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Javi Martínez
Personal information
Full name: Javier Martínez Aginaga
Date of birth: 2 September 1988 (1988-09-02) (age 36)
Place of birth:    Estella, Flag of Spain Spain
Height: 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position: Defensive midfielder / Centre back
Club information
Current club Flag of Qatar Qatar SC
Number: 8
Youth clubs
1993–1995
1995–1997
1997–2000
2000
2001–2005
Flag of Spain Berceo
Flag of Spain Logroñés
Flag of Spain CD Arenas
Flag of Spain Izarra
Flag of Spain Osasuna
Senior clubs
Years Club App (Gls)
2005–2006
2006–2012
2012–2021
2021–
Flag of Spain Osasuna B
Flag of Spain Athletic Bilbao
Flag of Germany Bayern Munich
Flag of Qatar Qatar SC
032 00(3)
201 0(22)
165 00(9)
049 00(7)   
National team
2005
2006–2007
2007–2011
2012
2010–2014
2006–2010
Flag of Spain Spain U17
Flag of Spain Spain U19
Flag of Spain Spain U21
Flag of Spain Spain U23
Flag of Spain Spain
Flag of Basque Country Basque Country
0000(0)
0000(0)
024 00(1)
0000(1)
018 00(0)
0000(0)

Javier "Javi" Martínez Aginaga (born 2 September 1988) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or central defender for Qatar Stars League club Qatar SC.

He arrived at Athletic Bilbao in 2006 before his 18th birthday, quickly imposing himself as a starter and going on to appear in 251 official games over the course of six La Liga seasons, scoring 26 goals. In 2012, he signed with Bayern Munich for €40 million, going on to win nine consecutive Bundesliga titles as well as UEFA Champions League twice in 2013 and 2020.

A Spanish international since 2010, Martínez was a member of the squads that won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, and also played at the 2014 World Cup.

Club career[]

Athletic Bilbao[]

Martínez was born in Estella-Lizarra, Navarre. Athletic de Bilbao signed him as a raw 17-year-old for €6 million in the summer of 2006, from fellow La Liga team CA Osasuna, despite him never having played a game with the first team.

Martínez soon became a regular in the side in his debut season with powerful displays, his highlight being scoring twice against Deportivo de La Coruña in a 2–0 away success on 16 December 2006. He finished the campaign with 35 games and three goals, and again was everpresent in the following two, helping Athletic to the Copa del Rey final in 2009.

In 2009–10 Martínez was the midfield engine of the team once more – 46 official matches, nine goals – and netted a career-best six times in the league campaign as Athletic narrowly missed on another UEFA Europa League qualification. In the 2011–12 season, under new manager Marcelo Bielsa, he began being regularly used as a central defender.

Bayern Munich[]

On 29 August 2012, after FC Bayern Munich paid the buyout clause of €40 million in his contract, Martínez signed a five-year contract with the German club. He thus became the transfer record in the 50-year history of the Bundesliga.

Martínez made his official debut on 2 September – the day of his 24th birthday – coming on as a 77th minute substitute for Bastian Schweinsteiger in a 6–1 home win over VfB Stuttgart. He scored his first goal for his new club against Hannover 96 on 24 November, netting the opener in an eventual 5–0 home triumph through a bicycle kick.

Martínez scored his second goal for Bayern in their 6–1 demolition of SV Werder Bremen on 23 February 2013, heading home from an Arjen Robben free-kick to make the score 2–0 after thirty minutes. Following the team's impressive 4–0 victory over FC Barcelona in the first-leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final clash on 23 April, he was lauded by many pundits for his all-around display and was credited as the key man in breaking up the tiki-taka football of national teammates Xavi (born 1980) and Andrés Iniesta; in the final game of his first season, he netted the first goal as the club came back from 0–2 and 1–3 down to win it 4–3 at Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Martínez started the 2013–14 campaign on the substitutes bench, under new manager Pep Guardiola. On 30 August 2013, in that year's UEFA Super Cup, he took the pitch early into the second half of the match against Chelsea, and scored the 2–2 equalizer in the last minute of extra time, as the Bavarians went on to win the trophy in Prague after a penalty shootout.

On 13 August 2014, Martínez tore the ligaments on his left knee 30 minutes into the German Super Cup encounter against Borussia Dortmund (eventual 0–2 loss), going on to miss the vast majority of the season. He returned to action on 2 May 2015, starting in central defence in a 2–0 league defeat of Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

International career[]

At the age of 19 Martínez began appearing for Spain's U21, representing the nation at the 2009 UEFA European Football Championships in Sweden, in a group stage exit.

On 20 May 2010, he was named in the senior side's list of 23 for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, by manager Vicente del Bosque. On the 29th he made his full debut, replacing FC Barcelona's Xavi (born 1980) in the 81st minute of a 3–2 friendly win against Saudi Arabia, in Innsbruck, Austria; on 3 June he started in another friendly, with South Korea (1–0 triumph, in the same venue), playing 80 minutes until David Silva took his place.

