The Nation Newspaper

Tag: MARTINS

  • Sounders fans prefer Drogba to Martins

    Sounders fans prefer Drogba to Martins

    The fans of Major League Soccer (MLS) side, Seattle Sounders, have expressed their desire to free Obafemi Martins, and take Ivorian star, Didier Drogba in his place.

    Drogba is rumoured to be on the way to the MLS, with Sounders the reported destination.

    In a write up on rantsports.com, Giancarlo Santoro, a supporter of Sounders, seemed to have echoed the views of majority of the supporters when he said:

    “The deal for Drogba would occur at the end of the Turkish season, and if he were to join the Sounders, he would most likely be a designated player, meaning one of the current DP’s of Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins and Osvaldo Alonso would have to leave the club.

    “With the loss of Eddie Johnson to DC United, and Martins’ desire to continue his career in Europe, Drogba would be the perfect replacement for the Sounders’ No. 9.

    “The Nigerian’s conduct and attitude make it seem like he made a mistake by coming to MLS at only 29, and it is possible that he wants to return to European competition. Plagued by injuries last season, Martins only scored eight goals in 20 appearances and looked frustrated up front.

    “Martins was pushing for a loan move during the January transfer window, and Sounders fans created the slogan, “Where in the world is Obafemi,” after the forward left Seattle to enjoy his time off.

    Although much older than Martins, Drogba is a better, more experienced player, and is the top scorer and captain of one of Africa’s best teams, the Ivory Coast National Team.

    Martins is currently back with Sounders, and scored twice in a pre season win.

  • Martins gives up on World Cup dream

    Martins gives up on World Cup dream

    • Enjoys pre-season with Sounders

    Super Eagles striker, Obafemi Martins may have given up on the hope of representing Nigeria at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, following an interview he gave to a Seattle Sounders blog site recently.

    The former Newcastle and Birmingham City fan was asked if he had talked to Coach Stephen Keshi about what he had to do, to get back in the national team, and his answer was clear:

    “I think there is nothing to say. He’s the head coach, so he knows the players that he wants. There is nothing I can talk about, like calling him,” Martins told blog.seattletimes.com.

    The man fondly called ‘Oba-Goal’ because of his goal scoring exploits for the Super Eagles, earned his last cap in the international friendly against Italy at Fulham.

    Martins also confessed that attending pre-season training with his Seattle Sounders team mates is one of the best things that can happen to him ahead of the new campaign.

    Martins joined the Washington side mid-season last term, but endured a hard campaign with injuries blighting his season.

    “I think it’s much better this season that I get to start fresh with the team. With me, I think pre-season is very important.

    “With that, I have to adapt trying to play alongside other players, as well, my teammates. I’m ready to go” he told a Seattle Times blog.

    “I think it’s good to have a break, because playing in Spain, coming back here, coming to Seattle, starting right away, I think I’ve been playing for like a year, a year and a month or so.

    “But it’s good to have an offseason, to have rest, and then come in today.”

    Martins returned to Washington despite rumours that he is trying to engineer a move away from the team.

  • Sounders expect Martins back

    Sounders expect Martins back

    Seattle Sounders FC coach Gigi Schmid, has said he expects Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins to resume the MLS season with the franchise when it opens on January 25.

    Martins has been heavily linked with a lot of European teams when the MLS went on recess, but the sounders say they expect him to be back with them.

    The former Inter Milan striker, was pictured with representatives of Turkish Super League side Caykur Rizespor, and was also linked to English Premier League side West Ham United.

    “I think he has a bad travel agent, so he gets a lot of connections when he is trying to get back to the states,” Schmid told reporters after the MLS SuperDraft press conference.

    “There a lot of connecting stops along the way. We expect him to be here at the start of the season. There is nothing that he said to us indicates anything different,”he added.

    Martins, 29, who moved to the MLS from Spanish side Levante scored eight goals for the Seattle side in 20 matches he played for the side despite being blighted by injuries during the season.

    The former Newcastle United striker, who has also played for Wolfsburg amd Rubin Kazan has played 39 times for Nigeria, scoring 18 goals.

  • Martins back on West Ham radar

    Martins back on West Ham radar

    Seattle Sounders striker, Obafemi Martins may still end up in the English Premiership, after it emerged he is the target of beleaguered London side, West Ham United.

    The boss of the East London side, Sam Allardyce is reportedly ready to make a veteran striker loan signing.

    And Sounders forward Obafemi Martins and Internacional’s Diego Forlan have both been offered to the Hammers.

    The news out of England is that Allardyce could take one of them on-loan next month.The West Ham boss had recently denied being interested in the striker.

  • West Ham deny links with Martins

    West Ham deny links with Martins

    West Ham boss, Sam Allardyce has denied reports of a possible move for former Newcastle striker, Obafemi Martins in January.

    Martins, who currently plies his trade in America with Major League Soccer side, Seattle Sounders, has been mentioned as a possible target to bolster the attacking options of the struggling East London side.

