“I like to live peacefully and enjoy life, not just in soccer,” says Josef Martinez reflecting on his time since moving to the United States. You’d be forgiven for being slightly taken aback by that statement, considering the fury with which the Atlanta United striker has played on the way to an MLS record 31 goals this season. And while Martinez brushed off questions about the record during the regular season, he’s more candid as he prepares for Atlanta’s opening game in the MLS playoffs this weekend.
“It was the dream since the first day,” says the Venezuelan. “The coaching staff knew the players we had and we made it a shared goal to break [the record].”
A huge part of Martinez’s feat was his partnership with Paraguayan playmaker Miguel Almiron, who led the team with 14 assists in the regular season. Their bond extends beyond the pitch as well. “Miguelito and I are best friends on and off the the pitch,” says Martinez. “We both know how we play, he knows the balls I want and where we want to get to on the pitch.” Their relationship was one of the main reasons Atlanta were the highest scoring team in MLS this season, with 70 goals in 34 games.
Martinez was apprehensive about signing for an expansion club when Atlanta joined the league in 2017, but the vision of manager Tata Martino convinced him United was the right choice. “I really liked the coach’s plan when they called me,” he says. “They gave me some time to think about it because I was coming from Serie A. I didn’t know a lot about MLS.”
That plan has made Martinez a focal point of a high-flying attack with wingers often making deep runs upfield. The 5ft 7in Martinez has also shown an impressive knack for finding himself on the end of crosses. “When Tito [Villalba] plays from the wings, and Julian [Gressel] … it’s enough to know that it’s at their feet for me to know where it’s going. We have that feeling.”
Martino announced last month that he will leave Atlanta at the end of the season, while Almiron has been linked to a move to Arsenal. But Martinez seems to be comfortable in Atlanta, for the time being at least. “When this seasons ends we’ll see what happens, but I live day to day and what I want and desire the most is to give the club the trophies it deserves,” he says.
Despite Martinez’s passion on the pitch, he cuts a laidback figure while talking to the Guardian. He puts that down, in part, to the difference between the press in the US and Italy, where he previously played for Torino. “The journalists are nicer [here] and luckily we [soccer players] are not LeBron James to be followed around,” he says.
While the pressures of playing in MLS may not be equivalent to Italy, he still feels a responsibility to be a role model. “Not just for the Venezuelans [but] all Latinos … You represent yourself, your team and a city and luckily a country, so you have to do it as best you can,” he says. “I have the responsibility to have people think the best of our countries, especially given what’s going on there.”
The food shortage and collapsing economy that have led to the largest refugee crisis in the Western hemisphere weigh heavily on Martinez. He has been vocal in his opposition to Venezuela’s strongman leader, Nicolás Maduro. In a now deleted Instagram post, Martinez posted a picture of Maduro with the word “assassin” written in red. Now, however, Martinez strikes a more measured tone. “Of course, I suffer because my family still lives there but I can’t come out and say what I think because I don’t live there,” he says. “But I’m not God to help everyone, I wish I could. But yeah, it’s the reality that we have to live with in this horrible moment. ”
Instead Martinez has focused recently on trying to make the biggest impact he can on the pitch for his countrymen. And while baseball may be the national sport of Venezuela, Martinez hopes he can inspire the nation as a soccer player too. “The first sport there has always been baseball, but when the Vinotinto play, even the baseball games are halted because of the excitement,” he says. “We have the being responsibility to give [fans] the gift that they deserve.”
For Martinez, who has nine goals in 44 appearances for Venezuela, the joy of playing for his nation hasn’t faded. And he wants to help Venezuela, the only Conmebol team to have never reached the World Cup, qualify for the tournament.
“I feel [like] part of the mission of getting us to the World Cup since the first day I put on the jersey,” he says. “It’s a boy’s dream. Every Venezuelan wants to live that moment, to see your team in the World Cup, so every player who wears the jersey has that responsibility.”
Still, for now, Martinez is focused on the looming MLS playoffs. Atlanta missed their chance for their first piece of silverware when they were pipped by New York Red Bulls for the Supporters’ Shield, awarded to the team with the best record during the regular season.
Atlanta remain one of the favorites to take the MLS Cup, but they will need to find their feet fast. That includes Martinez, whose penalty against Toronto FC broke his five-game scoring drought. Martinez, for his part, says he is more relaxed since breaking the 30-goal mark, and the fact that Atlanta kept on winning during his scoring drought shows they’re more than a one-man team. “Though [the ball] better go in during the playoffs, if not we’ll be in a bad place” he says, laughing.
It is only when he is asked if any team’s defense intimidates him going into the playoffs that Martinez’s feistiness emerges. “Any defender? No. I rather talk about my guys. Whoever is up, let them come. I’m not worried about them.”