Martínez played once in the final stages, replacing the injured Xabi Alonso for the final 20 minutes of the group stage 2–1 win against Chile on 25 June, as Spain emerged victorious in the tournament. He returned to the under-21 setup for the 2011 European Championships in Denmark, captaining the national team to its third title in the category.

Martínez also appeared in one game at UEFA Euro 2012 for the eventual champions, again substituting Alonso midway through the second half, this time against the Republic of Ireland in the group stage (4–0 success). He was described by Del Bosque as "a complete player", with the manager comparing him to Patrick Vieira.

Martínez was named in Spain's 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 World Cup, as well as the final 23-man squad for the tournament. He made his tournament debut in the second group game, starting against Chile in the Maracanã in place of Gerard Piqué; Spain lost 2–0 and were eliminated.

Personal life[]

Martínez's older brother, Álvaro, is also a footballer, in the defender position. Having played mainly in the lower leagues, he had a brief spell in the second division with SD Eibar.

Career statistics[]

Club[]

As of 22 May 2021
Club performance League Cup Continental Other Total
Club League Season Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Spain League Copa del Rey Europe Other Total
Athletic Bilbao La Liga 2006–07 35 3 0 0 35 3
2007–08 34 1 0 0 34 1
2008–09 32 5 6 1 38 6
2009–10 34 6 1 1 7 0 42 7
2010–11 35 4 2 0 37 4
2011–12 31 4 9 0 14 0 54 4
Athletic Bilbao totals 201 23 18 2 21 0 240 25
Germany League DFB-Pokal Europe Other Total
Bayern Munich Bundesliga 2012–13 27 3 5 0 11 0 0 0 43 3
2013–14 18 0 5 0 8 0 3 1 34 1
2014–15 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 3 0
2015–16 16 1 3 0 8 0 0 0 27 1
2016–17 25 1 4 1 7 0 1 0 37 2
2017–18 22 1 4 0 10 1 1 0 37 2
2018–19 21 3 5 0 6 1 1 0 33 4
2019–20 16 0 1 0 7 0 0 0 24 0
2020–21 19 0 1 0 8 0 2 1 30 1
Bayern Munich totals 165 9 28 1 66 2 9 2 268 14
Career totals 398 34 53 3 91 4 9 2 551 43

International[]

As of match played 18 June 2014
Spain
Year Apps Goals
2010 3 0
2011 4 0
2012 2 0
2013 5 0
2014 4 0
Total 18 0

Honours[]

Club[]

Athletic Bilbao
Bayern Munich

Country[]

Spain
Spain U21
Spain U19

Individual[]

  • La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2010
  • 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament

External links[]

Template:Qatar SC squad

Flag of Spain Spain
Spain – 2010 FIFA World Cup - Winners (1st title)

1. Casillas 2. Albiol 3. Piqué 4. Marchena 5. Puyol 6. Iniesta 7. Villa 8. Xavi 9. F. Torres 10. Fàbregas 11. Capdevila 12. Valdés 13. Mata 14. Alonso 15. Ramos 16. Busquets 17. Arbeloa 18. Pedro 19. Llorente 20. Martínez 21. Silva 22. Navas 23. Reina Manager:  Flag of Spain Vicente del Bosque

Spain – UEFA Euro 2012 - Winners (3rd title)

1. Casillas (c) 2. Albiol 3. Piqué 4. Martínez 5. Juanfran 6. Iniesta 7. Pedro 8. Xavi 9. Torres 10. Fàbregas 11. Negredo 12. Valdés 13. Mata 14. Alonso 15. Ramos 16. Busquets 17. Arbeloa 18. Alba 19. Llorente 20. Cazorla 21. Silva 22. Navas 23. Reina Manager:  Flag of Spain Vicente del Bosque

Spain – 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup - Runner-up

1. Casillas 2. Albiol 3. Piqué 4. Martínez 5. Azpilicueta 6. Iniesta 7. Villa 8. Xavi 9. Torres 10. Fàbregas 11. Pedro 12. Valdés 13. Mata 14. Soldado 15. Ramos 16. Busquets 17. Arbeloa 18. Alba 19. Monreal 20. Cazorla 21. Silva 22. Navas 23. Reina Manager:  Flag of Spain Vicente del Bosque

Spain – 2014 FIFA World Cup - Group stage

1. I. Casillas (c) 2. R. Albiol 3. Piqué 4. Javi Martínez 5. Juanfran 6. A. Iniesta 7. David Villa 8. Xavi 9. Torres 10. Fàbregas 11. Pedro 12. De Gea 13. Mata 14. Alonso 15. Ramos 16. Busquets 17. Koke 18. Alba 19. Diego Costa 20. S. Cazorla 21. Silva 22. Azpilicueta 23. Reina Manager:  Flag of Spain Vicente del Bosque

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