    “I haven’t heard anything about Oba, he’s playing in America at the moment, Alladyce said on Thursday.

    ” Everyone knows that if we’re in the market for a player, we’ll be linked with everybody. We’ll deal with that – speculation is speculation,” he added.

    The former Super Eagles striker had endured a torrid season with Seattle Sounders, where injuries limited him to only a handful of appearances.

  • Seattle win without Martins

    Seattle win without Martins

    Obafemi Martins was not listed in Seattle Sounders 2-0 victory over Colorado Rapids on Wednesday.

    Martins who has suffered various degrees of injury since joining the American club, did not impress Manager Sigi Schmid, and was left to continue improving.

    Sounders snapped their seven-match winless streak at the most opportune time — their MLS Cup Playoffs opener. Thanks to goals by Brad Evans and Eddie Johnson, the Sounders beat the Colorado Rapids in the Western Conference play-in match, 2-0, to advance to the conference semifinals, where a tie against the rivals Portland Timbers awaits them.

  • Sounders reserve Martins for Playoffs

    Sounders reserve Martins for Playoffs

    Seattle Sounders have devised a way to keep Nigerian striker, Obafemi Martins fresh for the upcoming MLS: be leaving him out of games before the big one.

    The former Super Eagles striker was expected to miss the high profile MLS clash between Seattle Sounders and LA Galaxy on Sunday, as he was still recovering from a groin injury.

    Sounders Coach Sigi Schmid, provided some clarity to the report this week, noting that Obafemi Martins likely wouldn’t play Sunday as they were trying to get him healthy for the playoffs.

    “Obafemi probably (won’t be available). We wanted to go easy with him today. He had some treatment yesterday (Saturday), so we wanted to see a day of rest for him,” Schmid said after the team’s practice on Saturday.

    Martins has been playing through the pain barrier for Sounders, but had to come off a few weeks ago, when the pain became unbearable.

  • Sounders worry about partner for Martins

    Sounders worry about partner for Martins

    Seattle Sounders are worried about the best strike partnership for Super Eagles striker,Obafemi Martins.

    Martins broke the record for the highest paid player in Sounders when he arrived at the team, and former Spurs star, Clint Dempsey broke the MLS record for highest paid player in the League when he joined.

    The team also has USA international Eddie Johnson, and little known striker Lamar Neagle, all competing for two spots.

    Simply looking at the numbers, the forward partnership of Eddie Johnson and Obafemi Martins doesn’t seem to be working very well for the Sounders.

    Of the team’s three most commonly used forward pairings, the one with Johnson and Martins is statistically the worst.

    The Sounders have a 3-4-2 record and the pair have combined for just five goals and one assist in the nine matches they’ve both started.

    When either forward is paired with Lamar Neagle, those numbers improve dramatically. Johnson and Neagle have started together four times, with Seattle going 2-1-1 and the pair combining for six goals and one assist.

    Martins and Neagle have started together seven times, combining for seven goals and four assists and leading the Sounders to a 6-0-1 record.

    However, the combination of Johnson and Martins produced a season-high nine combination passes between both strikers against Red Bulls, and both have not played together often enough.

  • Martins to smash pain barrier for club

    Martins to smash pain barrier for club

    Super Eagles striker, Obafemi Martins has told Tribal Football he will continue to play with injuries for Seattle Sounders until the season is over.

    The 28-year-old striker hasn’t been at 100% since arriving in Seattle from Spanish club Levante in March and he suggests he probably won’t be until he gets a rest at the end of the campaign.

    “I can’t really do anything right now, he said about his injury problems. If I feel pain, I’ll keep playing. I have to get through the end of the season because we have important games right now. I hope it’s going to get better, day by day when I train.”

    The Sounders currently sit on top of the Western Conference table ahead of this weekend’s massive clash with Eastern Conference leaders New York Red Bulls.

  • Martins: I was mad at myself, not coach

    Martins: I was mad at myself, not coach

    Obafemi Martins has said he was angry at himself, and not the coach, after a 1-1 draw with Los Angeles Galaxy in which he was replaced.

    “I just got angry at the fact that I didn’t do much in the game, so I got angry that they pulled me out.But I’m not thinking of being angry with the manager.” Seattle Sounders striker Martins told The News Tribune. He was substituted in the 76th minute.

    Coach Sigi Schmid said he understands Martins position and said the Nigerian was emotional.

    “It’s an emotional game. Emotional players are emotional. That’s what you expect. Nobody is going to be happy when they come off the field,” Schmid said.

    “Oba and myself have talked about the situation.”

    “It was just that he was frustrated coming out of the game because he’s a competitor.That’s what you expect all your players to be. There is maybe decorum and diplomacy and shaking the hands and all of that stuff, but in the game, for me to turn that into a confrontation I think is silly and stupid.

    “I’ve coached too long to do that. I understand. If I feel the player has a bad intention or there is something not good there, then we deal with it. But I didn’t think that was the case, and we spoke about it.”