Name: Jesús Martínez Rivadeneira
Nickname: "Gallego"



Country: Spain
Club: Valencia CF
Position: *SWP, CB
Side: RF/BS
Age: 23-27 years (07/12/1947)

Height: 178 cm
Weight: 78 kg

Attack: 64
Defence: 84
Balance: 84
Stamina: 80
Top Speed: 79
Acceleration: 78
Response: 81
Agility: 74
Dribble Accuracy: 72
Dribble Speed: 73
Short Pass Accuracy: 75
Short Pass Speed: 75
Long Pass Accuracy: 78
Long Pass Speed: 76
Shot Accuracy: 62
Shot Power: 78
Shot Technique: 61
Free Kick Accuracy: 62
Curling: 68
Header: 78
Jump: 78
Technique: 76
Aggression: 65
Mentality: 79
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 76

Injury Tolerance: B
Condition/Fitness: 5
Weak Foot Accuracy: 5
Weak Foot Frequency: 5
Consistency: 5
Growth type: Standard/Lasting

CARDS:
S09 - Covering

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Covering

Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Defence-Minded


INFO:
The Wall of Valencia.

Jesús Martínez was a strong, intelligent and highly technical defender who anticipated plays and always took the ball from behind. With his broad shoulders and arched chest, which seemed designed to guard the ball, the way he defended it became a Valencian trait.

Upon arriving at Valencia, he had to perform Military Service in El Aiun (Morocco) and swear to the flag on August 10, 1969. He had been signed as a replacement for the legendary defender, Mestre. In his first season he played in midfield but the fans discussed him because of his tendency to dress up. At the end of the military service, he established himself in the libero position and there he played eight seasons as a starter. In that position he was international and played four games, including the playoff against Yugoslavia in 1974 that left Spain out of the World Cup in Germany.

In the dressing room, Martínez was highly respected and acted as the leader of the foreigners against the localism that Claramunt represented. At Valencia CF he combined football with the management of a very central and modern boutique store that did not materialize. Martínez, the only Mariñano in the selection.

Martínez's career is linked to two events. The positive, that with him as the starter and Di Stéfano as coach, Valencia won the 1970-1971 League and the following year played for the first time in the European Cup. The negative that, with him on the field, Spain was left out of the 1974 World Cup in Germany.

In his first season as coach of Valencia, Di Stéfano gave the team a winning and fighting character similar to the one he had as a footballer. Everyone defended and everyone attacked. Thus he won the League with a squad with hardly any figures. The goal was Abelardo's thing. The defense, by Sol (later a Madrid player), Aníbal, Jesús Martínez and Antón, with Tatono, Barrachina and Vidagany as reserves. The media were Paquito, Claramunt and Pellicer from Coruña, who started at Deportivo, played for Barcelona and today is a famous doctor at the Juan Canalejo hospital. And in the lead stood out Poli or Forment, Sergio and Valdez, an Argentine nationalized Spanish.

The cross on Martínez's coin was the elimination of Spain by Yugoslavia in 1974 in a decisive play-off match played in Frankfort, with a goal from the libero Katalinsky. Kubala was coach and the National Team trained that afternoon with Iríbar; Sol, Benito, Jesús Martínez and Uría; Juan Carlos, Claramunt and Asensi; and Amancio, Garate and Valdez.

The atmosphere was rare because the coach left out Reina, Gallego, Pirri and Chechu Rojo. Amancio was 34 years old and in the match he was replaced by Quini, the same as Juan Carlos by Marcial.There ended a generation and also the participation of the mariñán emigrant in the national group.

Jesús Martínez was an all-terrain defender, a predecessor of Ricardo Arias, who would be his legitimate heir in the position. A man of containment, he accompanied the centre-backs and swept the ball to the rival forwards without them seeming to notice his movements. He took the ball out of the defence cleanly, becoming one of the most elegant players of the 70s at Mestalla. Fine technician & passer, liked to send accurate long balls from behind. "I played because I was very intelligent, I was physically very poor. I had a lot of shortcomings, but I was very smart to get high. A lot of knowledge of that central defense position."