Miguel Almirón and Josef Martínez discuss their differences—and what makes them MLS’s most dangerous attacking duo
By Felipe Cardenas Jul 17, 2018 25

It​ was not​ the most​ auspicious start to an​ interview.

“I don’t​ trust​ people,”​ said Josef Martínez​​ about five minutes in. “Trust isn’t something you give away. It’s earned.”

Luckily, Miguel Almirón, Martínez’s partner in the attack and someone he has come to trust deeply, joined us at the table.

Atlanta United had just finished a training session on a typically hot mid-July morning, and Almirón had been delayed by a quick discussion with a few of his coaches. On a big-screen TV in a lounge at the training center, University of Georgia graduate John Isner was battling Canadian Milos Raonic in a Wimbledon quarterfinal.

“I remember you,” said Almirón as he sat down, his comfort—and the difference in approach from that of his teammate—evident from the start. I had asked him a question as part of a scrum after the Orlando City match two weeks earlier; there was no reason he should have taken note. “How are you?”

Martínez relaxed with Almirón’s arrival. Perhaps it was speaking in Spanish that put him at ease. Soon, both men had uncrossed their arms and leaned in, and they were cussing like old friends having a laugh.

The two South American stars—they would both be called cracks in Spanish—form what is undoubtedly the deadliest attacking duo in MLS, and the bond they have formed off the field is a big reason why, even though they could hardly be more different. There’s the Venezuelan striker’s brash attitude and open disregard for celebrating goals in front of 70,000 people. And then there’s the overt passion and youthful excitement of the Paraguayan playmaker. Both have come to define Atlanta United’s introduction to Major League Soccer.

“Miguel is easy going, calm and friendly,” Martínez said. “He liked to joke around, and that’s when I knew we were very different, in every sense of the word. I keep to myself, but on every team, there has to be someone you have a connection with.”

When Martínez became Atlanta United’s third designated player in February 2017, Almirón had been announced as the club’s first No. 10. Martínez didn’t mind.

“I don’t like watching highlights of other players,” he said. “I didn’t care who was going to be here or who wasn’t. I would check the club’s site to see how many Latinos we had, and that’s it. Latinos experience soccer differently. We live life differently. And if you feel comfortable with the people around you, you’ll be successful.”

While Martínez didn’t know much about his future teammate, Almirón had done his homework on the Venezuelan standout.

“I knew about him from playing with my national team,” he said. “We first played against each other in a friendly in Arequipa, Peru, so I knew about his style of play.”
(Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports)

When they arrived in Atlanta, Almirón embraced the publicity and accepted his role as the face of the franchise. Martínez preferred to make his mark on the field. Still, they became close friends almost immediately, hanging out together off the field and getting to know each other’s quirks.

“Miguel likes to stay home, and I don’t, unless I’m home alone,” said Martínez, who lives with an aunt, a niece and two small dogs. “I like to go to the mall, have a coffee and people watch.”

“Josef has a unique personality,” Almirón jumped in to explain, “but the people who know him well know that he’s humble and that he’s a good person. At the club, we know when he’s upset or when he’s in a good mood. It’s important that he’s happy here in Atlanta.”

The two men are alike in two respects: their love for scoring goals and the high level of competitiveness they bring to the game. Both detest losing, whether it’s in a match against an Eastern Conference rival or just a small-sided game at training. On the surface, Almirón seems to have a better grip on his emotions when things don’t go well. But the reality is both players are shattered after a loss.

“If I lose a game, I get anxious, and I don’t leave the house in two days.” Almirón said. “It affects me, my wife and my family. But I’m working on it.”

And in true South American fashion, things can get heated on the field even between friends.

“Josef is very sincere, and that’s fine. He’ll get mad to me on the field, but that’s soccer,” Almirón said. “Sometimes I want to have a go at everyone, but I contain myself. If he yells at me during a match … I’m used to it. I just give him a thumbs up, because on the field, we’re going all out.”

“I don’t like to lose, and I don’t care if Miguel likes it or not,” Martínez countered. “That’s how I am. But Miguel doesn’t like to lose either. He gets upset; he just doesn’t show it. Not me. When I’m on the field, I don’t have friends. Miguel might be my best friend, my brother, but I’m going to tell him how it is. Because if not … you don’t learn.”

The Venezuelan admitted that his attitude after a loss hasn’t gone unnoticed by Atlanta United coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino.

“I get along well with El Tata, but sometimes I do things I shouldn’t and think, ‘Shit, I fucked up,’” Martínez said with a laugh. “I’ve never seen El Tata upset … well, only when he argues with me.”

Pressed about what those arguments stem from, Martínez said they’ve never been about soccer.

“More about my behavior,” he said. “We can lose, but it’s how we lose. He knows how to treat you and when to do it.”

