Scouting Report - Alonso Martínez (Costa Rica, '98)
New York City FC / 2024 MLS Season Through 16 Matches / June 10, 2024
Having watched all 455 minutes of Alonso Martínez’s campaign with NYCFC so far this season, I can only conclude that he is a forward worth paying attention to. At 177cm, Martínez is not the tallest, most imposing forward you will come across, but if he is always in space when he receives the ball, that isn’t a trait that holds him back.
With 1.18 Goals/90, Alonso Martínez leads the MLS in this metric having scored 6 goals in 455 minutes. He has yet to play a full 90, usually playing between 30 and 70 minutes per match. Martínez tends to take up a center forward position in NYCFC’s 442 and 4231 setups but has found himself on the right wing on occasion as well.
Praxis
In Possession
Build-Up Outlet: When NYCFC are building out from the back, Martínez will often find space and an opportunity to drop deep as an outlet ball which he can quickly play out wide in order to escape the opposition’s high press. If a defender is aggressive and follows him into midfield, Martínez has no problem holding them off, shielding the ball well, and getting a pass off to the open man. Martínez is quite adept at holding players off despite his smaller size.
Link-Up Play: Martínez is always looking to link up with his teammates higher up the pitch. He has a set of highly repeatable actions that he frequents with great success. First, Martínez is often able to find pockets of space where he can receive the ball under little pressure. Sometimes this is him dropping into a half-space position, sometimes he is up against the back line, and other times he makes runs in-to-out to receive in wider spaces. Upon receiving the ball, Martínez often only takes one or two touches to release a close teammate who has made a run off of his in order to progress the attack. These interchanges have a very high completion rate when they can be found.
Out Of Possession
Willing Presser: Martínez, as the first line of pressure when the opposition is playing out from the back, is always looking to force opponents into tricky decisions. I would not call NYCFC’s high press a particularly aggressive or complete one, but Martínez is almost always willing to close down opposition players. He curves his runs as he approaches opponents in order to force them into playing towards a certain area of the pitch. Martínez doesn’t often win the ball from such situations but NYCFC seems perfectly happy to win the ball in their mid-block and counter quickly. If Martínez were to move to a team that was looking to constantly press aggressively, I believe he could easily adapt.
A Look at the Data
Martínez’s goal ratio stands out the most on his radar (Thank you as always, Ben, for this tool) but despite its early mention in this report, goal scoring hasn’t even been discussed. This is because I think Martínez’s goal record is a direct result of his repeated actions and traits that were focused on.
His short and medium pass percentage is slightly above average for a CF, but his second assist rate is in the top 10%. This reflects his ability and intention to initiate link-up play with teammates and how successful it is. When you look at how most of the other stats are near the bottom 15%, you can understand how narrowly focused his play style is. His actions are highly repeatable and highly effective.
What Next?
At 25 years of age, I doubt Martínez’s style will change too much and I don’t see a reason that it would need to. He has an excellent understanding of the game and relates to his teammates, the ball, and space at a very high level. I believe his play style suits a variety of team set-ups and if he can continue to gain confidence and experience with NYCFC, I can see him moving to a higher caliber league. It would be helpful for Martínez to get more consistent playing time as well. As long as he is part of an outfit where he can combine with other players and won’t be expected to play in isolation, Alonso Martínez can perform well.