Lautaro Martínez

Lautaro Javier Martínez (Spanish pronunciation: [lawˈtaɾo maɾˈtines]; born 22 August 1997) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Italian club Inter Milan and the Argentina national team.

Lautaro Martínez
Martínez with Argentina U20 in 2017
Personal information
Full name Lautaro Javier Martínez
Date of birth (1997-08-22) 22 August 1997
Place of birth Bahía Blanca, Argentina
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Inter Milan
Number 10
Youth career
2013–2014 Liniers
2014–2015 Racing Club
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Racing Club 48 (22)
2018– Inter Milan 51 (18)
National team‡
2016–2017 Argentina U20 11 (7)
2018– Argentina 17 (9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:01, 24 June 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:46, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

He began his football career in his native Argentina where he made his senior debut in 2015 with Racing Club. There he spent four seasons and represented the club in the league and Copa Libertadores, scoring 27 goals in 60 appearances before joining Inter in 2018.

Martínez also previously represented Argentina at various youth levels and competed at the 2017 South American U-20 Championship and 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He made his senior international debut in 2018, and represented the senior squad at the 2019 Copa América, helping his team to a third place finish in the competition.

Club career

Early career

Born in Bahía Blanca, Martínez followed in his father's footsteps to become a professional footballer, joining local side Liniers, with whom he excelled at U17 level.[1] In 2013, he scored 13 goals in the U17 league and netted in the final of the National Cup, though Liniers ultimately lost on penalties to Rosario.[2][3]

Racing Club

Martínez's form at youth level caught the attention of Racing Club interim coach Fabio Radaelli who subsequently signed him in January 2014.[2] Soon after joining the club, Martínez began suffering from homesickness and wanted to return to his hometown. He was ultimately convinced by teammate Braian Mansilla to stay and went on to score 53 goals in 64 appearances for the club's reserve side.[1] In 2015, a deal was concluded between Racing Club and Spanish side Real Madrid for Martínez's signature but he chose to remain in Argentina. Martínez's father, Mario later revealed that he chose to stay with Racing at the time as he was not ready to leave the club.[4] His league debut followed on 1 November 2015 when he came on as a second-half substitute for Diego Milito in a 3–0 win over Crucero del Norte.[5] On 17 April 2016, he was sent off for the first time in his career after picking up two bookings in the space of five minutes in a 2–2 draw with Argentinos.[1] He scored his first goal later that year, netting the opener in a 1–1 draw with Huracán in November.[1]

Following an injury to regular starting striker Lisandro López, Martínez assumed a more senior role for the 2016–17 season, scoring 9 goals in 23 league appearances for the campaign.[1][6] He continued to lead the line for Racing during the first half of the following season and in December 2017 underwent a medical with La Liga side Atlético Madrid.[7] Reports followed that Martínez had signed for Atlético Madrid side but Racing later announced that he had signed a renewed contract which included an increased release clause. They also criticised their Spanish contemporaries for submitting him to a medical without their permission.[7][8] He ended the year with a man of the match performance, scoring once and assisting another in a 3–1 win over Gimnasia.[9] On 27 February, he scored his second hat-trick of the season when he scored three times on his Copa Libertadores debut against Brazilian side Cruzeiro. Racing won the match 4–2.[10]

That same month, Martínez was linked with a transfer to Italian side Inter Milan and on 5 May Racing Club President Victor Blanco confirmed that the sale had gone through. Blanco indicated that Martínez was set to join Inter ahead of the 2018–19 Serie A campaign but that he would attempt to keep him on loan until December 2018 in order for the striker to continue to participate in the Argentine side's Copa Libertadores campaign.[11][12]

Inter Milan

Martínez officially joined Inter on 4 July 2018 for a reported fee of €22.7 million and he signed a five-year contract with the club.[13] He made his unofficial debut ten days later and scored in a 3–0 friendly win over Swiss club, Lugano.[14] His full debut followed on 19 August when he started in a 1–0 Serie A loss to Sassuolo in the opening week.[15] He scored his first league goal against Cagliari, the opener of a 2–0 win at San Siro on 29 September.[16]

