Luis Enrique "Neco" Martínez Rodríguez, (born 11 July 1982) is a retired Colombian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is nicknamed "Neco" for the town of his birth.

Neco Martínez
Personal information
Full name Luis Enrique Martínez Rodríguez
Date of birth (1982-07-11) July 11, 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth Necoclí, Colombia
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001 Envigado 2 (0)
2001 Atlético Huila 5 (0)
2002–2003 Guanacasteca 7 (0)
2003–2004 Envigado 17 (0)
2004–2006 Santa Fe 61 (0)
2006–2009 Sakaryaspor 43 (0)
2007–2008Manisaspor (loan) 2 (0)
2010–2012 Once Caldas 57 (0)
2012 Envigado 8 (0)
2013Atlético Nacional (loan) 21 (0)
2014–2016 Atlético Nacional 45 (0)
2017 América de Cali 0 (0)
Total 268 (0)
International career
2003–2011 Colombia 8 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Martínez was signed by newly promoted Turkish team Sakaryaspor in summer 2006, signing a three-year contract, before moving to Colombian club Once Caldas.

International career

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During a World Cup warm-up match between Poland and Colombia on May 30, 2006, he scored a remarkable goal, striking directly from a long distance over the head of the opposition goalkeeper, Tomasz Kuszczak.[1]

After a three-year absence from the national team, he was called back by new coach Hernan Dario Gomez for an international friendly match against Bolivia on August 5, 2010.

He was the starting goalkeeper for the Colombia national team during the Copa America 2011, since the starting goalkeeper David Ospina was out with a facial injury after colliding with Hugo Rodallega days before the tournament. Martinez had a good start to the tournament, being the only goalkeeper to have a clean sheet on all three group games. In the quarterfinal match against Peru however he made two crucial mistakes which led to the two goals of Peru.

International goals

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Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Final Competition
1. 30 May 2006 Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland   Poland 2–0 2–1 Friendly

Honours

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Club

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Once Caldas

Atlético Nacional

Individual

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Freak goal means misery for Poland". CNN International. 2006-05-30. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
  2. ^ "Tournoi Espoirs de Toulon: Official Player Awards". rsssf.or. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
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