On Thursday, June 1st. the Philadelphia Union announced that the club have extended their 28-year-old Venezuelan midfielder, Jose Martinez, through 2025 with a club option in 2026. Martinez has become a fan favorite for the way he plays the game hard and never gives up on plays.
Martinez made his debut in 2020 against LAFC and has continued to improve on the field. Martinez has become an integral part of this starting XI. When Martinez is not on the field, his absence can be felt. Both from a passion standpoint and skill.
While Martinez has always been a little hotheaded, he also finds ways to get under the skin of opposing teams. Maritnez has the most recoveries per game when compared to all the midfielders in the MLS since coming to the club. Martinez has an average of 9.6 recoveries per game making him the best midfielder in the league among the rest.
“Jose has continuously demonstrated his importance to this team, with his passion and performance proving vital to the team’s success over the past few seasons. He’s dominant in the midfield and an important piece in our transition on attack. We’re happy to have reached an agreement to extend his stay in Philadelphia.” Union’s sporting director Ernst Tanner said while speaking on the contract and importance of Martinez to this club.
Throughout the season, we have heard Head Coach Jim Curtin talk about how much Jose Martinez means to the club. When he went off injured against LAFC in their 1-1 tie in the CONCACAF Champions League. When he went down, the game turned into LAFC’s favor and LAFC was able to get the tying goal.
Martinez has 78 appearances for the Union with 75 of them being starts. Martinez has also notched 22 appearances for the Venezuelan National Team. Martinez continues to grow and get better each appearance. Hopefully we see this trend continue moving forward!