Javi Martínez
 Martínez during the 2011 UEFA U-21 Championship in Denmark. |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Javier Martínez Aguinaga | ||
| Date of birth | 2 September 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Estella, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Athletic Bilbao | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1993–1995 | Berceo | ||
| 1995–1997 | Logroñés | ||
| CD Arenas | |||
| Izarra | |||
| 2001–2005 | Osasuna | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2005–2006 | Osasuna B | 32 | (2) |
| 2006– | Athletic Bilbao | 180 | (20) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2005 | Spain U17 | 5 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Spain U19 | 5 | (0) |
| 2007–2011 | Spain U21 | 24 | (1) |
| 2010– | Spain | 7 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Javier "Javi" Martínez Aguinaga (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxaβi marˈtineθ aɣiˈnaɣa]; born 2 September 1988 in Estella-Lizarra, Navarre[1]) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Athletic Bilbao in La Liga. Mainly a defensive midfielder, he can also operate as a central defender.
Martínez also played for the Spanish national team and was a member of the squad that won the 2010 World Cup.
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[edit] Club career
Athletic de Bilbao signed Martínez as a raw 17-year old for €6 million, in the summer of 2006, from fellow La Liga team CA Osasuna,[2] despite him never having played a first team game.
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 16 December 2006 2–0 away success.[3] He finished the campaign with 35 matches and three goals, and again was everpresent in the following two, helping Athletic to the 2009 Copa del Rey final.
In the 2009 summer, Martínez was the subject of transfer speculation linking him to Liverpool, as a replacement for Real Madrid-bound Xabi Alonso, but rumors eventually died down.[4] The midfield engine of the team once more - 46 official matches, nine goals - he scored 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, Martínez began being regularly used as a central defender.[5]
[edit] International career
At the age of 19, Martínez began appearing for Spain's U21, representing the nation at the 2009 UEFA European 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.[6] 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, 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.
[edit] Honours
[edit] Club
- Athletic Bilbao
- Copa del Rey: Runner-up 2008–09
- Supercopa de España: Runner-up 2009
[edit] Country
- Spain
- Spain U21
- Spain U19
[edit] Individual
[edit] Club statistics
| 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 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 36 | 1 | |
| 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 | |
| Total | 170 | 19 | 16 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 197 | 23 | |
[edit] Personal life
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.
[edit] References
- ^ "J.Martínez". Athletic Club. http://www.athletic-club.net/web/main.asp?a=1&b=1&c=1&d=0&jokalaria=1613&idi=2. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
- ^ "Athletic spend big on starlet". Sky Sports. 2 July 2006. http://msnsport.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11840_2382346,00.html. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
- ^ Angulo stunner sinks Zaragoza; UEFA.com, 16 December 2006
- ^ Thursday's gossip column; BBC Sport, 28 May 2009
- ^ "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. http://www.elconfidencial.com/deportes/liga-bbva/2012/01/22/javi-martinez-suena-con-volver-al-centro-del-campo-pero-bielsa-le-quiere-de-central-91291/. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- ^ "Spain omit Marcos Senna from 2010 World Cup squad". BBC Sport. 20 May 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8695232.stm. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
[edit] External links
- Athletic Bilbao profile
- BDFutbol profile
- National team data (Spanish)
- 2010 FIFA World Cup profile
- Javi Martínez at National-Football-Teams.com
- Javi Martínez – FIFA competition record
- Javi Martínez – UEFA competition record
- Transfermarkt profile
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- 1988 births
- Living people
- People from Estella Oriental
- Spanish footballers
- Navarrese footballers
- Association football midfielders
- Association football utility players
- La Liga footballers
- CA Osasuna footballers
- Athletic Bilbao footballers
- Spain youth international footballers
- Spain under-21 international footballers
- Spain international footballers
- 2010 FIFA World Cup players
- FIFA World Cup-winning players
