Álex Martínez (footballer, born 1990)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Martínez and the second or maternal family name is Sánchez.
Álex Martínez
Martínez with Elche in 2016
Personal information
Full name Alejandro Martínez Sánchez[1]
Date of birth (1990-08-12) 12 August 1990 (age 34)[1]
Place of birth Seville, Spain
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
 Atlético Sanluqueño
Number 3
Youth career
Betis
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Betis C 16 (0)
2009–2012 Betis B 60 (4)
2011–2017 Betis 40 (0)
2013–2014 → Murcia (loan) 40 (3)
2015–2016 → Elche (loan) 32 (0)
2017–2020 Granada 60 (3)
2021–2022 Hércules 44 (2)
2022–2024 Eldense 36 (3)
2024– Atlético Sanluqueño 8 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:22, 22 October 2024 (UTC)

Alejandro "Álex" Martínez Sánchez (born 12 August 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Atlético Sanluqueño.

Club career

Betis

Born in Seville, Andalusia, Martínez graduated from Real Betis' academy, and made his debut as a senior with the C team in 2010. After appearing regularly for the reserves in the Segunda División B, he made his first-team debut on 11 May 2011, starting in a 3–1 home win against CD Tenerife in the Segunda División.[2]

On 27 August 2011, while still registered with the B side, Martínez made his La Liga debut, coming on as a late substitute for Jefferson Montero in a 1–0 away victory over Granada CF.[3] After appearing rarely during the campaign (three appearances, 117 minutes of action), he was definitely promoted to the main squad in the summer of 2012.[4]

On 16 August 2013, Martínez renewed his contract with the Verdiblancos until 2017, and was immediately loaned to second-tier club Real Murcia.[5] He scored his first professional goal on 12 October, the game's only in a home defeat of Girona FC.[6]

Martínez suffered a severe knee injury on 10 November 2014, which kept him sidelined for seven months.[7] He only returned to the fields on 7 June of the following year, replacing Francisco Portillo in a 0–3 home loss to Sporting de Gijón.[8]

On 18 August 2015, Martínez was loaned to Elche CF in a season-long deal.[9] Upon returning to the Estadio Benito Villamarín, he acted mainly as a backup to new signing Riza Durmisi.[10][11]

Granada

On 26 June 2017, free agent Martínez signed a two-year contract with Granada CF, recently relegated from the top flight.[12] A starter in his first season, he dealt with several injury problems and eventually lost his starting spot to Quini in his second, which ended in promotion.[13]

Martínez was further down the pecking order in 2019–20, after Carlos Neva was promoted to the first team.[14][13] On 29 September 2020, after just one appearance during the whole campaign,[13] he terminated his contract.[15]

Later career

On 2 February 2021, Martínez joined Hércules CF of the third tier.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c Álex Martínez at AS.com (in Spanish) Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ Virtualmente... el Betis es nuevo equipo de Primera (Virtually... Betis are a new Primera team); Marca, 12 May 2011 (in Spanish)
  3. ^ El Betis gana de Primeras (Betis win First); Marca, 27 August 2011 (in Spanish)
  4. ^ El año de Álex Martínez (Álex Martínez's year); Marca, 15 July 2012 (in Spanish)
  5. ^ Álex Martínez jugará cedido esta temporada en el Murcia (Álex Martínez will play on loan this season at Murcia); Diario AS, 16 August 2013 (in Spanish)
  6. ^ El Murcia duerme en puestos de ascenso (Murcia sleep in the promotion places); Marca, 12 October 2013 (in Spanish)
  7. ^ Álex Martínez será baja entre seis y siete meses por una lesión de rodilla (Álex Martínez will be out between six and seven months due to a knee injury); Mundo Deportivo, 10 November 2014 (in Spanish)
  8. ^ El Sporting cumple en Sevilla y vuelve a Primera por la vía rápida (Sporting get job done in Seville and return to Primera through the fast lane); Marca, 7 June 2015 (in Spanish)
  9. ^ Álex Martínez se marcha cedido al Elche CF (Álex Martínez goes out on loan at Elche CF); Real Betis, 18 August 2015 (in Spanish)
  10. ^ Álex Martínez, novedad en la vuelta a los entrenamientos (Álex Martínez, novelty in return to training); ABC, 17 September 2016 (in Spanish)
  11. ^ El Betis hace oficial que no renovará a Álex Martínez (Betis make official Álex Martínez will not be renewed); El Correo de Andalucía, 26 June 2017 (in Spanish)
  12. ^ Comunicado | Álex Martínez se incorpora al Granada CF (Announcement | Álex Martínez joins Granada CF); Granada CF, 26 June 2017 (in Spanish)
  13. ^ a b c Los héroes de una temporada histórica: Álex Martínez (Heroes of an historic season: Álex Martínez); Granada en Juego, 1 August 2020 (in Spanish)
  14. ^ Las lesiones sacaron a Álex Martínez del sueño de la Copa (Injuries took Álex Martínez from Cup dream); Ideal, 15 August 2020 (in Spanish)
  15. ^ Acuerdo para la rescisión de Álex Martínez (Agreement for the rescision of Álex Martínez); Granada CF, 29 September 2020 (in Spanish)
  16. ^ Álex Martínez, la zurda del Este, está de vuelta (Álex Martínez, the left from the East, is back); Diario AS, 2 February 2021 (in Spanish)