Rey Ángel "Boom-Boom" Martínez (born May 13, 1980) is a Cuban

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 most recently played for the

Syracuse Silver Knights Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

Career

Professional

Martínez began his career with Ciudad la Habana in his native Cuba, before defecting to the United States during the 2002 Gold Cup along with his national teammate Alberto Delgado. Martínez joined the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

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 ...

on June 11, 2004, and finished his first year with the Rapids with one assist in seven appearances (three starts), but struggled with injuries for much of the season. He was released by the Rapids before the 2005 season and signed with

Rochester Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-MLS team has won the U.S. Open Cup sinc ...

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

. Martínez was used regularly as a late second-half attacking substitute, and went on to make 60 appearances for the Rhinos until August 2008, when he signed for the

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 ...

for the rest of the season. In the fall of 2005, he moved indoors with the St. Louis Steamers. When the Steamers withdrew from the league during the summer of 2006, the Baltimore Blast selected Martinez in the third round of the dispersal draft. He played two seasons in Baltimore. On November 6, 2008, Martinez signed with the New Jersey Ironmen in the

Xtreme Soccer League The Xtreme Soccer League (XSL) was an indoor soccer league that began play in December 2008. Four teams from the former Major Indoor Soccer League participated in the first XSL season: the Chicago Storm, Detroit Ignition, Milwaukee Wave, and ...

., and played for them for two seasons before returning to outdoor soccer with the

Real Maryland Monarchs Real Maryland F.C., commonly known as the Real Maryland Monarchs, was an American soccer team based in Rockville, Maryland, United States. Founded in 2007, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the Americ ...

in the

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

for the 2009 season. In 2011, Martinez signed with the Rochester Lancers of the

MISL Major Indoor Soccer League has been the name of three different American professional indoor soccer leagues: *Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League *Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2 ...

.Democrat and Chronicle

International

He made his international debut for

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

in a June 2000

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and has earned a total of 17 caps, scoring no goals. He represented his country in the Gold Cup, Copa Caribe, and

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

. His final international was a January

2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the sixth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). The tournament was once again held in the United States, in Miami and Pasadena. The forma ...

match against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

References

External links

* * 1980 births Living people Footballers from Havana Defecting Cuban footballers Men's association football midfielders Cuban men's footballers Cuba men's international footballers 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players FC Ciudad de La Habana players Colorado Rapids players Rochester New York FC players St. Louis Steamers (2003–2006 MISL) players Baltimore Blast (2001–2008 MISL) players North Carolina FC players New Jersey Ironmen players Real Maryland F.C. players Philadelphia KiXX (2001–2008 MISL) players Cuban expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Cuban expatriate sportspeople in the United States Major League Soccer players USL First Division players Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Xtreme Soccer League players Major Arena Soccer League players {{Cuba-footy-bio-stub