Josef Martinez: The new king of MLS

MLS has a new goal-scoring king as Josef Martinez was able to break the single-season goal record of 27 with the game-winner against rivals Orlando City.

It was a cold snowy day in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Atlanta United was coming off their first-ever MLS match while also looking for the club’s first win after falling 2-1 to the New York Red Bulls. The whistle blew and, only three minutes later, Josef Martinez began his goal-scoring campaign in MLS with his first-ever goal for the Five Stripes. Martinez would later go on to score the club’s first ever hat-trick en route to a 6-1 win over the other expansion side, Minnesota United.

Now, just a year-and-a-half later, Major League Soccer has a new goal-scoring king. Josef Martinez earned his 28th goal of the regular season after chipping Orlando City goalkeeper Joe Bendik to secure a 2-1 victory for the visiting Atlanta United. Martinez’s goal set him apart from a three-way tie between Chris Wondolowski, Bradley Wright Phillips, and Roy Lassiter, all with 27 goals.

The Venezuelan began his career in Atlanta after leaving Italian club Torino, but only for a short time due to Martinez only being loaned out to Tata Martino. The loan would be short-lived as Martinez was quick to impress and was purchased by the Five Stripes, quickly making himself a vital part of a ruthless Atlanta attack.

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However, early on in the club’s expansion season, Martinez injured his left quadriceps against Peru while being called up for the Venezuelan national team. The forward would eventually return back to the field, only to be injured again in July forcing him to miss a large portion of the 2017 season. Although Martinez was sidelined throughout the season, he still gave the league hints of what he was capable of doing, scoring 19 goals in only 20 games played in the regular season.

Martinez and Atlanta concluded a historic 2017 season with a penalty-kick loss to the Columbus Crew in the first round of the playoffs in Mercedes Benz Stadium. Although no hardware was taken home, the Five Stripes gave fans more than enough reason to be excited about the 2018 season.

Part of the reason for the excitement was the possibility of having Martinez healthy for an entire season and what that could mean for an attack that had already caught the attention of managers across MLS.

The 2018 season began with an unexpected bump in the road, falling 4-0 on the road to the Houston Dynamo. However, Martinez and company were quick to bounce back with a 3-1 victory over D.C. United in front of another record-breaking crowd at Mercedes Benz stadium. And as expected, it was Martinez who opened up the scoring off a cross sent in by Hector Villalba for Atlanta’s first goal of the sophomore season.

Martinez would continue to victimize opposing defenses, even more so than the previous season, and so many times doing so multiple times in the same match. Martinez’s consistent dominance would earn him the hat-trick king of MLS when he earned his sixth MLS hat-trick against D.C. United in another 3-1 victory. The performance broke the record of five held by Landon Donovan, Sebastian Giovinco, Stern John, and Diego Serna.

The Venezuelan headed into the 2018 MLS All-Star Game with 25 goals and everyone asking the same question.

Could he do it against a big-time European club?

He would have the chance to answer that exact question when Italian legends Juventus arrived in Atlanta, Georgia. Martinez once again shined on the biggest stage when he found the back of the net in the 26th minute shortly after Juventus took the lead five minutes earlier from an Andrea Favelli header.

The All-Star break concluded and all eyes turned to Atlanta United and Josef Martinez to see when exactly the record would be broken. It took little recovery time as he was able to notch a brace against Toronto F.C. coming off only two days rest after the matchup with Juventus. Only one game later, the record was tied thanks to a wonderful left-footed strike to sneak by Columbus Crew goalkeeper Zack Steffen in the 31st minute.

Just a week later, the scene was set, a date in Orlando City Stadium with all eyes on Martinez and the all-time goal-scoring record. The forward was shut down for a good portion of the match but even the strongest of defenses cannot contain his inordinate, exuberant ability. After good play from Julian Gressel and Hector Villalba, Martinez was perfectly set up to chip the ball over Joe Bendik to break the 27-goal record and once again give Atlanta United all three points over their rivals.

Martinez has taken MLS by storm in only his second season in the league. As the 2018 regular season comes to a close with only eight matches remaining, fans across the continent will be focused on what he can do to build upon an already dominant season. He is the new king of MLS. Long live the king.