Jesús Augusto Sarcos Romero: Josef Martínez Aims for the Major League Soccer’s Ultimate Goal Record
AP | ATLANTA.- This weekend, the MLS is celebrating a
series of matched between rivals from the same regions of cities. But there is
a particular rivalry that is more interesting than any other “classic” one, due
to the participation of Venezuelan Josef Martínez.
Tonight, Atlanta
United is visiting Orlando City in a match that will see the culmination of
a rivalry that has slowly grown in intensity for the past two campaigns, ever
since the Georgia state team joined the league.
But all eyes are on
Josef Martínez,
United’s front, who is about to make history at the MLS.
This past week, in a 3-1 Atlanta victory
against the Cloumbus team, Venezuelan Martínez scored his 27th goal
of the season.
This way, he matched the currently set total amount of goals
scored during a single season record.
Martínez has now
joined Roy Lassiter, who also scored 27 goals back in 1996 when playing with
Tampa Bay, as well as Chris Wondolowski, who did the same while playing with
San José in 2012, and Bradley Wright-Phillips, Red Bulls’ top player back in
2014.
The Venezuelan player scored said goal at the
31st minute, dedicating it to his aunt, who lives with him and is
expecting a baby. Martínez stuffed the ball under his shirt, over his belly.
“I
thought about it, and had planned on celebrating here before, at some point
during the season. But I decided on doing it during a special occasion,”
said the front player.
By scoring at least once every game during the
past 8 matches, Martínez is one match away from the league’s record, set this
past season by Portland’s Argentinian player, Diego Valeri.
Today’s match will be the first of 9 left to
play. So it is not only possible that Martínez may break the record, but also
absolutely destroy it. He matched it in only 25 games, with an average of one
goal scored per-match.
