Kyle Martino

Kyle Martino
Personal information
Full name Kyle Hunter Martino
Date of birth (1981-02-19) February 19, 1981
Place of birth Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position Midfielder
Youth career
1999–2001 Virginia Cavaliers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2006 Columbus Crew 106 (10)
2006–2007 Los Angeles Galaxy 35 (3)
Total 141 (13)
National team
2002–2006 United States 8 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Kyle Martino (born February 19, 1981) is an American former professional soccer player and currently a TV soccer analyst and host. He married Eva Amurri on October 29, 2011.

Career

High School

Martino attended Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut, where he played soccer and was named Gatorade National Player of the Year in 1998 after his senior season.

College

Martino attended the University of Virginia from 1999 to 2001. He played college soccer and scored 17 goals and provided 21 assists. In his junior season, Martino was named ACC Player of the Year. In both his sophomore and junior seasons, he was one of 15 finalists for the Hermann Trophy.

Professional

Martino left UVA after his junior season, signing a Project-40 contract with Major League Soccer (MLS) and entering the 2002 MLS Superdraft, where the Columbus Crew selected him eighth overall. He tallied 2 goals and 5 assists in 22 appearances and won the MLS Rookie of the Year Award, while running the Crew offense for much of the season. His following season was something of a disappointment, as Martino failed to develop into the dominant offensive force that many had expected, although he maintained a spot in the Crew's starting lineup. His third season began like the second with Martino failing to stimulate the offense, but a move up to withdrawn forward saw a resurgence of his offensive abilities, and through the 2004 season Kyle led the Crew to the longest unbeaten streak in MLS history. Martino had a down year in 2005, not scoring a goal. In early 2006, Martino was dealt to the LA Galaxy in a four-player deal. He and John Wolyniec were traded for Joseph Ngwenya and Ned Grabavoy. During the first 2006 match between the Crew and the Galaxy, before the trade, it was Martino who, in the last few seconds, scored the game's only goal, delivering a defeat to his soon-to-be teammates.

In November 2006, Martino had a trial at Dutch Eredivisie side NEC Nijmegen, but did not earn a contract. Martino also had a trial at Leeds United.[1]

Martino retired from professional soccer on February 19, 2008, due to injury. Martino was advised by doctors that injuries he sustained throughout his career were severe enough that it would be in his best interest to hang up the boots.[2]

International

Martino played for the United States at the 2001 World Youth Championship in Argentina. He saw little playing time for the senior national team, getting his first cap on November 17, 2002, against El Salvador. He scored his only international goal against Panama on October 12, 2005 in a 2-0 World Cup qualifier USA victory.

Post-playing career

Martino is a studio analyst and color commentator for NBC Sports coverage of the English Premier League. Martino previously served as a color commentator for MLS on the ESPN family of networks. In addition to his Sports Commentating Martino is also a TV Host featured on Travel Channel's 36 Hours and NBC's Spartan Race.

Martino married actress Eva Amurri on October 29, 2011.[3] They have two children.[4][5]

On November 6, 2017, Martino announced he would leave NBC Sports temporarily and run to become President of the United States Soccer Federation in the February 2018 election. However, Martino was unsuccessful in the election. [6]

Career statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
USA League Open Cup League Cup North America Total
2002Columbus CrewMajor League Soccer222
2003222
2004295
2005275
200661
2006Los Angeles GalaxyMajor League Soccer90
2007263
Total USA 14113
Career total[7] 14113

Honors

Columbus Crew

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Hush, Andrew. "John continues Leeds trial; joined by Martino". soccernewengland.com. Archived from the original on December 18, 2006. Retrieved December 5, 2006.
  2. ↑ John Mantia. "Give & Go: ESPN's Kyle Martino". Goal.com. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  3. ↑ Garcia, Jennifer (29 October 2011). "Eva Amurri Marries Kyle Martino". People.com. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  4. ↑ Leon, Anya; Garcia, Jennifer (11 August 2014). "Kyle and Eva Amurri Martino Welcome Daughter Marlowe Mae". People. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  5. ↑ Juneau, Jen (20 October 2016). "Meet Major James! Eva Amurri Martino Shares Photo of Newborn Son". People. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  6. ↑ Stein, Mark (November 6, 2017). "Kyle Martino Enters Race for U.S. Soccer President". The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Kyle Martino: Midfielder". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
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