In his first piece for Hudson River Blue, New York City FC radio announcer Glenn Crooks sat down with Alonso Martínez at the Etihad City Football Academy in Orangeburg, NY. The two discussed the mentality required of a striker, how Martínez beat Matt Freese with his penalty in the Gold Cup, and why he’s so close with Andrés Perea.
Note: The conversation was translated by Esteban Camino, Director of Media Relations at NYCFC. It was edited for length and clarity.
Near post, headed goals: The mentality of a striker
Glenn Crooks: First question: How are you feeling? There was some concern with an injury, maybe the hamstring a little bit before you went off with Costa Rica during the international break, but you played well.
Alonso Martínez: I feel really good. There's been a lot of recovery, whether that's been here or in the Costa Rican national team. You know, just doing my due diligence to be ready.
GC: The 4-1 win over Nicaragua — you got your first brace with Costa Rica. I want to ask you about the goals. One was a left-footed drive, and the other a darting run to the near post, which I know you've been working on a lot here.
AM: That left-footed shot — I've been practicing a lot on my left foot and feel more comfortable taking it with that. And then the other, we've been working very hard with Rob Vartughian on set pieces, set-piece play, so that was that play right there.
GC: Do you agree that the strikers that you've watched, the great strikers, they have a lot of goals on the front post?
AM: I haven't really noticed that, to be honest. I just know that as a striker, you try to score it any way possible. And that's kind of the mentality that I have, just trying to get the ball behind the goalkeeper.
GC: It's interesting that every time I've asked you about how you score your goals, I get the impression that you are not overthinking it. You're just kind of letting it flow, letting it go. You maybe don't give a lot of thought to how you're scoring.
AM: I don't think it's just me. I think it's all strikers. There are beautiful goals, there are ugly goals, and then you just score. So, I think that's the mentality that we all have. A striker just wants to just get that ball into the net.
Alonso Martínez scores vs Orlando City on July 16, 2025, as called by Glenn Crooks and Matt Lawrence for NYCFC Radio | Courtesy newyorkctiyfc.com
GC: When are we going to see a headed goal?
AM: I don't know.
Throughout my career, heading hasn't always been a strength of mine, so maybe not in the playoffs, this isn’t the time to score one of those. But in terms of my style, heading is not my strength.
GC: Is it something you're trying to add to your game, though? So that you can become more effective in the air?
AM: It's something that we always work on. We work every single day of training. We always try to improve, but I just don't think, given my stature, it’s not something that will come naturally to me.
GC: Yeah, you and me both.
Matthew Mangam
What was (or wasn't) said to Matt Freese at the Gold Cup
GC: OK, Gold Cup: You vs Matt Freese. What is the real story, the actual story of your communication? Before the game, before the penalty was taken.
AM: Yeah, we spoke before leaving for Gold Cup, and we always bantered, saying that at one point we're going to meet up against each other. And when that happened, I was going to beat him. I didn't say that I was going to score a penalty kick, though.
At the end of the day, he did end up beating me because he won the game, but I ended up scoring the penalty on him. But you know, I have a really great relationship with Matt, so it's all fun, it’s all love there.
GC: Did you say anything before you took the penalty kick? We know you smiled and winked. But were there any words?
AM: He knows me very well. Obviously, he knows where I usually go and take my penalties. So that's the moment when I winked at him, and kind of changed where I was going with the ball, and I was able to score.
GC: So that's the story, you changed. One story I heard is that you told him you were going to the right and you just stuck with it.
AM: Well, the ball was down the middle. I was gonna shoot right, and just ended up going down the middle.
2025 Gold Cup: Alonso Martínez converts penalty vs Matt Freese | Official Highlights
GC: After the penalty against Charlotte, you ran over to Tommie [Battle III], the photographer. What was that all about?
AM: He put a post out that mentioned, you know, that players sometimes don't go over and celebrate, so I made it a point to go and make sure that I celebrated with him. He's always there for us, cheering for us on the sidelines, so it was a nice moment for me to share with him.
Alonso Martínez scores a second penalty vs Charlotte FC | Courtesy @GlennCrooks
Alajuelense Transfer Fee: One game's gate receipts plus 20 balls
GC: I want to ask about your upbringing. You grew up on Chira Island?
AM: Yes.
GC: Around 2,000 people there. It's a small island. I heard that you had to take a boat to go to school and to play soccer. Is that true?
AM: No, everything was there on the island, everything that we needed. So I would take a bus with my teammates and my classmates.
GC: So, when did Puntarenas FC become part of your life? You went there to play soccer?
AM: I moved to Puntarenas when I was 16, and that's where I started my football career and everything. Football really started there. I went and played for Puntarenas, the professional team who were in the second division. And then from there, I moved to Nacional. From there I went to Alajuelense.
GC: What was the major industry on the island where you grew up?
AM: It was fishing.
GC: That’s how your father made a living? Are you a fisherman, too?
AM: I always really enjoyed fishing. It's a good pastime of mine with my brother. But I always liked soccer, and that's always what I was geared towards. My attraction was to soccer on the island, the league, the clubs.
GC: Who did you play for on the island?
AM: There were a lot of little leagues and a lot of little games that you would play throughout the island. But the island kind of had a team that pulled together the best players, and that team would go and then play different places in Costa Rica.
GC: Another story I was told, when you went from Puntarenas to Alajuelense, it was listed as a free transfer.
AM: Not exactly.
GC: Right, I heard that the transfer fee was the gate in a game arranged between Puntarenas and Alajuelense, and Puntarenas would receive all the gate receipts as part of the deal. It was packed and they made something like $10,000, and that ended up being the transfer fee.
AM: Yeah, that is true. Yeah, so it, it was a, wasn't a free transfer, but in a way it was a free transfer. So the deal was to come to Puntarenas because it's a big team and a lot of people follow the team. So whatever the gate was, that was going to be the transfer fee that was agreed upon between them.
GC: That is a great story.
AM: Oh, one other thing was part of the deal. Puntaneras received 20 balls.
Oliver Strand
GC: Back here in New York City, considering that a lot of your attacking mates are Argentinian, like Maxi, Nico, Julián, Agustín, do you feel like you're an honorary Argentinian?
AM: I definitely feel a little bit part-Argentinian. We have really good teammates, Maxi, Juli, Agu, Nico, who are great, but we also like to incorporate a lot of the other players too, like Pepe (Andres Perea). It's good that we're all amongst each other as Latin players. And it feels really nice to be part of this group that includes Colombia, Costa Rica.
Colombia and Costa Rica have a lot of things in common in terms of culture, food. So that's why Pepe and I get along really, really well, because we share a lot of the same likes and a lot of the same cultures and values.
GC: You go out to restaurants with him a lot?
AM: Yeah.
GC: And do you drink mate now that you're hanging with the Argentinians?
AM: I mean, yeah. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't like it. I do drink from time to time, but they love it. They drink it all day long.
GC: Are you going to introduce it to your Costa Rican teammates?
AM: No. They don't like it.
GC: Thank you very much.
AM: Thank you, my friend. Appreciate it.
