William Martínez (footballer)

Not to be confused with Williams Martínez.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Martínez and the second or maternal family name is Carreras.

Wílliam Ruben Martínez Carreras^[1] (January 13, 1928 – December 28, 1997) was a Uruguayan footballer who played as a defender. He played 54 times for the Uruguay national football team between 1950 and 1965.^[2]

Wílliam Martínez

Personal information
Full name	Wílliam Ruben Martínez Carreras
Date of birth	(1928-01-13)January 13, 1928
Place of birth	Pueblo Victoria, Uruguay
Date of death	December 28, 1997(1997-12-28) (aged 69)
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
0000–1942	Sportivo Alba
1942–1943	Nacional
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1943–1946	Nacional
1947–1948	Racing Montevideo
1948–1954	Rampla Juniors
1955–1962	Peñarol
1963–1967	Rampla Juniors
1967–1968	Atlético Junior
1968–1969	Rampla Juniors
1969–1970	Fenix
1970	Central Español
International career
1950–1965	Uruguay	54	(2)
Medal record Representing  Uruguay FIFA World Cup Winner 1950 Brazil
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Martínez came through the youth team of local side Sportivo Alba de Victoria and signed on as a youth player for Nacional in 1962. After playing for Nacional at various youth levels and for the first team he joined Racing Club de Montevideo in 1947.

In 1948, he joined Rampla Juniors, where he spent 7 seasons before joining Peñarol

It was with Peñarol that Martínez enjoyed most of his success at the club level. During his time with the club he captained the team to five consecutive league titles (1958–1962), two Copa Libertadores (1960, 1961), the Copa Intercontinental in 1961 and four consecutive editions of the Copa Uruguay (1958–1961).

In 1963 Martínez returned to Rampla Juniors, in 1967 he joined Atlético Junior in Colombia before returning for a third spell with Rampla Juniors.

In the last years of his playing career he worked as the player-manager of Fenix and Central Español. He retired from football in 1970 at the age of 42.

International career

Martínez was in the Uruguay squads for three FIFA World Cup tournaments (1950, 1954 and 1962). He played a total of 54 matches scoring 2 goals.

Martínez won the Copa América with Uruguay in 1956,^[3] he also played in three other editions of the tournament (1953,^[4] 1955^[1] and 1959A^[5]).

Honours

Nacional

• Primera División Uruguaya: 1943, 1946
• Torneo de Honor: 1943, 1946
• Torneo Competencia: 1945
• Copa de Confraternidad Escobar – Gerona: 1945
• Copa Aldao: 1946

Rampla Juniors

• Torneo Competencia: 1950
• Torneo Cuadrangular: 1953

C.A. Peñarol

• Primera División Uruguaya: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962
• Torneo Competencia: 1956, 1957
• Torneo de Honor: 1956
• Cuadrangular Tournament: 1955, 1957, 1959, 1960
• Cuadrangular in Mexico: 1957
• Copa Libertadores: 1960, 1961
• Intercontinental Cup: 1961

Uruguay

• 1950 FIFA World Cup: 1950
• 1956 South American Championship: 1956

Individual

• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1954^[6]
• IFFHS Uruguayan Men's Dream Team (Team B)^[7]

References

1. rsssf: Copa América 1955
2. rsssf: Uruguay record international footballers
3. rsssf: Copa América 1956
4. rsssf: Copa América 1953
5. rsssf: Copa América 1959 (Arg)
7. "IFFHS All-Time Uruguay Men's Dream Team". IFFHS. August 5, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2023.

External links

• World Cup Champions Squads 1930 – 2002
• A primeira grande zebra do Mundial (in Spanish)
• William Martínez – FIFA competition record (archived)