João Martins (footballer, born 1988)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Neto and the second or paternal family name is Martins.
João Martins
Personal information
Full name João Paulo Neto Martins[1]
Date of birth (1988-06-30) 30 June 1988 (age 36)[1]
Place of birth Oliveira do Hospital, Portugal[1]
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1997–2000 Tourizense
2000–2007 Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2009 Sporting CP 0 (0)
2007−2008 → Olhanense (loan) 1 (0)
2008 → Olivais Moscavide (loan) 9 (0)
2008−2009 → Atlético (loan) 29 (9)
2009−2010 Gil Vicente 5 (0)
2010−2011 Vizela 21 (2)
2011−2012 Mafra 22 (1)
2012−2013 Naval 23 (4)
2013−2014 Académico Viseu 34 (3)
2014−2016 Penafiel 53 (7)
2016−2017 Académico Viseu 0 (0)
2017−2018 Mafra 0 (0)
Total 197 (26)
International career
2004 Portugal U16 3 (0)
2004−2005 Portugal U17 14 (0)
2006 Portugal U18 6 (2)
2006−2007 Portugal U19 13 (0)
2007−2008 Portugal U20 10 (1)
2008−2009 Portugal U21 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

João Paulo Neto Martins (born 30 June 1988) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Club career

Born in Oliveira do Hospital, Coimbra District, Martins played most of his youth football with Sporting CP, having arrived at the club's academy in 2000 at the age of 12. From 2007 to 2009 he was loaned to three teams, C.D. Olivais e Moscavide and Atlético Clube de Portugal in the third division and S.C. Olhanense in the second (one league match during the entire season for the latter side).[2][3]

Released by Sporting in summer 2009, Martins resumed his career mainly in the third tier. He returned to division two in 2012–13, signing for Associação Naval 1º de Maio.[4]

Martins joined second-division Académico de Viseu F.C. on 28 July 2013, on a one-year contract.[5] He moved to the Primeira Liga in June 2014, agreeing to a two-year deal at recently-promoted F.C. Penafiel.[6] He scored on his debut in the competition on 17 August, through a penalty, but in a 1−3 home loss against C.F. Os Belenenses;[7] the campaign ended in immediate relegation, as last.[8]

Martins retired in 2018 aged 30, following two injury-riddled seasons at Viseu and C.D. Mafra.[9][10]

International career

All youth levels comprised, Martins won 50 caps for Portugal and scored three goals. His first for the under-21 team arrived on 18 November 2008, when he played the last 25 minutes of the 4−1 friendly win over Spain in Cartaxo.[11]

Personal life

Martins' older brother, Carlos, was also a footballer and a midfielder. He also graduated from Sporting's youth system but with much more individual success, going on to also represent S.L. Benfica and Portugal.[12]

After retiring, Martins worked in glamping and as a mental coach.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "João Martins" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  2. ^ "João Martins de saída" [João Martins leaving]. Record (in Portuguese). 29 January 2008. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  3. ^ Silva Pires, Tiago (25 September 2008). "Carlos Martins conta com o apoio de irmão sportinguista para dérbi" [Carlos Martins has support of Sporting-made brother for derby]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Tozé Marreco e João Martins confirmados" [Tozé Marreco and João Martins confirmed]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 11 July 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  5. ^ "João Martins e Lourenço assegurados" [João Martins and Lourenço confirmed]. Record (in Portuguese). 29 July 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  6. ^ "João Martins e Capela oficializados" [João Martins and Capela made official]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 11 June 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  7. ^ Alvarenga, Vítor Hugo (17 August 2014). "Penafiel-Belenenses, 1–3 (destaques)" [Penafiel-Belenenses, 1–3 (highlights)] (in Portuguese). TVI 24. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  8. ^ Dantas, Nuno (17 May 2015). "Penafiel-Gil Vicente, 2–1 (crónica)" [Penafiel-Gil Vicente, 2–1 (report)] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  9. ^ Novo, David (31 May 2018). "No Dia dos Irmãos, a história de João Martins: "Foi difícil ser sempre comparado ao Carlos"" [On Brother's Day, the story of João Martins: "It was tough being compared to Carlos at all times"]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  10. ^ Soares, Ana Cristina (23 July 2018). "João Martins encerra carreira aos 30 anos: "É o momento certo"" [João Martins wraps up career at age 30: "It's the right time"] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  11. ^ Ferreira, Victor (18 November 2008). "Sub-21 renascem frente à Espanha com goleada que saiu da cabeça de Orlando Sá" [Under-21s come back to life against Spain with rout straight from Orlando Sá's head]. Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  12. ^ Travassos, Nuno (21 February 2014). "Carlos Martins defronta o irmão: "Não merece o que lhe fizeram"" [Carlos Martins faces brother: "He does not deserve what has been done to him"] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  13. ^ Simões, Miguel (11 August 2022). ""Esgaio? Punem-se comportamentos nos estádios, mas nas redes sociais..."" ["Esgaio? Behaviours are punished in stadia, but in social media..."] (in Portuguese). Notícias ao Minuto. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  14. ^ Lopes, Sara (23 January 2024). "O antigo jogador do Sporting que abriu "um pequeno paraíso" no centro do País" [The former Sporting player who opened "a little heaven" in Central Portugal] (in Portuguese). NiT. Retrieved 21 May 2024.