Carlos Martins
Encyclopedia
Carlos Jorge Neto Martins (born 29 April 1982 in Oliveira do Hospital, Coimbra) is a Portuguese
footballer who plays for Granada CF
in Spain
, on loan from Sport Lisboa e Benfica.
An attacking midfielder, he is noted for his long-range shots.
-based side. He made his first division debuts with modest S.C. Campomaiorense
and, from January–June 2003, was again loaned, to fellow league side Académica de Coimbra.
In the 2005–06 season, despite the everpresent physical problems as well many disciplinary wrongdoings, Martins was still able to score two goals in only 13 starts. With all his talent seemingly going to waste, Martins needed to improve his defensive and professional attitude to optimize his game.
cut Martins for the final three months of the season, and although a player still under contract, moving abroad was the only option for the very problematic player and, in June, he transferred to La Liga
team Recreativo de Huelva
to start anew.
On November, Portuguese network RTPi interviewed Martins about his situation at Sporting and the player responded: "My situation with coach Bento has been a very bad one. I was constantly pressured to perform and when I did eventually get the call-up to the national side, it got so far that it almost turned into a physical confrontation". Bento denied this despite media sources releasing information of the two that went back to Bento's playing career at Sporting.
Afterwords, Martins recognized some wrong attitudes on his part and issued an apology to Paulo Bento.
Martins finished the season with six goals in 32 appearances. He was a fan favourite at the Nuevo Colombino and was dubbed their version of Steven Gerrard
by media sources and fans, also being nicknamed Carlitos.
3 million for the transfer (40% to Recreativo, 40% to Sporting and 20% to the player). Regularly used during his first campaign, although never an undisputed starter, he netted his first goal for the club in a 2–0 win at Vitória de Guimarães for the Portuguese League Cup; also in that competition, he scored the decider in the penalty shootout final win over former side Sporting, on 21 March 2009.
Early into the following season, Martins lost some starting XI room, mainly due to recurrent injuries. However, in the second part of the campaign, he bounced back and figured prominently for Jorge Jesus' side. On 21 March 2010, exactly 365 days after the last final, he helped Benfica renew their League Cup supremacy, as he netted in a 3–0 win against F.C. Porto, from a 30-meter free kick
.
On 13 August 2011, Benfica loaned Martins to Granada CF
- recently promoted
to the Spanish top division - in a season
-long move.
finished in 4th place at the 2006 FIFA World Cup
, Martins, a former U-21
international was, for the first time, called to the senior squad for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers against Finland
and Denmark
, performing well.
Appearing rarely in the following four years, he received a surprise callup in September 2010 for the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign
matches against Denmark and Iceland
, as former Sporting coach Bento was in charge of the national team; he started in both games, consecutive 3–1 wins.
Benfica
home fixture against Bosnia and Herzegovina
, it was announced that Martins' three-year-old son Gustavo suffered from a rare bone marrow
condition, needing an urgent transplant. The player spent nearly two weeks in his country, returning to action for Granada (as a starter) in an home game against RCD Mallorca
on the 20th, scoring the 1–1 equalizer and being booked shortly aftewards for a reckless challenge, with the game being eventually suspended minutes later after a 15-year old vandal hit the assistant referee
with an umbrella
.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
footballer who plays for Granada CF
Granada CF
Granada Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 14 April 1931, it currently plays in La Liga, holding home matches at Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes....
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, on loan from Sport Lisboa e Benfica.
An attacking midfielder, he is noted for his long-range shots.
Sporting
Martins was a product of the youth system of Sporting Clube de Portugal, joining its ranks at the age of eight. Though a promising player, he had a string of injuries and subpar performances that made him underachieve almost every season of the five years he spent on the senior books of the LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
-based side. He made his first division debuts with modest S.C. Campomaiorense
S.C. Campomaiorense
Sporting Clube Campomaiorense is a Portuguese football club, founded in 1926, and based in Campo Maior.The club had a professional football section that played five seasons at the top level of Portuguese football and reached the Cup of Portugal final in 1999.Campomaiorense was first promoted to the...
and, from January–June 2003, was again loaned, to fellow league side Académica de Coimbra.
In the 2005–06 season, despite the everpresent physical problems as well many disciplinary wrongdoings, Martins was still able to score two goals in only 13 starts. With all his talent seemingly going to waste, Martins needed to improve his defensive and professional attitude to optimize his game.
Recreativo
However, in February 2007, after several bouts of indiscipline at Sporting, coach Paulo BentoPaulo Bento
Paulo Jorge Gomes Bento is a retired Portuguese footballer, and the current manager of Portugal.A defensive midfielder with tackling ability and workrate as his main assets, he played for two of the major three teams in his country, also playing four years in Spain...
cut Martins for the final three months of the season, and although a player still under contract, moving abroad was the only option for the very problematic player and, in June, he transferred to La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
team Recreativo de Huelva
Recreativo de Huelva
Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 23 December 1889, it is the oldest football team in Spain, and currently plays in the second division, holding home games at Estadio Nuevo Colombino, which has a...
to start anew.
On November, Portuguese network RTPi interviewed Martins about his situation at Sporting and the player responded: "My situation with coach Bento has been a very bad one. I was constantly pressured to perform and when I did eventually get the call-up to the national side, it got so far that it almost turned into a physical confrontation". Bento denied this despite media sources releasing information of the two that went back to Bento's playing career at Sporting.
Afterwords, Martins recognized some wrong attitudes on his part and issued an apology to Paulo Bento.
Martins finished the season with six goals in 32 appearances. He was a fan favourite at the Nuevo Colombino and was dubbed their version of Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
by media sources and fans, also being nicknamed Carlitos.
