Corentin Martins da Silva (born July 11, 1969 in
BrestBrest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
), known as
Martins, is a retired
FrenchThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
footballer of
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
descent, who played as an attacking midfielder.
Club career
After starting at hometown's
Stade Brestois 29Stade Brestois 29 is a French football club based in Brest. The club was founded in 1903 under the name Armoricaine de Brest and adopted its current name in 1950...
, Martins moved to
AJ AuxerreAssociation de la Jeunesse Auxerroise is a French association football club based in the commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club was founded in 1905 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Auxerre plays its home matches at the Stade l'Abbé-Deschamps on the banks of the...
in 1991, being a crucial part of an emergent side led by legendary
Guy Roux; in 1992–93, it reached the UEFA Cup semifinals and, four years later, achieved an historical double.
In July 1996, Martins signed with
Deportivo de La CoruñaReal Club Deportivo de La Coruña is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia; founded in 1906 and currently playing in Segunda División...
: after an impressive first season in
La LigaThe Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
, he was pushed to the bench by new signing
DjalminhaDjalma Feitosa Dias , aka Djalminha, is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.Blessed with superb skills but also a troublesome character he represented, among others, Flamengo and Deportivo de La Coruña, and was also a Brazil international.-Brazil:Son of former...
, and returned in January 1998 to France, joining
Racing Club StrasbourgRacing Club de Strasbourg is a French association football club founded in 1906 and professional since 1933, based in the city of Strasbourg, in Alsace...
for one 1/2 seasons.
After a season loaned at
FC Girondins de BordeauxFootball Club des Girondins de Bordeaux is a French association football club based in the city of Bordeaux. The club currently play in Ligue 1, the first division of French football, and won its last Ligue 1 title in the 2008–09 season....
, Martins rejoined Strasbourg until 2004, and closed out his career with lowly
Clermont FootClermont Foot Auvergne 63 is a French association football club based in Clermont-Ferrand. The first incarnation of the club was formed in 1911 and the current club was created in 1990 as a result of a merger...
.
In 2006, he started his manager career, with modest side Quimper Cornouaille FC. In the following year, he was named his first club's
director of Football"Director of football" is a term describing a senior management figure at a football club, most commonly used in Europe. The exact nature of the role is often unclear and extremely variable and causes much debate in the sports media...
, but had a brief spell as interim coach in the beginnings of 2008–09; shortly after, he stayed on the bench, now as an assistant for the
second divisionLigue 2 , formerly known as Division 2, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel , the other being Ligue 1, the country's top football division...
team.
International career
Martins earned his first cap for
FranceThe France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
on 27 March 1993, against
AustriaThe Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
, in a 1–0 victory.
He represented the nation at UEFA Euro 1996 and gained a total of 14 caps, but his international career was vastly undermined by the emergence of
Zinedine ZidaneZinedine Yazid Zidane is a retired French footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Zidane was a leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship...
.
External links