Lautaro Martinez
Lautaro Javier Martínez was born in Bahía Blanca, Argentina, on August 22, 1997.
Football was already part of his life from an early age. He began playing for local club Liniers before joining the Racing Club youth academy as a teenager. There, his potential quickly became apparent.
He made his first-team debut for Racing on November 1, 2015, shortly after his 18th birthday.
There was an appropriate twist to the story: he replaced former Inter striker Diego Milito during a match against Crucero del Norte.
A year later Martínez scored his first professional goal, against Huracán.
His breakthrough came during the 2016-17 season, when he scored nine goals in 28 appearances. The following campaign was even better. He scored 18 times in 28 appearances, including five goals in the Copa Libertadores, establishing himself as one of the most exciting young forwards in South America.
His performances also brought international recognition.
Martínez represented Argentina at Under-20 level and was the leading scorer at the 2017 South American Under-20 Championship with five goals. He also appeared at the Under-20 World Cup in South Korea.
The senior national team soon came calling.
On March 27, 2018, he made his Argentina debut against Spain, replacing Gonzalo Higuaín in a 6-1 defeat. It was hardly the dream beginning, but Martínez would soon become an important member of the Albiceleste.
In July 2018, Martínez joined Inter.
The Nerazzurri paid around €22.7 million for the 20-year-old, who signed a five-year contract.
His first season was one of adaptation. He scored six goals in Serie A, but the arrival of Antonio Conte the following summer changed everything.
Playing alongside Romelu Lukaku, Martínez developed rapidly.
The partnership became one of the most dangerous in Italian football and helped Inter reach the 2020 Europa League final. Although Sevilla won the final, Martínez had announced himself on the European stage.
His numbers continued to improve.
He scored 14 goals in 2019-20, 17 in the Scudetto-winning 2020-21 campaign and 21 in both 2021-22 and 2022-23. His greatest individual Serie A season came in 2023-24, when he scored 24 league goals as Inter won the championship.
That title was particularly significant because Martínez had evolved from promising young striker into the leader of Inter's attack.
He had also become captain.
Martínez's international career followed a similar path.
He was part of Argentina's squad that won the 2021 Copa América, ending a long wait for a major international trophy.
A year later came the ultimate prize.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Martínez was an important member of Lionel Scaloni's squad as Argentina became world champions. Although he did not score at the tournament, his contribution from the bench and in attack helped Argentina overcome France in one of the greatest World Cup finals ever played.
He subsequently became even more important for Argentina.
Martínez was part of the team that won the 2024 Copa América, scoring five goals and finishing as the tournament's leading scorer. His decisive moment came in the final against Colombia, when his extra-time goal secured another major trophy for Argentina.
By then, El Toro had become one of the leaders of the post-Messi generation, while still playing alongside the Argentine legend.
Back at Inter, Martínez continued to score.
The 2024-25 season brought 12 Serie A goals, while in 2025-26 he scored 17 league goals in 29 appearances and was named Serie A's Best Striker. He also helped Inter win another Scudetto and the Coppa Italia.
By May 2026, Martínez had reached 175 goals in 376 official appearances for Inter, overtaking Roberto Boninsegna to become the club's third-highest goalscorer behind Giuseppe Meazza and Alessandro Altobelli.
His trophy cabinet with Inter had also grown to three Serie A titles, three Coppa Italia trophies and three Supercoppa Italiana victories.
The 2026 World Cup provided another chapter.
Argentina entered the tournament as defending champions, and Martínez finally scored his first World Cup goal when he converted a penalty against Jordan in the group stage.
He then scored in the quarter-final against Switzerland and produced an even more dramatic contribution in the semi-final against England, heading Argentina's winning goal in the 92nd minute to send them into another World Cup final.
But he surprisingly did not play in the final which Argentina lost to Spain.
Despite the disappointment, he is still the captain of the probably strongest team in Serie A and Inter are clearly favourites for the 2026-27 title.
Source
Comments