Soccer <\/p>\n
LAFC<\/a> have fantastic food available to players at their training facility. David Mart\u00ednez<\/a> can attest to it. He is glad for it. Because while Mart\u00ednez is good at many things, he cannot cook.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cAbsolutely nothing!\u201d he told MLS Season Pass insider Michele Giannone during a recent sit-down interview.<\/p>\n \u201cI always eat here at the club or I go out for dinner or order.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n At age 19, Mart\u00ednez is on his own in Los Angeles, a very different place, very far from the Venezuelan state of Monagas where he took his first steps as a professional soccer player. This weekend, Mart\u00ednez and LAFC host St. Louis CITY SC<\/a> on Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire, looking to make it three games unbeaten (7 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+<\/a>).<\/p>\n The youngest in the household, his parents moved nearly three hours from El Tigre to Matur\u00edn to ensure they\u2019d be there as he rose from youth soccer to the professional level in Venezuela.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mom never left me alone, and I think it was really important for me to have my parents there supporting me because I know a lot of players would\u2019ve wanted to have the support I had. I had that opportunity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re always in touch, doing video calls. In fact, before matches I\u2019m almost always calling her, talking with her while I\u2019m getting ready.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n David Mart\u00ednez takes it the distance after winning the ball at midfield ???????? pic.twitter.com\/Mo9Dv9Iyj8<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 LAFC (@LAFC) March 8, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n It hasn\u2019t been easy to be far from his family, who were ever-present as he started his soccer journey. In fact, Mart\u00ednez was sitting on the bench with his brother when he debuted in a Copa Libertadores preliminary round match for Monagas FC in 2022. He and Esteban, a center back, would share the field in league play before David\u2019s 2024 move to the United States.<\/p>\n Despite being far from his loved ones, Mart\u00ednez feels blessed to play in MLS with LAFC.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s crazy because it\u2019s what I always dreamed of since I was little, what I was working for all this time,\u201d he said. \u201cBeing able to achieve this goal is beautiful, but I know better things can come and I\u2019m working every day to achieve that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u00bfFutbolista o Karate Kid? ???? pic.twitter.com\/kmEISjlXjT<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 L\u00c1FC (@SomosLAFC) March 23, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n A move away from home had been coming for some time, with Ajax and other teams interested in acquiring Mart\u00ednez thanks to his performances with Monagas and Venezuela\u2019s youth national teams. LAFC ended up being the right destination with the right fit, and Mart\u00ednez is now looking to repay the club\u2019s faith in him with results.<\/p>\n He closed 2024 with four goals and a pair of assists in 447 minutes, but is already on track to surpass those totals this season as he becomes a more critical piece in Steve Cherundolo\u2019s attack. He heads into the Sunday showdown with St. Louis just three minutes shy of the 400 mark and has three goals to show for it.<\/p>\n Yet, with defeat to Inter Miami<\/a> eliminating LAFC from the Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> at the quarterfinal stage and Cherundolo announcing last week that he will leave the club<\/a> at the end of the season, Mart\u00ednez is eager to help the soon-to-be departing head coach end his trophy-laden tenure (2022 MLS Cup-Supporters’ Shield double & 2024 US Open Cup<\/a> title) with even more silverware.<\/p>\n At the moment, Mart\u00ednez is still fighting to earn a consistent starting spot, having come off the bench in last weekend\u2019s 3-3 draw<\/a> with the Portland Timbers<\/a>. But he insists he’s happy to help the team no matter his role, even as he looks to find a near-permanent place in the XI.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s difficult because we have good players who I\u2019m competing with, who came in from Europe, but I work every day,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery opportunity they give me, whether I\u2019m starting or on the bench, I give my best to try to help the team, to be able to score goals and get assists.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 MLS Espa\u00f1ol (@MLSes) April 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n For Mart\u00ednez, Cherundolo\u2019s surprising announcement gives him and his teammates extra motivation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to try to send him off in the best way possible, that he go out with the championship. We\u2019re going to work in every training, give our best in every match for him to leave happy,\u201d Mart\u00ednez said.<\/p>\n Mart\u00ednez hopes to join Cherundolo in Europe one day, though rather than heading to Germany like the manager, he cited LaLiga as his potential dream destination, having grown up a fan of Lionel Messi<\/a>\u2019s old FC Barcelona teams.<\/p>\n For now, though, \u201cit\u2019s important to have patience. Everything in its time,\u201d Mart\u00ednez says with a wisdom beyond what you\u2019d expect from his teenage years.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nFamily ties<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
\n
\n
Huge potential<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Big dreams<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n