Martínez scored his first European goal on 14 February 2019, netting a penalty to help Inter win against Rapid Wien, in the first leg of 2018–19 UEFA Europa League round of 32.[17] Following this match, he begun to start in every match, profiting from Mauro Icardi's abstence due to personal reasons.[18] In his first Derby della Madonnina match against city rivals Milan, Martínez first assisted Matías Vecino's header before scoring himself a penalty in the second half, helping Inter to win 3–2;[19] Inter retook the third place in Serie A,[20] and also achieved the first league double over them since 2011–12 season.[21]

On 2 October 2019, Martínez scored his first goal in UEFA Champions League in a 2–1 away defeat to Barcelona in group stage;[22] he become the first player since Roberto Boninsegna in 1970 to score at Camp Nou for Inter.[23] Later in the competition, by scoring a brace in a 3–1 away win against Slavia Prague, Martínez reached two milestones: he become only the fourth Inter player (after Hernán Crespo in 2002, Christian Vieri in 2003 and Samuel Eto'o in 2010) and the fifth Argentinian player (after Hernan Crespo in 2002, Lionel Messi in six occasions, Sergio Agüero in 2019 and Ezequiel Lavezzi in 2013) to score in four consecutive Champions League games.[24][25]

International career
Martínez represented Argentina at the 2017 South American Youth Football Championship.

Youth team

In 2017, Martínez represented Argentina at the 2017 South American Youth Football Championship where he ended as the tournament's joint-top scorer with five goals, in the process helping Argentina qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[5]

He was subsequently named in the squad for the World Cup which kicked off in May that year. In the build-up to the tournament, he suffered damage to his nasal cartilage after being struck by a knee in a warm-up match against Vietnam.[26] As a result of the injury, he started Argentina's opening match at the tournament against England from the bench and was later sent off after video technology indicated that he had lashed out at Fikayo Tomori. Upon doing so, he became the first ever player to be dismissed after a video referral, and Argentina ultimately lost the match 3–0.[26][27][28] On his return, he scored a brace in a 5–0 win over Guinea, though his goals were not enough to prevent Argentina from being eliminated from the group-stages.[26][29]

Senior team

On 12 March 2018, Martínez received his first call-up for the senior team for two friendly matches against Italy and Spain.[30] He made his debut against the latter on 27 March, coming on as a substitute for Gonzalo Higuaín in a 6–1 defeat.[31] In May 2018 he was named in Argentina’s preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia but was omitted from the final selection.[32][33] Later that year, he made his full debut in a 4–0 friendly win over Iraq during which he also scored his first senior international goal.[34]

In May 2019, Martínez was included in Lionel Scaloni's final 23-man Argentina squad for the 2019 Copa América.[35] In Argentina's final group match against Qatar on 23 June, he scored the opening goal in a 2–0 win, which enabled them to advanced to the knock-out stages of the competition.[36] On 28 June, in the quarter-finals of the tournament, Martínez scored the opening goal in an eventual 2–0 win over Venezuela with a back-heel in the opening ten minutes of the match; he was later named Man of the match, and the victory enabled Argentina to advance to the semi-finals of the competition.[37]

On 10 September 2019, Martínez scored his first international hat-trick in a friendly against Mexico, which Argentina won 4–0.[38]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 24 June 2020[39]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup1 Continental2 Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Racing Club 2015 Primera División 10000010
2016 Primera División 30100040
2016–17 Primera División 2390050289
2017–18 Primera División 211300652718
Total 4822101156027
Inter Milan 2018–19 Serie A 2762261359
2019–20 Serie A 241230753417
Total 5118521366926
Career total 994062241112953

1 Includes Copa Argentina and Coppa Italia matches.
2 Includes Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches.

International
As of 22 November 2019[40]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Argentina 201841
2019138
Total179

International goals
As of match played 11 September 2019. Argentina score listed first, score column indicates score after each Martínez goal.
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
111 October 2018Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Iraq1–04–0Friendly
222 March 2019Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain Venezuela1–21–3
37 June 2019Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario, San Juan, Argentina Nicaragua3–15–1
44–1
523 June 2019Arena do Grêmio, Porto Alegre, Brazil Qatar1–02–02019 Copa América
628 June 2019Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Venezuela1–02–02019 Copa América
710 September 2019Alamodome, San Antonio, United States Mexico1–04–0Friendly
82–0
94–0

