. According to club sources, a player of Martinez's quality was what was missing last season when

just about missed out on Europe after finish fifth at the end of the 2014–15 season. He finished the year as the udisputable leader of the club, but they still finish fifth.

Loan to Western Sydney Wanderers

On 31 August 2016, in the last day of the summer transfer window,

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, Wanderers, or simply as WSW) is an Australian professional association football club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in t ...

have reportedly come to terms with 28-year-old Argentinian attacking midfielder and signed him on a long season loan from

club Olympiakos. As part of the loan deal with Western Sydney sources say that out of his current wages of $563,000 a season, the Wanderers have agreed to pay about $266,000 while Olympiakos will foot the remainder.

Tony Popovic Tony Popovic (born 4 July 1973) is an Australian association football manager and former player. He is currently head coach of the Australia men's national soccer team, Australia national football team. He guided the team to qualify for the 202 ...

the coach of the club has placed his faith after signing on loan from Olympiakos. ''“When I came here the other players had been training for two months – I had quickly to get used to the players and the intensity. Here they work very hard, it’s not like in South America where sometimes if you are not fit you can still play football. Here it is very physical”'' Martinez said after his first training with the new club. On 6 November 2016, he scored the fastest goal in Wanderers

Hyundai A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

history to put the visitors in front inside the first minute, in a 2–2 away draw against

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...

Loan to Apollon Limassol

On 31 August 2017, he signed a year contract for

club

Apollon Limassol Apollon Limassol FC (, ''Apollon Lemesou'') is a Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon FC currently plays in the Cypriot First Division and has won the championship tit ...

on a long season loan from Olympiakos. On 18 September 2017, he scored his first goal with the club in a 4–2 home win game against

Ermis Aradippou Ermis Aradippou () is a Cypriot professional football club based in Aradippou, a settlement on the outskirts of the city of Larnaca. The club was formed in 1958, and currently plays in the Cypriot Third Division. Ermis' greatest success ca ...

Aris

On 27 August 2018, newly promoted

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

has taken out-of-favour Argentinian midfielder Martinez as a free transfer from Olympiacos by signing a year contract for an undisclosed fee. Martinez is surplus to the requirements of the club, and travels to Thessaloniki to strength Aris’ deepening roster. His first goal came in a disappointing 4–1 away loss against

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

, on 10 March 2019. On 31 March 2019, he came in as a substitute and scored in the dying minutes of the game, sealing a 3–1 home win against OFI. On 21 April 2019, he scored with a tap-in in a 2–1 away win against

, but he didn't celebrate as a token of appreciation for his old club.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual * Super League Greece Team of the Season: 2014–15

References

External links

*
Nicolás Martínez
at MemoriaWanderers.cl {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Nicolas 1987 births Living people Argentine men's footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield footballers Club Almirante Brown footballers Club Atlético Independiente footballers Santiago Wanderers footballers Real Murcia CF players San Martín de San Juan footballers Panetolikos F.C. players Olympiacos F.C. players Anorthosis Famagusta FC players Western Sydney Wanderers FC players Apollon Limassol FC players Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players Volos F.C. players Apollon Smyrnis F.C. players Primera B Metropolitana players Argentine Primera División players Chilean Primera División players Segunda División players Primera Nacional players Super League Greece players Cypriot First Division players A-League Men players Marquee players (A-League Men) Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Chile Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Greece Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Australia People from Viedma Copa Sudamericana–winning players Footballers from Río Negro Province Men's association football midfielders 21st-century Argentine sportsmen