The Philadelphia Union marched onto their home pitch for the first time in three weeks on Saturday night for their match against New York City FC, when a familiar face appeared in The River End. As the sun set behind Delaware, a new tifo arose – adorned with the none other than the celebration face of Philadelphia’s All-Star midfielder from Venezuela, José ‘El Brujo’ Martinez.
Fans in Subaru Park erupted in applause when his name was announced in the starting lineup, holding fond memories of his long-awaited first-ever Major League Soccer goal which came in golazo form weeks before at Orlando City SC.
Saturday couldn’t have been a more timely occasion for the Sons of Ben to debut big El Brujo. In the 23rd minute, Martinez received a cross across the box from midfielder Quinn Sullivan, driving it into a small pocket past New York goalkeeper Luis Barraza to the back of the net. The stadium celebrated once again, this for Martinez’s first-ever goal on the home pitch since joining the squad in 2020.
“I thought the first goal was really good – we practice that in training, that 3v2 situation all the time and for José to bust his butt at the back post and cover about 80 yards to get on the end of that was a good Union type goal,” Head Coach Jim Curtin said.
The defensive midfielder has been a fixture in the team’s defense, stifling opponents with his aggressive physical play, but as of late, he’s shown new offensive aptitude, scoring more goals in the past month than he has in his entire Major League soccer career.
“He's a great ball winner, as good as any ball winner in our league, ad now he's contributing on the offensive side,” said Head Coach Jim Curtin. “I joked around with him that he's creeping up to becoming one of our top scorers now. But now, he deserves those types of goals because he works so hard and gets on the end of things now and finishes a play off. So, happy for him. He's an all star and a deserved all star.”
Martinez will represent the Union alongside defender Jakob Glesnes in Washington D.C. in the MLS All-Star game on Wednesday against Arsenal.
But on Saturday, his focus was on gratitude after finally scoring his first goal in front of Union faithful who’ve deemed him a fan favorite through his tenure in Philadelphia.
“It was very exciting, just having that first goal under my belt. It made it much easier. Thankfully, it worked out just under the guidance of the coaching staff,” Martinez said.
“It's super exciting. I think the hard work that I put in and knowing that I have the support of the fans is amazing. I was not expecting the tifo at all, but I'm extremely thankful and as long as I'm here in Philadelphia I’m going to give it my all for the fans.”