During a frustrating 1-1 draw at home against Portland on June 24, Martínez uncharacteristically squandered several chances in front of the goal. At one point in the second half, he ripped off the protective mask he was wearing to safeguard his nose, which he had broken 11 days earlier against Columbus, and angrily tossed it behind the goal. After the game, Martínez sat at his locker visibly upset. His gear strewn at his feet, he thumbed his cell phone in order to avoid making eye contact with anyone.

For his part, Martino knows that his star striker sometimes needs special attention.

“There are times when he needs a talking to, but he’s a kid that needs affection, too, and he accepts that affection very well,” the coach said later. “We’re close, and I know when I need to be firm with him. At times I’m like a father figure… and we’re getting to know each other better. But Josef, he does his talking on the field.”

The immeasurable soccer knowledge Almirón and Martínez have amassed in their young careers is as much a product of culture and background as minutes played. The flair and moxie of both attackers are especially prized in South America. Before their professional debuts, both players were hardened in neighborhood pick-up games, their skills developed on the hardwood and concrete futsal courts where kids learn to touch a soccer ball before ever setting foot on a freshly mowed field. The two friends have brought those experiences to MLS, and it has been a joy to watch.

Their combined play and innate understanding of each other’s movements continue to terrorize opposing defenses. Even scarier, with the addition of Ezequiel Barco and the return of Tito Villalba, the league’s top strike force is getting even better.

“In games, we just look at each other. He looks at me. I look at him, and that’s it,” Martínez said of Almirón. “And we’re trying to do the same with Barquito. You just know who you can do that with … same with Tito. When he has the ball, we look at each other, and I know where he’s going to put it.”

“I think that’s why we get along so well,” Almirón said. “Because we have a different mentality, we play at a different rhythm, and we take advantage of it.”

“We experience soccer more personally than we do professionally,” Martínez added.

And with that, the notoriously guarded Venezuelan seemed to have opened up. Trust earned? It’s too early to say. But he was willing to answer the following questions for The Athletic, so we’ll take it.

Who’s the better free-kick taker?

Martínez: Miguel, but it depends from where. Free kicks and all that … he’s the No. 10. I prefer that he sets me up to finish.

Almirón: Josef. I think the only free kick I’ve ever scored was in my academy days. Josef strikes the ball better. But if Kevin [Kratz] is on the field, Kevin’s taking it.

Who takes a better penalty?

Martínez: (Laughs) We’re even, but I’ll give him the nod.

Almirón: (Eyes get big) Oh, we’ll battle on that one, because we both strike it well from there.

Martínez: We usually switch it up, but lately it’s been about how we feel in that moment.

Almirón: Yeah, it’s no big deal.

Who’d win a 100-meter sprint?

Almirón: Me. Yep. Me.

(Martínez stroked his goatee and smiled with no comment.)

Whose weak foot is better?

Almirón: Josef. No doubt.

Martínez: No doubt.

Who’s more competitive?

Martínez: Both of us.

Almirón: I think we’re both very competitive. We both hate to lose.

Whose English is better?

(Martínez cracks up.)

Almirón: Josef. He speaks like eight languages! Man, I struggle with Spanish. I’m taking English classes, though, but Josef speaks it already.

Will you guys come up with other choreographed celebrations?

Almirón: No, that’s not really me. That [the Dragon Ball Z celebration] was because I’ve always liked that cartoon, and when the two characters come together, they’re stronger. When I assist Josef on a goal, it’s like we’re connected. That’s all.

Are you aware of the MLS scoring record? Do you want to break it?

Martínez: I live for today, because I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I don’t think about the future, and I’m not thinking about scoring 27 goals. You might be good today, but tomorrow … who knows.

Is Josef aware of the MLS scoring record, and does he want to break it?

Almirón: I think subconsciously the more you score and move up, you might think about it. But I don’t think that’s driving Josef crazy. He’s already played in Europe for several clubs, and he’s used to all of this. Josef works hard to exceed his own expectations, not to be the league’s leading scorer.

Have your objectives changed at all since coming to Atlanta in 2017?

Martínez: No, they haven’t changed. My objectives and my mission have been the same since day one—to win. To win a championship. It doesn’t matter how or when. But we have to win.

Almirón: My objectives have always been to work hard and to win for Atlanta. And I want to be successful in Europe. That’s been my objective from the beginning, even when I was at Lanús.

Five years from now, assuming you’re no longer with the club, how do you want the people of Atlanta to remember you?

Almirón: More than anything, I want to be remembered as a good person. That characteristic outlasts any championship, and people value that more. Obviously, I want to accomplish something important for the club, because the people deserve it.

Martínez: As a winner. Here and everywhere, if you win, the people will appreciate you. We have to win for them. It’s been years since Atlanta has won anything in any sport, so, yes, they deserve it.