Saúl Martínez

Saúl Asael Martínez Álvarez (; born 29 January 1976) is a Honduran former football forward who last played for Marathón.

Club career Nicknamed Speedy, Saúl Martínez was born in Colón, Honduras. He started his career at Honduran second division side Melgar before moving abroad to play for American outfit Long Island Rough Riders. He was assigned to Major League Soccer team Miami Fusion in 1999. His first game in Liga Nacional was on 10 December 2000 with Olimpia against Broncos.

China Martínez first attracted the attentions of Shanghai Shenhua when he scored four goals against Slovenia during the Lunar New Year Cup in Hong Kong in early 2002. Shenhua quickly signed him and afterwards, Martinez became one of the most important players in the Shenhua team. He would end up playing in Asia for five years, winning the 2003 Chinese league title with Shanghai Shenhua; that title was however taken away from the club in 2013 due to its part in a match-fixing scandal. He also won the 2003 Golden Boot Award with Shanghai.

In January 2008, Martínez joined Costa Rican side Herediano for three months after a move to F.C. Motagua did not materialise. He then had a couple of seasons at Marathón.

He made a remarkable return from retirement with Victoria in the 2010 Apertura season, topping the goalscoring charts at age 34 and ending the season as runner-up behind Jerry Bengtson with 11 goals. In July 2011 he returned for another spell at Marathón.

He retired from football at the end of 2011. In 2013, he returned to playing and joined compatriot Érick Vallecillo at newly formed Miami United of the National Premier Soccer League.

International career Martínez made his debut for Honduras in a July 2001 friendly match against Ecuador, in which he immediately scored a goal, and has earned a total of 35 caps, scoring 16 goals. He has represented his country in 11 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played at the 2007 and 2009 UNCAF Nations Cups His international breakthrough however came during the 2001 Copa América, when Honduras surprisingly ended third and Martínez scored the second goal in the historic win over World Cup runners-up Brazil.

His final international was a January 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup match against Panama.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 7 July 2001 Orange Bowl, Miami, USA 1–0 1–1 Friendly match 2 23 July 2001 Estadio Palogrande, Manizales, Colombia 2–0 2–0 2001 Copa América 3 29 July 2001 Estadio Nemesio Camacho, Bogotá, Colombia 1–0 2–2 2001 Copa América 4 12 February 2002 Hong Kong Stadium, So Kon Po, Hong Kong 1–0 5–1 Carlsberg Cup 5 12 February 2002 Hong Kong Stadium, So Kon Po, Hong Kong 2–1 5–1 Carlsberg Cup 6 12 February 2002 Hong Kong Stadium, So Kon Po, Hong Kong 3–1 5–1 Carlsberg Cup 7 12 February 2002 Hong Kong Stadium, So Kon Po, Hong Kong 4–1 5–1 Carlsberg Cup 8 31 January 2003 Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras 1–0 1–3 Friendly match 9 25 January 2004 Hong Kong Stadium, So Kon Po, Hong Kong 1–1 1–3 Carlsberg Cup 10 18 August 2004 Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, Alajuela, Costa Rica 5–2 5–2 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification 11 7 September 2005 Miyagi Stadium, Rifu, Japan 3–1 4–5 Friendly match 12 27 January 2007 Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino, Tegucigalpa, Honduras 1–1 1–1 Friendly match 13 15 February 2007 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador 6–1 9–1 2007 UNCAF Nations Cup 14 15 February 2007 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador 8–1 9–1 2007 UNCAF Nations Cup 15 15 February 2007 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador 9–1 9–1 2007 UNCAF Nations Cup 16 24 January 2009 Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino, Tegucigalpa, Honduras 3–1 4–1 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup

Honours Nacional Montevideo Uruguayan Primera División: 2001, 2002

Shanghai Shenhua Chinese Jia-A League: 2003 (revoked due to match-fixing scandal)

C.D. Marathón Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional de Honduras: 2008–09 (Apertura)