Williams Martínez Fracchia (18 December 1982 – 17 July 2021) was a 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 ...

who played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. He played for

Defensor Sporting Defensor Sporting Club is a sports club based in Montevideo, Uruguay. Founded in 1913, Defensor has several sports sections, with football and basketball being the most important and the ones in which the club has achieved significant achievement ...

River Plate Montevideo A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

, Cerro and

Rampla Juniors Rampla Juniors Fútbol Club, commonly known as Rampla Juniors, is a Uruguayan football club based in Montevideo. The team was actively playing the 2021 season by January 2021. In their home stadium, Rampla won the Uruguayan championship in 1927. I ...

in the

Uruguayan Primera División The Liga Profesional de Primera División (American Spanish , , local: , ''First Division''), named "Torneo Uruguayo Copa Coca-Cola" for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional Association football, football league in Uruguay organized b ...

, as well as playing in the top divisions of football in Chile, Paraguay and Venezuela and the second division in Argentina. Abroad, he had brief spells in the English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

and French

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

with

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

. Martínez played one game for

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 ...

in 2003. He died by suicide in 2021 aged 38, while a player of

Villa Teresa Club Atlético Villa Teresa, is a Uruguayan football and cycling team club based in Montevideo. It was founded in 1941. History In 2011 Villa Teresa achieved promotion from Segunda División Amateur (third level) and returned to the Professi ...

Club career

Defensor and West Browmwich

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 ...

and the holder of an

Italian passport An Italian passport () is issued upon request to an Italian nationality law, Italian citizen for the purpose of international travel. It is valid for 10, 5 or 3 years, depending on the applicant's age. Its Biometric passports, biometric version ...

, Martínez began his professional career at

, where he became

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. On 31 January 2006, he moved to

team

on loan for the rest of the season with the option to make it permanent. Manager

Bryan Robson Bryan Robson (born 11 January 1957) is an English association football, football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club ca ...

, who signed him on the recommendation of former Uruguay international striker Daniel Fonseca, hoped that Martínez would be as good as fellow West Brom centre-back

Curtis Davies Curtis Eugene Davies (born 15 March 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Born in England, he represented the Sierra Leone national team. Davies began his career at Luton Town, for whom he made his professiona ...

. Martínez made his West Brom debut on 11 February 2006 in a 6–1 loss at

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, coming on at half time as a substitute for Thomas Gaardsøe; he received a yellow card in the game, and afterwards, manager Robson called the entire defence "shocking". His only other game was a start away at Everton in which he scored to put his team 2–0 up, but also conceded a

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

with a late foul on Mikel Arteta, from which

Duncan Ferguson Duncan Cowan Ferguson (born 27 December 1971) is a Scottish football coach and former player. He began his career at Dundee United in 1990, and moved to Rangers in 1993 for what was then a British transfer record fee. He spent the remainder o ...

scored the equaliser in a 2–2 draw.

Valenciennes

In January 2008, Martínez returned to Europe on a 2-year deal at

Valenciennes FC Valenciennes Football Club (; commonly known as Valenciennes, VA or VAFC) is a French professional football club based in Valenciennes. The club was founded in 1914 and currently play in Championnat National, the third tier of French footbal ...

of the French

, for a fee of €1.2 million. On his debut on 12 January, the team won 2–0 at home to

AS Saint-Étienne Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire (), abbreviated as A.S.S.E. () and commonly known as Saint-Étienne, is a French professional football club based in Saint-Étienne, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The club was founded in 1933 and competes ...

. In his final game on 23 February, he and

Le Mans FC Le Mans Football Club (; commonly referred to as Le Mans FC) is a French professional football club based in Le Mans. The club set to compete in Ligue 2 from 2025–26, the second tier of French football after promotion from Championnat Nation ...

player Anthony Le Tallec were

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for fighting in a brawl that started when Valenciennes' Steve Savidan scored while Le Mans' Romaric was lying injured; Le Mans won 2–1 away. For the 2008–09 season, Martínez was loaned to

Stade de Reims Stade de Reims () is a French professional football club based in Reims. The club was formed in 1931 and plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of football in France. Reims plays home matches at the Stade Auguste Delaune. Reims is one of the mo ...

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

Return to South America

In August 2009, Martínez returned to Defensor after cancelling his Valenciennes contract a year early, as he did not feature in the plans of manager

Philippe Montanier Philippe Jacques William Montanier (born 15 November 1964) is a French professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of club Toulouse. As a player, he was as a goalkeeper. Montanier led Boulogne, Lens and ...

