Gilberto Martínez Vidal (born October 1, 1979) is a Costa Rican former professional footballer who played as a defender.
Club career
Deportivo Saprissa Born in the Pacific Coast town of in Golfito, Costa Rica, Martínez made his professional debut for Deportivo Saprissa on 19 January 2000 in a 4–0 win over Cartaginés.Ficha e información sobre nuestra Selección Nacional Gilberto Martínez Vidal - Nación His performances in the domestic league and Nigeria's Football World Youth Championship soon earned him a place on the Costa Rica national football team. Martínez quickly established himself there as well, becoming one of the most wanted and loved from the fans. He started all three of the team's games in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and his performances were well regarded.
Brescia Calcio Due to his World Cup performances, Brescia purchased him from Deportivo Saprissa on September 15 of the same year. In his initial seasons with Brescia, Martínez established himself as a mainstay in the rondinelle defense line. However, an ankle injury he suffered during the 2006 FIFA World Cup limited him in the following seasons; he spent the whole 2006–07 season on loan to Roma, but failed to make an impact as he failed to recover from his injury. He returned to Brescia at the start of the 2007–08 season without having made a single appearance for the Rome-based club.Regresa al Brescia de Italia Gilberto Martínez se va de la Roma sin jugar un solo minuto - Nación He ultimately made his playing comeback in the 2008–09 season, confirming himself once again as a key player for his club, then in Serie B.
In February 2011 he was loaned to Sampdoria.Sampdoria dio jugador y $816.000 por el Tuma - Nación
In January 2013, Martínez joined Lecce.Tuma Martínez jugará en la Tercera División de Italia - Nación
International career He was part of Costa Rica's national team in the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship held in Nigeria.
Nicknamed Tuma, Martínez made his debut for Costa Rica in a January 2001 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Guatemala and earned a total of 61 caps, scoring no goals.Appearances for Costa Rica National Team - RSSSF He represented his country in 26 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played at both the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. He also played at the 2001 UNCAF Nations CupQualifying Tournament for Gold Cup 2001 - Details - RSSSF as well as at the 2002CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2002 - Full Details - RSSSF and 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cups.CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2003 - Full Details - RSSSF
He also played at the 2001 Copa América.Copa América 2001 - RSSSF
His final international was a March 2011 friendly match against Argentina.
Career statistics
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Costa Rica League Cup League Cup North America Total1999-00Deportivo Saprissa1102000-012602001-02310 Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total2002–03BresciaSerie A3402003–043002004–053312005–06Serie B3502006–07RomaSerie A002007–08BresciaSerie B002008–093002009–101402010–11BresciaSerie A1902010–11SampdoriaSerie A902011–12BresciaSerie B230 Total Costa Rica680 Italy2271 Career total2951
2021 Former DT Municipal Grecia Municipal Grecia | Costa Rica
References
External links