Benfica
On 1 July 2008, Martins signed a five-year deal with Sport Lisboa e Benfica, with the club paying €Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
3 million for the transfer (40% to Recreativo, 40% to Sporting and 20% to the player). Regularly used during his first campaign, although never an undisputed starter, he netted his first goal for the club in a 2–0 win at Vitória de Guimarães for the Portuguese League Cup; also in that competition, he scored the decider in the penalty shootout final win over former side Sporting, on 21 March 2009.
Early into the following season, Martins lost some starting XI room, mainly due to recurrent injuries. However, in the second part of the campaign, he bounced back and figured prominently for Jorge Jesus' side. On 21 March 2010, exactly 365 days after the last final, he helped Benfica renew their League Cup supremacy, as he netted in a 3–0 win against F.C. Porto, from a 30-meter free kick
Direct free kick
A direct free kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football following a foul. Unlike an indirect free kick, a goal may be scored directly against the opposing side without the ball having first touched another player.-Award:...
.
On 13 August 2011, Benfica loaned Martins to Granada CF
Granada CF
Granada Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 14 April 1931, it currently plays in La Liga, holding home matches at Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes....
- recently promoted
2010–11 Segunda División
-Personnel and sponsorship:-Managerial changes:-League table:||style="background-color:#F9F9F9;"|||rowspan=11 style="background-color:#F9F9F9;"|-Positions by round:Source: -Results:...
to the Spanish top division - in a season
2011–12 La Liga
The 2011–12 La Liga season is the 81st since its establishment. Barcelona are the defending champions, having won their 21st La Liga title in the previous season for the third time in a row. The campaign began on 27 August 2011, and will end on 13 May 2012...
-long move.
International career
After PortugalPortugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
finished in 4th place at the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
, Martins, a former U-21
Portugal national under-21 football team
The Portugal national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Portugal and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation . They are nicknamed "Esperanças." Esperança means hope, thus they are Portugal's hopes for the future...
international was, for the first time, called to the senior squad for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers against Finland
Finland national football team
The Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland....
and Denmark
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
, performing well.
Appearing rarely in the following four years, he received a surprise callup in September 2010 for the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 is a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, to be held in Poland and Ukraine...
matches against Denmark and Iceland
Iceland national football team
The Iceland national football team is the national football team of Iceland and is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland. It has never advanced to the finals of any major international competition....
, as former Sporting coach Bento was in charge of the national team; he started in both games, consecutive 3–1 wins.
Honours
Sporting- Portuguese Supercup: 2002
- UEFA Cup: Runner-up 2004–05
Benfica
- Portuguese League: 2009–10
- Portuguese League Cup: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–112010–11 Taça da LigaThe 2010–11 Taça da Liga was the fourth edition of the portuguese Taça da Liga. The first matches were played on August 8, 2010. The final was scheduled on April 23, 2011 where Benfica beat Paços de Ferreira 2-1, and won their third title. The final was played at the Estadio Cidade de Coimbra,...
Club statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sporting | 2000–01 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Campomaiorense S.C. Campomaiorense Sporting Clube Campomaiorense is a Portuguese football club, founded in 1926, and based in Campo Maior.The club had a professional football section that played five seasons at the top level of Portuguese football and reached the Cup of Portugal final in 1999.Campomaiorense was first promoted to the... |
2001–02 | 27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1 |
| Sporting | 2002–03 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| Académica | 2002–03 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Sporting | 2003–04 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 2 |
| Sporting | 2004–05 | 22 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 31 | 7 |
| Sporting | 2005–06 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 |
| Sporting | 2006–07 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Total (Portugal) | 141 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 166 | 16 | |
| Recreativo Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 23 December 1889, it is the oldest football team in Spain, and currently plays in the second division, holding home games at Estadio Nuevo Colombino, which has a... |
2007–08 | 32 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 6 |
| Total (Spain) | 32 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 6 | |
| Benfica | 2008–09 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 35 | 1 |
| Benfica | 2009–10 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 30 | 7 |
| Benfica | 2010–11 | 25 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 45 | 3 |
| Total (Portugal) | 66 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 26 | 0 | 110 | 11 | |
| Career totals | 239 | 25 | 18 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 39 | 0 | 308 | 33 | |
- Last updated on 27 July 2011
Personal
On 15 November 2011, during Portugal's Euro 2012 playoffUEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 is a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, to be held in Poland and Ukraine...
home fixture against Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team
The Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team is the national football team of Bosnia and Herzegovina, governed by the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
, it was announced that Martins' three-year-old son Gustavo suffered from a rare bone marrow
Bone marrow
Bone marrow is the flexible tissue found in the interior of bones. In humans, bone marrow in large bones produces new blood cells. On average, bone marrow constitutes 4% of the total body mass of humans; in adults weighing 65 kg , bone marrow accounts for approximately 2.6 kg...
condition, needing an urgent transplant. The player spent nearly two weeks in his country, returning to action for Granada (as a starter) in an home game against RCD Mallorca
RCD Mallorca
Real Club Deportivo Mallorca is a Spanish football team based on Palma, Majorca, in the Balearic Islands. Founded on 5 March 1916, the team currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at Son Moix....
on the 20th, scoring the 1–1 equalizer and being booked shortly aftewards for a reckless challenge, with the game being eventually suspended minutes later after a 15-year old vandal hit the assistant referee
Assistant referee (association football)
In association football, an assistant referee is one of several officials who assist the referee in controlling a match. Two officials, traditionally known as linesmen , stand on the touchlines, while a fourth official assists administrative or other match related tasks as directed by the referee...
with an umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
.