. He was loaned a year later to

Chacarita Juniors Club Atlético Chacarita Juniors (usually known simply as Chacarita) is an Argentine association football, football club headquartered in Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires, while the stadium is located in Villa Maipú, General San Martín Partido of Gre ...

in the Argentine second-tier

Primera Nacional Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, (English "National B Division"), and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 38 teams ...

. After two years in the

Chilean Primera División The Chilean Primera División () is a professional association football league in Chile and the highest level of the Chilean football league system. Founded in 1933, it is organized by the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (ANFP). The l ...

with

Huachipato FC Huachipato FC is a Chilean football club based in Talcahuano that currently plays in the Chilean Primera División. Huachipato was founded on 7 June 1947 by workers of the homonymous steel mill in Talcahuano, and it currently plays its home g ...

and

Club Deportivo Palestino Club Deportivo Palestino is a professional football club based in the city of Santiago, Chile and plays in the Primera División de Chile. History The club was founded on 8 August 1920, when they participated in a colonial competition in Osor ...

, he signed in January 2013 for

Cerro Porteño Club Cerro Porteño is a professional Paraguayan Association football, football club, based in the neighbourhood of Obrero (Asunción), Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1912, Cerro has won 34 Paraguayan Primera División, Primera División titles ...

in the

Paraguayan Primera División The División Profesional de la Paraguayan Football Association, Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (; "Professional Division of the Paraguayan Football Association"), also known as the Primera División (; "first division"), or due to sponsorship ...

. With the club, he made his debut in continental tournaments in the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

; on 14 February he scored a consolation in the opening 2–1 loss at Colombia's

Deportes Tolima Club Deportes Tolima S.A., commonly known as Deportes Tolima, or simply as Tolima, is a Colombian professional football club based in Ibagué, Tolima Department, that competes in the Categoría Primera A. Founded in 1954, the club has won the C ...

, and on 7 March he was sent off in a home loss by the same score to

Independiente Santa Fe Club Independiente Santa Fe, known simply as Santa Fe, is a Colombian professional Association football, football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Estadio El Campín, El Cam ...

from the same country. After playing in the

for

Club Atlético River Plate (Montevideo) Club Atlético River Plate is a Uruguayan football club based in Montevideo. The club currently plays in the Primera División, the top level of the Uruguayan football league system. This is not the same River Plate F.C. that won the Uruguayan ...

and C.A. Cerro, Martínez moved in January 2016 to Deportivo Táchira F.C. in the

Venezuelan Primera División The Primera División (; ), or Liga Venezolana (; ) is the top-flight professional football league of Venezuela. It was created in 1921 and turned professional in 1957. It is organized by the Federación Venezolana de Fútbol. Format Starting i ...

. Having not agreed on a renewal, he was released in June. Martínez returned to his country's top flight at

and River Plate again. In February 2019, he made a return to European football leagues for the first time in nearly a decade, as the 36-year-old signed for

AD Ceuta FC Agrupación Deportiva Ceuta Fútbol Club is a Spanish football club based in the autonomous city of Ceuta. Founded in 1956, it plays in Primera División RFEF, Primera División RFEF – Group 2. After being crowned champions of this league, th ...

in the Spanish fourth-tier

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

. He went back to Rampla, now in the

Uruguayan Segunda División The Segunda División Profesional is the second division of professional football in Uruguay, established in 1942. The league is sometimes referred to as ''Primera B''. In 1942, the Segunda División was established to replace the amateur Uruguaya ...

, and ended his career with

in the same league.

International career

Martínez played one game for Uruguay national team on 4 February 2003 at the

Lunar New Year Cup The Lunar New Year Cup, previously known as the Carlsberg Challenge or the Carlsberg Cup, is an annual invitational association football, football tournament organised in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) since 1908. It is usua ...

. Accompanying

Diego Lugano Diego Alfredo Lugano Morena (; born 2 November 1980) is a Uruguayan former professional association football, footballer who played as a central defender. Nicknamed ''Tota'', Lugano played for a number of clubs in South America and Europe, inc ...

in central defence, the team drew 1–1 in the final against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

before winning 4–2 in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

Death

Martínez died on 17 July 2021 of suicide, aged 38, as a result of a depression caused by

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

-related inactivity. The

Uruguayan Football Association The Uruguayan Football Association ( — ) is the governing body of association football, football in Uruguay. It was founded in 1900, as The Uruguayan Association Football League, and affiliated to FIFA in 1923. It is a founding member of CONMEB ...

suspended matches all remaining fixtures of the weekend upon learning of his death.

References

External links