Former Torino striker dominating American soccer

Matthew Klimberg
05 ott 2017

Former Torino FC striker Josef Martinez has made the most of his first season in America. As a member of expansion club Atlanta United, the Venezuelan has notched a remarkable 18 goals in only 18 matches, and has helped his side to an improbable third place position in MLS.

On Thursday, Martinez’s recent run of form was rewarded with the MLS Player of the Month award for September. The striker netted nine goals in six matches, including a pair of hat-tricks, last month as Atlanta went 5-0-2 to rocket up the MLS standings.

Despite sustaining a pair of injuries that have kept him out of 14 matches, Martinez is only three points off the league scoring lead, and just one goal behind New York City FC’s David Villa. Under the tutelage of Tata Martino in Atlanta, Martinez is showing that Sinisa Mihajlovic made a mistake by letting him go, especially in the wake of the injury to Andrea Belotti.

Between Martinez and Sebastian Giovinco, products of Italian clubs have shown that they can thrive when given the opportunities to lead clubs. Such successes should persuade MLS owners to pursue more young talent abroad in an effort to increase the level of competition. For young players in Italy struggling with playing time, they should look to Martinez and Giovinco for direction.