“I was just talking about it with Jurriën Timber”, the Argentinian answers about his buddy central in the defense of the national champion. “You kind of have to kill our defenders to score. We’ve got that mentality in place.”
Ajax remained against FC Twente for the eighteenth time in 22 competition matches without a goal. The leader has already won 5-0 in the Eredivisie for the eighth time this season. Martínez is proud of the goal difference of 69 goals and only five conceded. “We train hard and it’s great to see things come out on the field. If we all defend well, our attackers can excel. Even in the Champions League”, he refers to a run of six group matches without loss points.
Amsterdam canals
Director of football affairs Marc Overmars, who left abruptly last week, transferred about 7 million euros to Defensa y Justicia in the summer of 2019 for the arrival of Martínez. The transfer turned out to be a direct hit, even though the 24-year-old defender can only really call himself a basic player this season. Martínez has understood that the director of football affairs has been guilty of transgressive behavior towards female employees. “But I don’t really have an opinion about that right now,” he says.
Martínez prefers to talk about how much fun he has in Amsterdam. The defender enjoys walking along the canals in the center. “And people respect me and leave me alone. It’s nice to be able to walk normally on the street.”
Support from Tagliafico
His good game at Ajax has now also been noticed by national coach Lionel Scaloni of Argentina. Martínez was recently a basic player during the international matches against Chile and Colombia in the World Cup qualifier. Playing soccer with Lionel Messi at the World Cup in Qatar is now a realistic goal. “I have always believed in that,” says Martínez. „Even when I did not play all duels with Ajax in recent seasons. I want to be the best in my position.”
Martínez has had a lot of support from Nicolás Tagliafico in recent seasons when he had to sit on the bench more often than he would like. “It is difficult if you give everything every day but sometimes you are not allowed to play much. Nico showed me around here. Now I help him a little because he doesn’t play everything. But he is a fighter and will definitely come back. We Argentines don’t just give up.”