Everything you need to know about the prolific Argentine!
When you talk about one of the best strikers in the top five European leagues, Lautaro Martinez certainly makes the list. At just 25, he is one of the faces of Serie A and has played a big role in helping Inter Milan return to face Europe's elite.
Born on August 22, 1997, in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, Martinez began his football career in his hometown club, Liniers and made a name for himself at under-17 level. After catching the eye of the then-interim coach Fabio Radaelli, Racing Club de Avellaneda signed Martinez in January 2014 and made his professional debut in 2015. He scored 27 goals in 62 appearances for the club.
In 2018, he signed with Inter Milan for a reported fee of €22.7 million. Since joining Inter, Martinez has becoome one of the first names on the team sheet and was instrumental in Inter's triumphant Serie A campaign in the 2020-21 season, where he played all 38 league games and scored 17 goals along with 10 assists.
This season, he has helped Inter reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2009-10 season, scoring one goal and assisting one in the second leg of their quarter-final against Benfica.
In Serie A, his 17 goals are only behind Victor Osimhen's 21, but Inter face a tough battle with the likes of Juventus, Roma, AC Milan, and Atalanta for a top four finish.
Martinez has also been one of the regulars for the Argentina national team ever since making his international debut in 2018, representing his country in various international competitions, including the 2019 Copa America, where he helped Argentina reach the semi-finals. He was also a part of the 2022 World Cup winning squad. He has scored 21 goals in 48 appearances for .
Martinez's style of play is characterized by his agility, quickness, and clinical finishing in front of goal. He is also known for his tireless work rate and ability to press the opposition defenders, making him a valuable asset in the attacking phase as well as the defensive phase.
Here are some of the most interesting facts you need to know about Lautaro Martinez!
Followed in his father's footsteps
Lautaro Martinez's father Mario Martinez was a professional footballer himself. Born in 1972, he played as a left-back for Nacional B (second-tier of Argentine football system) for sides like Club Villa Mitre, Racing de Olavarria, Liniers de Bahia Blanca, and Club Rosario Puerto Belgrano.
AdvertisementCamaraderie with Braian Mansilla
Before Martinez had joined Racing Club in 2014, another centre forward had already joined the Racing Club academy, Braian Mansilla. They were both 16 years old when Martinez joined the club.
The two were directly competing for the centre forward spot, and Mansilla saw that Martinez was too good. He knew that the newcomer would take his spot as the centre forward.
After Martinez arrived, he couldn't easily adapt to his new surroundings and was feeling extremely homesick. At one point, he decided to leave Racing Club and return to his family in Bahia Blanca, which would have cleared the way for Mansilla.
One day, Mansilla noticed that Martinez was crying because of all the difficulties he was facing. What Mansilla told Martinez would change the latter's life.
“How are you going to leave, idiot? Do you know what this is? We can play in Primera! Stop f****** around, stay here, one day we're going to play together in there, and we're going to break in [into the first team]. Come on, stay," Mansilla told Martinez.
Although both these players were of the same age, Mansilla treated Martinez like his younger brother and motivated him to fight his apprehensions. They would end up playing together for Racing Club's first team a few years later.
"Braian was one of those who opened the doors for me," Martinez acknowledged in an interview with Argentine sports magazine El Grafico in 2017.
"He knew that I was coming to take his job, but he was always available. I wanted to go back to Bahia because I missed it, but he convinced me that I had to stay, enjoy this, that it is unique. I will always be grateful to him."
GettyThe story behind his scouting
Martinez and his teammates had a training session at Liniers with the Bahia team. Scouts from Racing Club's academy were already conducting trials. After Martinez and his team's training began, the Racing Club staff surprisingly decided to stay back.
One of the those staff members was Fabio Radaelli, who was the coach of the Racing Club reserve team back then. He noticed Martinez's quality and decided to scout him for a couple more games, before directly signing him without any trials. The rest is history as he went on to score 27 goals in 62 games for the first team.
“He is a mix between Juan Esnaider and Diego Milito," Radaelli claimed when praising the then-16-year-old.
"I remember when I first saw him, I asked myself if he was naturally left or right-footed as he controlled and played the ball with both [feet], and that remains the same today.
"After watching him for 10 minutes, I realised that he was a special kind of player.”
Would have been a basketball player if not a footballer
In the same interview with El Grafico, Martinez confessed his love for basketball, going as far as to say that he would have chosen to be a professional basketball player if he was not a footballer.
"I like it a lot," Martinez responded when asked if he liked basketball.
"As a boy I played basketball, but at 15 I had to choose [between basketball and football] and I decided on football. But, if I weren't a football player, I would play basketball, I love it. What's more: I'd rather watch a basketball game than a football game."