Maravilla Martínez changed her destiny: from the ordeal in prison due to a mistake to the three goals that made Racing delirious against San Lorenzo

Ten years passed. TO Adrian Martinez, The striker who shone in the Cilindro de Avellaneda with three goals in Racing’s victory against San Lorenzo, had not yet been nicknamed Maravilla by the former world boxing champion Sergio Martínez and football was far from being his source of livelihood . Far away: He worked as a garbage collector.

However, everything changed for him when a car accident left his hand (and his life in general) severely affected: several blood vessels were cut and he lost his job when he had a family to support.

As if that wasn’t enough, in a confusing episode he was locked up in Penitentiary Center no. 21 of Bell. “My brother was shot four times and the people of the neighborhood set fire to the attackers’ house. For this reason they put me and other members of my family in prison. We were locked up for six months until they decided to free me from all guilt and charges,” he said Clarion in 2016.

The twists of fate are indecipherable and weeks after his release a friend of his suggested he take a test Defenders United. It was the beginning of 2015.

“I scored goals in a couple of friendlies against Primera B Metropolitana and C teams and I stayed. Since the club wouldn’t pay me a salary, but only travel expenses, my friend helped me out financially,” he said.

It was worth it. With the Zarate shirt he scored 34 goals in 73 games and put himself on the radar of the important Ascenso clubs who usually compete for those players for whom scoring comes naturally. At that moment he made the leap to First B with the Atlanta.

But Paraguay was the destination where he definitively catapulted his career, by leaps and bounds Sun of America, Freedom AND Cerro Porteño. Then he played in Brazil (he was on loan). Curitiba) and the gunpowder appeared to have been wetted there, but regained its firepower at the Institute. He was one of the figures in the promotion of the Córdoba team to the First Division. And at the beginning of 2024 he makes the big leap: he signs with Racing until December 2026.

Carlos Tévez wanted him for Independiente, but Martínez chose the blue and white Avellaneda team to strengthen the meaning of the word resilience and join the project of Gustavo Costas, the new coach. And he has already started paying with goals.

Maravilla’s goals against San Lorenzo

The summary of the match