Thiago Martins (footballer, born 1976)
 Martins playing for FK Bodø/Glimt | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thiago Martins | ||
| Date of birth | 4 September 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | São Paulo, Brazil | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Clube Atlético Juventus | |||
| 1997–1998 | Santa Barbara City College | ||
| 1999–2000 | UC Santa Barbara Gauchos | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001 | San Diego Flash | 20 | (3) |
| 2002 | Minnesota Thunder | 11 | (2) |
| 2002–2003 |
Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 33 | (30) |
| 2003 | D.C. United | 5 | (0) |
| 2005 | Chivas USA | 22 | (3) |
| 2006 | New York Red Bulls | 1 | (0) |
| 2006 | Colorado Rapids | 25 | (3) |
| 2007–2010 | FK Bodø/Glimt | 83 | (34) |
| Total | 200 | (72) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:48, 2 September 2014 (UTC) | |||
Thiago Martins (born 4 September 1976) is a retired Brazilian footballer who played professionally in the United States and Norway.
Early life and education
Martins was born on the east side of São Paulo, Brazil, and came to the United States in 1996. He landed in Los Angeles, at 19 years old and with little money. He eventually made his way to Santa Barbara, California, where he slept in hotels until his money ran out. He had to resort to sleeping on the beach. Fortunately he awoke one morning to a group of people playing soccer on the beach and joined them. One of the players took Martins into their home, even though Martins spoke little English or Spanish and they spoke no Portuguese.[1] He began to play soccer in Sunday leagues, where Tim Vom Steeg noticed his skill as he attempted to defend him in one game.
He was up top and I was a defender, so I covered him. I've covered a lot of forwards, Eric Wynalda for example, but no one was as strong as Thiago. He was just so powerful. When the game ended we talked, and I asked him if he was interested in playing at City College and getting an education.
Thiago agreed and started taking classes at Santa Barbara City College, where he also played soccer for two years from 1997 to 1998 under head coach Tim Vom Steeg. Vom Steeg soon moved to nearby University of California, Santa Barbara to take up their head coaching position with loyal Martins transferring as well.
In 1999, his first season with the
Professional career
USL A-League
Martins left UC Santa Barbara after the 2000 season to play for the now-defunct
Major League Soccer
With United, he played in five games before the end of the season. While training following the 2003 season, Martins tore his left
Martins was traded to
FK Bodø/Glimt
Against
Personal life
In 2016, Martins was teaching special-needs children and coaching a semi-professional Norwegian soccer team. When not teaching or coaching, he surfs and in October 2016 participated in the Lofoten Masters surfing competition in Unstad in the Lofoten Islands of Norway. [1]
Career statistics
| Season | Club | Division | League | Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 2007 | Bodø/Glimt | Adeccoligaen
|
26 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 17 |
| 2008 | Tippeligaen
|
13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 5 | |
| 2009 | 21 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 5 | ||
| 2010 | Adeccoligaen
|
23 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 8 | |
| Career Total | 83 | 34 | 5 | 1 | 88 | 35 | ||
Honors
Individual
- 2003
References
- ^ Soccer strikes chord with Martins From http://www.denverpost.com. Retrieved 19 October 2006.
- ^ HOME MAKER; After living on the beach for a time with little money, Chivas USA's Martins finally found success in U.S. From http://www.latimes.com/. Retrieved 20 July 2005.
- ^ Cal State Northridge Edges Men's Soccer 1–0 In OT Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine From http://ucsbgauchos.cstv.com Archived 21 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 November 1999.
- ^ 2000 Final Statistics Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine From http://ucsbgauchos.cstv.com Archived 21 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 November 2000.
- ^ "2/26/01: 2001 A-League Draft". Archived from the original on 2 September 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "San Diego Flash Come Away with A Wealth of Talent after 2001 Draft". Archived from the original on 2 September 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ^ "Thunder Releases Forward Thiago Martins". Archived from the original on 21 August 2002. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "RIVERHOUNDS SIGN FORWARD". Archived from the original on 8 August 2002. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
External links
- FK Bodø/Glimt player profile (in Norwegian)
- Thiago Martins at Major League Soccer
- Colorado Rapids player profile at the Wayback Machine (archived 22 October 2006)
- "New York Red Bulls player profile". Archived from the original on 14 April 2006. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "Chivas USA player profile". Archived from the original on 19 February 2006. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "DC United player profile". Archived from the original on 9 March 2004. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "Pittsburgh Riverhounds player profile". Archived from the original on 6 January 2005. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "Minnesota Thunder player profile". Archived from the original on 5 October 2003. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - UC Santa Barbara player profile
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
