ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Vital Stats
Josef Alexander Martinez Mencia
Born 5/19/93
Native of Venezuela
Obtained US Green Card in July 2018
Club History
First club was Caracas FC on
First professional appearance was 8/21/10 entering as a sub in the 70th min
Scored his first goal against Deportivo Petare on 11/21/10
Young Boys - Swiss club based in Bern Switzerland.
Sold to Young Boys on 1/3/12 for 4 years
made his debut on 2/5/12 against Servette
Solid performance lead to a call up to the Venezuela National Team
First start with Young Bots was 10/21/12
Scored his first goal with the Swiss club in the 50th minute vs Grasshopper Club Zurich
Short Loan to FC Thun
After 1 season with Young Boys, they sent him on loan to Thun
Scored 8 goals in 18 games with Thun
This put him in running for top scorer in the Swiss Super League
He was quickly recalled to the Young Boys
Torino - Italian Serie A Club from Turin, Piedmont - nicknamed I Granata, Italian for Maroon
Transfer fee was 3 million euro
First appearance for the club was 7/31/14 in the third round of the Europa League (tournament)
First goal for the club was on the second leg of the third round, second appearance with the club
Scored a brace in Europa League vs Copenhagen
League debut was 9/14/14 vs sampdoria
First goal in Serie A was 12/7/14 vs Palermo
First brace in Serie A was 4/30/16
The King comes to Atlanta
2/2/17 loaned with option to buy to ATLUTD
League debut was the first game in the regular season v Red Bulls lost 2-1
Yamil Asad scored the first goal for the club
First Career hat trick / first hat trick in club history was the next week
smashed minnesota united 6-1
won player of the week (week 2)
Week 1 - debut, week 2 - Hat Trick, Week 3 - ATL UTD exercises the option to buy
that didn’t take long..
undisclosed transfer fee at the time is now showing as $4.95mil per transfermarkt.us
Week 4 - MLS player of the month
5 goals in first 3 games in the league
Injuries in the first season
3/23/17 playing with the Venezuelan nation team v peru injured his left quadricep (it was his right knee if you are thinking what I am thinking)
First match back from this injury was U.S. Open Cup v Charleston Battery on June 14th
missed the match on 7/27 due to this foot contusion
Jumped back in ready to show his royalty in September with back to back hat tricks vs New england rev and Trashlando
Player of the month in September
20 goals in 20 appearances in 2017
Season 2 2018
broke league record for Hat Tricks on 7/21/18 v DC United after only 44 games
Player of the month for July scoring 9 goals with 1 assist
Josef scored the only goal in the 2018 MLS All-Star game v Juventus (1-1 draw)
MVP of that game (duh)
8/24/18 broke the single season goal record of 27 - ended at 31
goal scored v orlando
orlando was talking trash (pun intended) about preventing him from breaking the record
Josef had a cheeky chip past Joe Bendik and turned to speak to him as the ball hit the back of the net
MLS Player of the month - august
won the golden boot and an MLS Cup… but more awards and accolades later
Season 3 - 2019
broke single season goal scoring streak record running the record up to 15 games before he was stopped
scored the record breaker vs our wonderful friends from the wrong side of the tracks, don’t call me trashlando
tied for second world wide in goal scoring with Tor Henning Hamre (21 goals in 15 games) behind Messi 33 goals in 21 games
Streak ended with an injury…. a right knee injury from an awkward collision with Pity v San Jose Earthquakes
he was stretched off
I think we all know what happened at the beginning of 2020
When his right knee was injured in 2019, FDB said no ligament dmg and “nothing broken” per doug roberson
Beer of the week: Steady Hand
Lager - featuring 100% regionally sourced craft malts, our lager is crisp and dry in flavor with light flora hoppiness and a clean finish - cans are red white and blue and modeled after evil kinveal.
Style
Primary Striker
Venezuelan Viper
accurate with both feet and his head
vicious attack and drive to score a goal
can find his way into the right position
Stats
Total Appearances across all clubs and competitions 2011-2020 - 291
Total goals across all clubs and competitions - 133
scored in 45.7% of games played
ATL UTD Appearances in league play- 84
ATLUTD goals - 77
scored in 91.6% of games
ATL UTD apps all comps - 103
goals all comps - 90
87.3% of games played
ATL UTD Post season apps - 9
post season goals 5
55.5% of games
Scored game winning PK in the Campeones Cup
apps in CCL - 6
goals in CCL - 5
Notable Factoids and accolades
MLS Cup 2018
US Open Cup 2019
Campeones Cup 2019
MLS Best XI 3 years in a row 2017-2019
MLS MVP - 2018
Golden Boot - 2018
MLS All Star - 2018, 2019
MLS All Star MVP - 2018
MLS Player of the month (6), (2) in 2017, (2) 2018, (2) 2019
MLS Cup MVP - 2018
MLS Goal of the Year - 2019
Memorable quotes
“What we do in life echoes in eternity.” is tattooed on his neck
“God is my guide and family is my strength” is tattooed on his forearms
“Atlanta es familia”
“We are the only team in this city that wins shit” - thank you felipe cardenas keep doing what you are doing!
A core memory about his grandparents that would shape him fundamentally -
“That’s the thing I remember most about growing up with him and my grandmother: They really cared about whatever they did. My parents had me and my sister at a young age, so my childhood was just different. My grandparents saw the darkness of the world — the crime and the struggle in Colombia — before they moved to Venezuela. So it made me see the world as a place where you had to work hard for everything you got. Everything. You had to care. Otherwise you’d be in trouble.”
What does Atlanta mean to you? - “Atlanta is family. Atlanta means family.”
