{"id":904576,"date":"2026-05-09T07:13:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T12:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/09\/david-martinez-venezuelas-jewel-makes-big-leap-for-lafc-mlssoccer-com\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T07:13:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T12:13:41","slug":"david-martinez-venezuelas-jewel-makes-big-leap-for-lafc-mlssoccer-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/09\/david-martinez-venezuelas-jewel-makes-big-leap-for-lafc-mlssoccer-com\/","title":{"rendered":"David Mart\u00ednez: Venezuela\u2019s jewel makes big leap for LAFC | MLSSoccer.com"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer <\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/los-angeles-football-club\/\">LAFC<\/a>\u2019s exit from the 2026\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/concacaf-champions-cup\/?utm_source=mlssoccer&#038;utm_medium=comp&#038;utm_campaign=concacaf-cc\">Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> at the hands of reigning LIGA MX kings Toluca on Wednesday night has left a bruising impression on fans, as well as the team.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Take a quick spin through your social-media platform of choice, and the frustration is evident \u2013 with one theme notable among several posts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMart\u00ednez should\u2019ve started,\u201d reads one supporter\u2019s post in the wake of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/concacaf-champions-cup\/2026\/matches\/tolvslafc-05-06-2026\/\">4-0 loss<\/a> in the thin air of Estadio Nemesio D\u00edez.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou got one of the best players in this tourney in Mart\u00ednez sitting on the bench,\u201d laments another.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/denis-bouanga\/\">Bouanga<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/son-heung-min\/\">Son<\/a>-Mart\u00ednez no questions asked\u2026\u201d declares another, advocating for an attacking trident of the Black &#038; Gold\u2019s three most prolific goal contributors this season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo Mart\u00ednez, no party.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n                                <iframe data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HjbQK-Rcx0Y?feature=oembed\" allowfullscreen title=\"Behind the Crest | The Gem Of Venezuela\"><\/iframe>\n                            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h3>Breakout season<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s easy to play Monday morning quarterback, or in this case, Thursday morning playmaker, after a high-profile setback that demands a positive response when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/houston-dynamo-fc\/\">Houston Dynamo FC<\/a> visit BMO Stadium for Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire this weekend (9 pm ET | <a href=\"https:\/\/soc.cr\/48OS9Pf\" target=\"_blank\">Apple TV<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more striking is the extent to which Mart\u00ednez has won over the LAFC faithful as his third season in Los Angeles unfolds, with his 20th birthday just a few months behind him.<\/p>\n<p>Those tantalizing glimpses of potential he flashed early in his MLS adventure are now becoming a regular thing. La Joya (The Jewel), as he was dubbed back home in Venezuela during his adolescent years, has already bagged 3g\/2a in 10 league appearances and another four goals in CCC play \u2013 most of them spectacular \u2013 providing a potent threat alongside superstars Son Heung-Min and Denis Bouanga.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like I\u2019ve been more mature,\u201d Mart\u00ednez said in Spanish after scoring the lone goal during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/mls-regular-season\/2026\/matches\/lafcvsdal-03-07-2026\/\">1-0 win<\/a> over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/fc-dallas\/\">FC Dallas<\/a> in March. \u201cMy confidence has been growing, and I\u2019ve been taking every opportunity and every game as the team has gone better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/history-made-lafc-vs-inter-miami-sets-mls-attendance-record\">75,673 spectators<\/a> \u2013 one of the biggest crowds in MLS history \u2013 packed into the LA Coliseum to watch LAFC host defending MLS Cup presented by Audi champions <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/inter-miami-cf\/\">Inter Miami<\/a> on opening weekend, it wasn\u2019t a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/lionel-messi\/\">Lionel Messi<\/a> golazo they were treated to, but a silky-smooth strike from Mart\u00ednez to spark a rousing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/mls-regular-season\/2026\/matches\/lafcvsmia-02-21-2026\/\">3-0 rout<\/a> for the home team.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis year [he] is going to be more offensive,\u201d said Bouanga postgame, \u201cbecause he plays this position, he likes this position, and we need to push him in the field, because he has some kind of quality that\u2019s too strong. But now he\u2019s changed his mentality too, because last year is not the same as this year and he knows.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">Son dishes, David Mart\u00ednez feasts \ud83c\udf7d\ufe0f<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LAFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@LAFC<\/a> lead Messi and Miami. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iHMMHgBaBj\">pic.twitter.com\/iHMMHgBaBj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLS\/status\/2025410593058955702?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>When the Black &#038; Gold broke open a tense CCC quarterfinal first-leg clash with Mexican giants Cruz Azul last month, it wasn\u2019t Bouanga who grabbed the mantle. It was Mart\u00ednez, reeling off two highlight-reel goals to bank a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/concacaf-champions-cup\/2026\/matches\/lafcvscaz-04-07-2026\/\">3-0 victory<\/a> that proved sufficient for advancement, the first a particularly jaw-dropping solo dribble past Mexican international defender Erik Lira.<\/p>\n<p>Afterwards, LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos upped the ante even further, urging his young phenom to aim for the very loftiest heights this sport has to offer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a side of his game offensively that reminds me of the UEFA Champions League,\u201d said the Canadian coach. \u201cSometimes he bothers me, because I know he can be here all the time, but he just sometimes relaxes and you also see that throughout the 90 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always tell him, \u2018Buddy, you can be a millionaire. You can make so much money.\u2019 But look, good for him. I\u2019m here to help him. I want him to progress. I\u2019m always going to be on him in other sides of the game that I think he needs to grow at.