Paraguayan center back David Martinez joins Inter Miami on loan from River Plate
For months now, Inter Miami coach Tata Martino has been stressing the need for a proven center back to replace Nico Freire, who has been out since late-May after knee surgery and is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
The team finally found the reinforcement it was looking for, just in time for the Leagues Cup tournament and the final stretch of the MLS season. Paraguayan center back David Martinez signed with Inter Miami on loan from Argentine club River Plate, is on the team’s Leagues Cup roster and will be available for the opening match at home Saturday against Mexican team Puebla.
The club announced the news Thursday. It is a one-year loan until July 2025 with an option to make the transfer permanent at the conclusion of the loan.
Martinez is seeking more playing time after struggling to get into River Plate’s lineup. He has played in five matches for a total of 182 minutes this season. Among the players who displaced him in the Starting XI is former Inter Miami center back Leandro Gonzalez-Pirez.
Martinez, 26, was born in Buenos Aires, came up through the Argentine youth system and represented Argentina at the 2015 Under-17 World Cup. But he has dual citizenship with Paraguay from his maternal side and joined Paraguay’s senior national team in June 2021. He has made 11 appearances for Paraguay and becomes the third Paraguayan on the Inter Miami roster, along with Diego Gomez and Matias Rojas.
“David comes with experience at the highest levels, playing for both club and country, and is ready to contribute,” said Inter Miami sporting director Chris Henderson. “We believe this addition helps us strengthen our defensive options and we’re excited to bring him onboard to help us compete for titles in the crucial last few months of the season.”
Martinez said: “I’m really happy and excited to join Inter Miami. I was thrilled about the opportunity to come here. Finally, it’s happened and I’m really happy to get this new chapter in my career started. The goal here is to help the team, keep growing and hopefully, win some titles.”
Inter Miami boasts the best record in MLS with 53 points on 16 wins, four losses and five ties. Miami is also the league’s highest-scoring team with 56 goals. But the team’s defense has been vulnerable, conceding 39 goals, which is the most among the top seven teams in the East. An ankle injury to Sergiy Kryvtsov forced Martino to drop midfielder Sergio Busquets to the back line for a few games, but the addition of Martinez will allow him to return to his natural position.
Inter Miami begins defense of its Leagues Cup title on Saturday against Puebla. Lionel Messi is out indefinitely with a ligament injury in his right ankle and is not expected to play. He missed the MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday, as did Luis Suarez, who was resting sore knees after Copa America. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. at Chase Stadium. The game will be televised on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass.
This story was originally published July 25, 2024 at 12:52 PM.