Javi Martínez

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Javi Martínez
Javier Martinez enhanced.jpg
Martínez before a game with Spain U21s
Personal information
Full name Javier Martínez Aginaga
Date of birth (1988-09-02) 2 September 1988 (age 24)
Place of birth Estella, Spain
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Defensive midfielder / Centre back
Club information
Current club Bayern Munich
Number 8
Youth career
1993–1995 Berceo
1995–1997 Logroñés
1997–2000 CD Arenas
2000 Izarra
2001–2005 Osasuna
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2005–2006 Osasuna B 32 (3)
2006–2012 Athletic Bilbao 201 (22)
2012– Bayern Munich 27 (3)
National team‡
2005 Spain U17 5 (0)
2006–2007 Spain U19 5 (0)
2007–2011 Spain U21 24 (1)
2012 Spain U23 4 (1)
2010– Spain 11 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 May 2013.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:34, 16 June 2013 (UTC)
This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Martínez and the second or maternal family name is Aginaga.

Javier "Javi" Martínez Aginaga (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxaβi marˈtineθ aɣiˈnaɣa]; born 2 September 1988) is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, as a central defender or a defensive midfielder.

He arrived at Athletic Bilbao in 2006 before his 18th birthday, quickly imposing himself as a starter and going on to appear in 251 official games over the course of six La Liga seasons, scoring 26 goals.

A Spanish international since 2010, Martínez was a member of the squads that won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.

Contents

Club career[edit]

Athletic Bilbao[edit]

Martínez was born in Estella-Lizarra, Navarre. Athletic de Bilbao signed him as a raw 17-year-old for €6 million in the summer of 2006, from fellow La Liga team CA Osasuna,[1] despite him never having played a game with the first team.

Martínez soon became a regular in the side in his debut season with powerful displays, his highlight being scoring twice against Deportivo de La Coruña in a 2–0 away success on 16 December 2006.[2] He finished the campaign with 35 games and three goals, and again was everpresent in the following two, helping Athletic to the Copa del Rey final in 2009.

In 2009–10 Martínez was the midfield engine of the team once more – 46 official matches, nine goals – and netted a career-best six times in the league campaign as Athletic narrowly missed on another UEFA Europa League qualification. In the 2011–12 season, under new manager Marcelo Bielsa, he began being regularly used as a central defender.[3]

Bayern Munich[edit]

On 29 August 2012, after FC Bayern Munich paid the buyout clause of €40 million in his contract, Martínez signed a five-year contract with the German club.[4] He thus became the transfer record in the 50-year history of the Bundesliga.[5]

Martínez made his official debut on 2 September – the day of his 24th birthday – coming on as a 77th minute substitute for Bastian Schweinsteiger in a 6–1 home win over VfB Stuttgart.[6] He scored his first goal for his new club against Hannover 96 on 24 November, netting the opener in an eventual 5–0 home triumph through a bicycle kick.[7]

Martínez scored his second goal for Bayern in their 6–1 demolition of SV Werder Bremen on 23 February 2013, heading home from an Arjen Robben free-kick to make the score 2–0 after thirty minutes.[8] Following the team's impressive 4–0 victory over FC Barcelona in the first-leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final clash on 23 April, he was lauded by many pundits for his all-around display and was credited as the key man in breaking up the tiki-taka football national teammates Xavi and Andrés Iniesta;[9] in the final game of his first season, he netted the first goal as the club came back from 0–2 and 1–3 down to win it 4–3 at Borussia Mönchengladbach.[10]

International career[edit]

At the age of 19 Martínez began appearing for Spain's U21, representing the nation at the 2009 UEFA European Football Championships in Sweden, in a group stage exit.

On 20 May 2010, he was named in the senior side's list of 23 for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, by manager Vicente del Bosque.[11] On the 29th he made his full debut, replacing FC Barcelona's Xavi in the 81st minute of a 3–2 friendly win against Saudi Arabia, in Innsbruck, Austria; on 3 June he started in another friendly, with South Korea (1–0 triumph, in the same venue), playing 80 minutes until David Silva took his place.

Martínez played once in the final stages, replacing injured Xabi Alonso for the final 20 minutes of the group stage 2–1 win against Chile on 25 June,[12] as Spain emerged victorious in the tournament. He returned to the under-21 setup for the 2011 European Championships in Denmark, captaining the national team to its third title in the category.

Martínez also appeared in one game at UEFA Euro 2012 for the eventual champions, again substituting Alonso midway through the second half, this time against the Republic of Ireland in the group stage (4–0 success).[13] He was described by del Bosque as "a complete player", with the manager comparing him to Patrick Vieira.[14]

Honours[edit]

Martínez with the Euro 2012 trophy

Club[edit]

Athletic Bilbao
Bayern Munich

Country[edit]

Spain
Spain U21
Spain U19

Individual[edit]

Club statistics[edit]

As of 1 June 2013
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Athletic Bilbao
2006–07 35 3 1 0 - - 36 3
2007–08 34 0 2 0 - - 36 0
2008–09 32 5 9 1 - - 41 6
2009–10 34 6 1 1 11 2 46 9
2010–11 35 4 3 0 - - 38 4
2011–12 31 4 9 0 14 0 54 4
Bayern Munich 2012–13 27 3 5 0 11 0 43 3
Total 228 25 30 2 36 2 294 29

Personal life[edit]

Martínez's older brother, Álvaro, is also a footballer, in the defender position. Having played mainly in the lower leagues, he had a brief spell in the second division, with SD Eibar.[15][16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Athletic spend big on starlet". Sky Sports. 2 July 2006. Retrieved 16 February 2010. 
  2. ^ "Angulo stunner sinks Zaragoza". UEFA.com. 16 December 2006. [dead link]
  3. ^ "Javi Martínez sueña con volver al centro del campo pero Bielsa le quiere de central" [Javi Martínez dreams of returning to midfield but Bielsa wants him as a stopper] (in Spanish). El Confidencial. 22 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012. 
  4. ^ "Bayern's record signing Spain international Martinez: I'm very happy". FC Bayern Munich. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012. 
  5. ^ "Javi Martinez joins Bayern Munich". ESPN Soccernet. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012. 
  6. ^ "Bayern Munich 6–1 VfB Stuttgart". ESPN Soccernet. 2 September 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2012. 
  7. ^ "Bayern hammer Hannover". ESPN Soccernet. 24 November 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2012. 
  8. ^ "Gomez stakes claim in Bayern rout". ESPN FC. 23 February 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013. 
  9. ^ Cox, Michael (23 April 2013). "Javi Martínez the key weapon as Bayern cut Barcelona down to size". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 May 2013. 
  10. ^ "Borussia Monchengladbach 3–4 Bayern Munich". ESPN FC. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013. 
  11. ^ "Spain omit Marcos Senna from 2010 World Cup squad". BBC Sport. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010. 
  12. ^ "Chile 1–2 Spain". BBC Sport. 25 June 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2012. 
  13. ^ "Spain turn on style to eliminate Ireland". UEFA.com. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012. 
  14. ^ "Del Bosque confident Bayern Munich will have 'plenty of fun' with Martinez". Goal.com. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2013. 
  15. ^ "Javi Martínez, a Suráfrica" [Javi Martínez, to South Africa] (in Spanish). Diario de Navarra. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2012. 
  16. ^ "Ya veras cómo pagas tú la cena" [You'll pay dinner that's for sure] (in Spanish). Deia. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2012. 

External links[edit]

FC Bayern Munich – current squad
Goalkeepers
Defenders
Midfielders
Forwards
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