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<blockquote><p>\u2014 LAFC (@LAFC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LAFC\/status\/2041720943517823343?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h3>Generational talent<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>If that sounds like breathless hype to you, be aware that it\u2019s a mere fraction of what La Joya has been living with since childhood.<\/p>\n<p>Labeled the best Venezuelan player of his generation by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/football\/ng-interactive\/2023\/oct\/11\/next-generation-2023-60-of-the-best-young-talents-in-world-football\" target=\"_blank\">The Guardian<\/a>, which three years ago ranked him among the world\u2019s top 2006-born prospects, he made his first-team debut at Monagas SC when he was 16 \u2013 and in Conmebol\u2019s vaunted Copa Libertadores, no less.<\/p>\n<p>He earned his first senior international cap with La Vinotinto not long after, after starring for the youth national teams at one age level after another, unlocking defenses with pace, guile and a deadly shooting range.<\/p>\n<p>It helped him that his older brother, Esteban, was already a professional player and one of his teammates at Monagas, part of a family support structure that seems to have kept him grounded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey always called me La Joya, but my family and my brother always taught me that I wasn&#8217;t a jewel, that I was just like the rest,\u201d Mart\u00ednez told his countryman Michele Giannone of Apple TV in a 2025 sitdown.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I think that&#8217;s true. I&#8217;m just like any other player. It was never like that for me. In fact, I never liked being called La Joya. Sometimes my friends would call me La Joya, and I didn&#8217;t like it. I never believed any of that, and always worked to the fullest.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p lang=\"und\" dir=\"ltr\">What a strike from David Mart\u00ednez \ud83d\ude80 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oCgf6IbwpB\">pic.twitter.com\/oCgf6IbwpB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 LAFC (@LAFC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LAFC\/status\/2030509859293266291?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h3>Chasing dreams<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>With the likes of Ajax Amsterdam and Borussia Dortmund also in pursuit, LAFC\u2019s staff considered it a coup when they recruited him for a sizeable U22 Initiative transfer in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/lafc-sign-venezuelan-forward-david-martinez\">February 2024<\/a>. Yet a steep learning curve in a distant land inevitably complicated Mart\u00ednez\u2019s efforts to live up to lofty expectations from the jump.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019d gotten a taste of that process when he joined Monagas, located nearly 200 kilometers away from his hometown of San Jos\u00e9 de Guanipa. Moving to Southern California was a magnitude more daunting; however, he had to adapt to everything on and off the pitch, living on his own thousands of miles from his family in a bustling megalopolis while political instability and economic deprivation continued to plague his homeland.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHuge credit to David, honestly. I think we don\u2019t realize how difficult it is for a kid like him,\u201d said his Spanish teammate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/sergi-palencia\/\">Sergi Palencia<\/a> after the Cruz Azul win. \u201cHe\u2019s a kid, came here two, three years ago alone \u2013 alone in Los Angeles without knowing the language, with Venezuela what is happening; he has family there. And he struggled a little bit at the beginning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut he was still working, working, working, and I think the veterans, the guys that are here who have a longer career, have to help him and to show support to him. It\u2019s what we are doing. We just want him to have fun, to enjoy, to know that he has a family here. And we want him to do the best that he can \u2013 and his ceiling is absolutely incredible. He\u2019s an unbelievable player and a very, very good kid.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n                                <iframe data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UI_zFRPkAUk?feature=oembed\" allowfullscreen title=\"David Mart\u00ednez: \u00a1La Joya de Venezuela y LAFC!\"><\/iframe>\n                            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h3>Full steam ahead<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>As with many U22 signings, both Mart\u00ednez and his club envision him eventually making a big move overseas. An avowed FC Barcelona fan, he\u2019s expressed interest in testing himself in Spain or England someday.<\/p>\n<p>But as much as falling short of the CCC final stings, LAFC have plenty more hardware to chase, and their current position of fourth in the overall MLS standings on 21 points (6W-2L-3D) while juggling a draining continental competition underlines their talent.<\/p>\n<p>Guided onward by Dos Santos &#038; Co., Mart\u00ednez figures to be a vital cog in all of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not just the confidence shown by Marc, but by the entire coaching staff \u2013 and the players \u2013 who, despite my age, trust in me and know what I can contribute to the team,\u201d Mart\u00ednez said last week. \u201cAnd that is very important to me because it allows me to perform at my best, you know?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRegarding the transfer market, that\u2019s not something I\u2019m thinking about, to be honest. Right now I\u2019m here, and I\u2019m making the most of every match I get to play to give it my absolute best.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/david-martinez-venezuela-s-jewel-makes-big-leap-for-lafc\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a>Rubi Lupo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer LAFC\u2019s exit from the 2026\u00a0Concacaf Champions Cup at the hands of reigning LIGA MX kings Toluca on Wednesday night has left a bruising impression on fans, as well as the team. Take a quick spin through your social-media platform of choice, and the frustration is evident \u2013 with one theme notable among several posts. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":904577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[413,37247,2005],"tags":[9266,48339],"class_list":{"0":"post-904576","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-david","8":"category-martinez","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-david","11":"tag-martinez"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=904576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/904577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=904576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=904576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=904576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}