Cristian Martínez #6

Profile

A combative tackler and effective attacker, Martínez is your typical box-to-box midfielder. He is from El Chorrillo in Panama City, making his debut for the local side as a teenager. His dynamism and stamina earned him a move to Columbus Crew in MLS – where he became the club’s youngest scorer – before joining Cádiz in Spain and having other spells in Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and back in Panama. The 2023 Gold Cup runner-up signed for Kiryat Shmona in Israel last year and was a key part of the successful World Cup qualification campaign. “My childhood dream was to wear the national team’s shirt and put my soul into each game,” he says. Nicknamed “El Fulo” for his tendency to dye his hair bleach blonde.

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