Kyle Martino

Kyle Martino (born February 19, 1981) is an American former professional soccer player who spent seven seasons with the Columbus Crew and Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer as a midfielder and is currently a television soccer analyst and host.

Kyle Martino
Personal information
Full name Kyle Hunter Martino
Date of birth (1981-02-19) February 19, 1981
Place of birth Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1999–2001 Virginia Cavaliers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2006 Columbus Crew 106 (10)
2006–2007 Los Angeles Galaxy 35 (3)
Total 141 (13)
National team
2002–2006 United States 8 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

High school

Martino attended Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut, where he played soccer and was named Gatorade National Player of the Year in 1998 after his senior season.

College

Martino attended the University of Virginia from 1999 to 2001. He played college soccer and scored 17 goals and provided 21 assists. In his junior season, Martino was named ACC Player of the Year. In both his sophomore and junior seasons, he was one of 15 finalists for the Hermann Trophy.

Professional

Martino left UVA after his junior season, signing a Project-40 contract with Major League Soccer (MLS) and entering the 2002 MLS Superdraft, where the Columbus Crew selected him eighth overall. He tallied 2 goals and 5 assists in 22 appearances and won the MLS Rookie of the Year Award, while running the Crew offense for much of the season. His following season was something of a disappointment, as Martino failed to develop into the dominant offensive force that many had expected, although he maintained a spot in the Crew's starting lineup. His third season began like the second with Martino failing to stimulate the offense, but a move up to withdrawn forward saw a resurgence of his offensive abilities, and through the 2004 season Martino led the Crew to the longest unbeaten streak in MLS history. Martino had a down year in 2005, not scoring a goal. In early 2006, Martino was dealt to the LA Galaxy in a four-player deal. He and John Wolyniec were traded for Joseph Ngwenya and Ned Grabavoy. During the first 2006 match between the Crew and the Galaxy, before the trade, it was Martino who, in the last few seconds, scored the game's only goal, delivering a defeat to his soon-to-be teammates.

In November 2006, Martino had a trial at Dutch Eredivisie side NEC Nijmegen, but did not earn a contract. Martino also had a trial at Leeds United.[1]

Martino retired from professional soccer on February 19, 2008, having been advised by doctors that injuries he sustained throughout his career were severe enough that it would be in his best interest to retire.[2]

International

Martino played for the United States at the 2001 World Youth Championship in Argentina. He saw little playing time for the senior national team, getting his first cap on November 17, 2002, against El Salvador. He scored his only international goal against Panama on October 12, 2005, in a 2-0 World Cup qualifier USA victory.

Post-playing career

Until the beginning of the 2020/21 season, Martino was a studio analyst and color commentator for NBC Sports coverage of the English Premier League. He was previously a color commentator for MLS on the ESPN family of networks. In addition to commentating, he is also a television host featured on Travel Channel's 36 Hours and NBC's Spartan Race.

On November 6, 2017, Martino announced he was leaving NBC Sports temporarily to stand as a candidate for president of the United States Soccer Federation in the February 2018 election. His campaign was unsuccessful.[3]

Career statistics
Club performance League Cup Playoffs North America Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
2002Columbus CrewMajor League Soccer2224140––303
200322200––––222
20042952020––335
200527511––––286
20066100––––61
2006Los Angeles Galaxy9000––––90
2007263––––30293
Career total[4] 1411372603015715

Honors

Columbus Crew

Individual

Personal life

Martino married actress Eva Amurri on October 29, 2011.[5] They have three children, a daughter, Marlowe and two sons, Major and Mateo.[6][7][8]

On November 15, 2019, the couple announced that they were separating. As of March 2020, the couple have finalized their divorce before welcoming their second son.[9][10][11]

References
  1. Hush, Andrew. "John continues Leeds trial; joined by Martino". soccernewengland.com. Archived from the original on December 18, 2006. Retrieved December 5, 2006.
  2. John Mantia. "Give & Go: ESPN's Kyle Martino". Goal.com. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  3. Stein, Mark (November 6, 2017). "Kyle Martino Enters Race for U.S. Soccer President". The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  4. "Kyle Martino: Midfielder". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  5. Garcia, Jennifer (29 October 2011). "Eva Amurri Marries Kyle Martino". People.com. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  6. Leon, Anya; Garcia, Jennifer (11 August 2014). "Kyle and Eva Amurri Martino Welcome Daughter Marlowe Mae". People. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  7. Juneau, Jen (20 October 2016). "Meet Major James! Eva Amurri Martino Shares Photo of Newborn Son". People. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  8. Mauch, Ally. "Eva Amurri and Estranged Husband Kyle Martino Welcome Son Mateo: 'Our Hearts Are So Full'". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  9. Pasquini, Maria; Leon, Anya (March 19, 2020). "Eva Amurri and Kyle Martino Finalized Their Divorce Before Welcoming Third Child". People. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  10. Pasquini, Maria (March 19, 2020). "Eva Amurri and Kyle Martino Finalized Divorce a Month Before Welcoming 3rd Child". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  11. Crabtree, Erin (March 18, 2020). "Eva Amurri and Kyle Martino Finalized Their Divorce 1 Month Before Welcoming 3rd Child". Us Weekly. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
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