Léonardo Barral Martins Santos (born 29 December 1989), better known simply as Léo Martins, is a Brazilian-born Portuguese beach soccer player who plays as a forward. He is a two-time winner of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup (2015 and 2019).
He has an identical twin brother, Bernardo, who is also a high-profile beach soccer player.
Biography Léo and his twin brother, Bê Martins, were born in Brazil. Léo was born two minutes after his older sibling. Aged 18, they went to play association football in Spain on the promise of a contract. However, when they arrived, an issue with their agent meant there was no club to sign for. The move was funded by their parents, but without an income the money soon ran out and the brothers found themselves broke and starving. Despite this, they stayed in Spain to attempt to recuperate the money for their parents. Eventually, they landed a contract with CD Canillas. During this time, they began the application process for Portuguese citizenship.Melhor do que um campeão, só ter outro igual (in Portuguese). MaisFutebol. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2020. This was possible since their paternal great-grandfather was from the country. In 2009, citizenship was achieved.São gémeos brasileiros, mas é com um título por Portugal que sonham. Diário de Notícias. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2020. Aged 21, in 2011, their contracts ended and their mother developed a health issue, and so they returned to Brazil. To maintain their fitness, they began training on the beach. Struggling to find a new football club, they started to pursue beach soccer instead, joining Vasco da Gama and soon after, Flamengo.Bê e Léo, a historia dos gémeos campeões do mundo por Portugal (in Portuguese). TSF. 2 January 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020. Léo's progress was slightly behind his brother's, who moved on to a Russian club before him.
After finishing as top scorer at the 2014 Euro Winners Cup, Léo, and brother Bê, received an offer to join the Portugal squad at the end of 2014 after playing for clubs in Italy. Despite offers from the Brazil national team, the brothers decided they wanted to represent Portugal instead, citing their belief that there would be less chance of a "follow-up" if they were to join Brazil, their admiration for the country, and for Portuguese legends Madjer and Alan. Léo debuted for Portugal on 9 July 2015 at the 2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup,Leonardo Santos (in Portuguese). Federação Portuguesa de Futebol. Retrieved 15 October 2020. six months after his brother. Léo scored his first goal for Portugal in his second appearance, against Senegal on 11 July.#4 - Entrevista a Léo Martins ( Fut. Praia ) (in Portuguese). MaisFutebol. March 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2020. Portugal won the tournament, and in response, Léo, along with the rest of the squad, were appointed as Officers of the Order of Prince Henry in December 2015. That year, both brothers also joined Braga with whom they would go on to win multiple domestic and European club titles.
In 2016, Léo combined with Alan to finish off a one-two move versus Greece nominated for goal of the year, but his effort was beaten by Nick Perera of the United States.
In 2019, following Portugal's 2019 World Cup victory, along with the rest of the squad, Léo was made a Commander of the Order of Merit. He was also named as one of the tournament's top ten best players, out of the 192 participants. He ended the season as the second highest scorer in Beach Soccer Worldwide competitions with 69 goals.The 2019 in figures. Beach Soccer Worldwide. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020. In 2021, Léo was voted by fellow national team captains and coaches as one of the best three players in the world at the Beach Soccer Stars awards in Dubai.
Statistics
Country Competition Year Apps Goals Ref.FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2015 6 1 2017 4 2 2019 6 8 2021 3 8 Total 19 19 — Competition Season Apps Goals Ref.Euro Beach Soccer League 2015 2 1 2016 4 4 2017 10 14 2018 10 8 2019 7 5 2020 4 7 2021 7 14 2022 6 13 2023 6 4 Total 56 70 —
Club Tournament Year Club Apps Goals Ref.Euro Winners Cup 2014 Milano 7 13 2015 4 0 2016 Braga 7 10 2017 7 5 2018 7 12 2019 8 7 2020 7 7 2021 8 8 2022 7 10 2023 9 12 Total 71 84 —
Honours The following is a selection, not an exhaustive list, of the major international honours that Léo has achieved:
Country FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Winner (2): 2015, 2019 Euro Beach Soccer League Winner (4): 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021 European Games Gold medal (1): 2019 Intercontinental Cup Runner-up (1): 2017 Mediterranean Beach Games Silver medal (2): 2019, 2023
Club Euro Winners Cup Winner (3): 2017, 2018, 2019 Runner-up (4): 2014, 2020, 2021, 2022 Mundialito de Clubes Winner (2): 2019, 2020 Runner-up (2): 2013, 2021
Individual Beach Soccer Stars (1): World's top 3 best players: 2021 Euro Beach Soccer League (5): Superfinal: Best player: 2020, 2021 Regular season stages: Best player: 2018 (x1), 2022 (x1) Top scorer: 2022 (x1) Euro Winners Cup (1): Top scorer: 2014
Orders Officer (OIH) of the Order of Prince Henry (since 2015) Commander (ComM) of the Order of Merit (since 2019)
References
External links
Leonardo Barral Martins Santos, profile at Beach Soccer Worldwide Leonardo Barral Martins, profile at Beach Soccer Russia (in Russian)