Atlanta United’s striker Josef Martinez continues to terrorize the MLS defenses. Martinez scored his 27th goal this season in 3-1 win against Columbus Crew on Sunday and tied the MLS record for goals scored in a single season. Other players that have scored 27 goals in one year in the league are Roy Lassiter in 1996, Chris Wondolowski in 2012 and Bradley Wright-Phillips in 2014.
“When I get to 28 I’ll have something.” – said Martinez after the game.
“I mean, I tied it, but what I really want is to break it,” – he added. “So once I break it, I’ll be even more happy.“
Martinez will have a chance to break the record on Friday when United visits Orlando City.
Josef Martinez is already the most prolific scorer in the Major League Soccer history. The goal against Columbus was Martinez’s 46th in 45 regular-season MLS games, and he is now recorder when it comes to the number of goals scored in first two seasons in the league. This honor belonged to NYFC’s David Villa prior to this. Also, the 25-year-old holds MLS record for career hat-tricks, scoring six in his first 44 games.
Martinez received numerous congratulations from all around the league including his coach Tata Martino.
“First, I offer my congratulations to Josef because it’s a very important achievement for him, especially being only his second year in the league,” – said Martino. “I think it’s like a weight off of his shoulders, now that he’s tied the record everything that comes after this is extra.”
Josef Martinez started his career in his native Venezuela, playing for Caracas. In 2012 he secured a transfer to Swiss side Young Boys but didn’t have an overly successful season. After being loaned out to another Swiss club, Thun, Martinez was sold to Italy where he played for Torino. He struggled once again and opted to come to the United States, which turned out to be a great decision.