References
  1. Estevez, Martin (10 May 2017). "Lautaro Martínez, tradición familiar". El Grafico. Retrieved 12 July 2017.(in Spanish)
  2. "El juvenil bahiense Lautaro Martínez se va a Racing". Lanueva. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2017.(in Spanish)
  3. "El Sub 17 de la Liga del Sur perdió la final con Rosario". Lanueva. 14 December 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2017.(in Spanish)
  4. Siffredi, Charly (21 November 2017). "Lautaro Martinez's father reveals rejection of Real Madrid in 2015". Marca. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  5. Edwards, Danie (17 February 2017). "Coveted by Arsenal & Real Madrid: Meet Racing Club's whizzkid Lautaro Martinez". Goal. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  6. "Report: Atletico Madrid Inks Rising Argentine Star Lautaro Martinez to Long-Term Deal". Sports Illustrated. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  7. "Racing Club raise Lautaro Martinez release clause". Four Four Two. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  8. Siffredi, Charly (6 December 2017). "Lautaro Martinez signs for Atletico Madrid". Marca. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  9. Edwards, Daniel (15 December 2017). "Could Lautaro Martinez be Atletico's answer to Cristiano Ronaldo?". Goal. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  10. Clark, Matthew (28 February 2018). "Inter target Lautaro Martinez goes triple for second time". Serpents of Maradonna. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  11. Cudworth, Toby (7 February 2018). "Inter Tie Up Deal to Sign Argentine Wonderkid Lautaro Martinez for €20m Fee". 90min. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  12. "Racing Club President Confirms Lautaro Martinez Has Been Sold to Inter". Sports Illustrated. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  13. Strachan, Iain (4 July 2018). "Lautaro Martinez completes Inter move". Goal. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  14. Dorman, Matt (14 July 2018). "Lautaro Martinez on target in impressive Inter debut". Goal. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  15. Marcovitch, Joe (19 August 2018). "Sassuolo 1-0 Inter: Report, Ratings & Reaction as the Nerazzurri Slip to Defeat in Serie A Opener". 90min. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  16. "Results: Inter 2–0 Cagliari". legaseriea.it. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  17. Joe Wright (14 February 2019). "Rapid Vienna 0 Inter 1: Martinez makes up for missing Icardi". Goal.com. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  18. Tomás Pavel; Ibarra Meda (15 February 2019). "Lautaro Martinez, Mauro Icardi's worthy successor at Inter". Ronaldo.com. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  19. "Milano is still Nerazzurro: Milan 2-3 Inter!". Inter Milan. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  20. "Inter edge Milan in five-goal derby thriller to go third". Reuters. Euronews. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  21. "Inter starting to dominate the #DerbyMilano". inter.it. Inter Milan. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  22. "Match review, Barcelona 2–1 Inter". inter.it. Inter Milan. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  23. Billy Munday (2 October 2019). "Inter score their first goal at the Camp Nou in 49 years". Marca.com. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  24. "Slavia Prague 1–3 Inter, all you need to know". inter.it. Inter Milan. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  25. "Match review, Slavia Prague 1–3 Inter". inter.it. Inter Milan. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  26. Edwards, Daniel (30 May 2017). "Arsenal target Martinez survives U-20 disaster to prove he can be an elite striker". Goal. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  27. "Los mundialistas llegaron a Vietnam". Argentina Football Association. Retrieved 23 May 2017.(in Spanish)
  28. "VIDEO: Referee uses video technology to send off Argentina's Martinez at FIFA U20 World Cup". Goal. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  29. "Guinea out of Under-20 World Cup". BBC. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  30. "Lista de convocados". AFA. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  31. "WATCH: Isco Hat Trick Leads Spain's 6-1 Rout Over Messi-Less Argentina". Sports Illustrated. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  32. "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad". Goal. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  33. "Icardi cut from Argentina's 23-man World Cup squad". Goal. Perform Group. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  34. Creek, Stephen (12 October 2018). "Inter's Lautaro Martinez thrilled with debut Argentina goal". Goal. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  35. Avi Creditor (21 May 2019). "Messi Leads Argentina's Copa America Squad; Icardi Omitted". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  36. "Copa America 2019 - Qatar 0-2 Argentina - Match Report". www.beinsports.com. 23 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  37. "Argentina beats Venezuela, faces Brazil in Copa América semi". TSN. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  38. "Argentina 4-0 Mexico". Eurosport. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  39. "Argentina - L. Martínez career statistics". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  40. "Lautaro Martinez-National Football Teams". National Football Teams. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
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