Ahead of welcoming the New York Red Bulls to town for the Eastern Conference Championship on Sunday (5 pm ET | ESPN, ESPN Deportes, TSN, TVAS) Atlanta United star Josef Martinez penned an insightful piece for The Players' Tribune.
Martinez covered a lot of ground in the piece, from his Venezuelan upbringing, his moves to Europe and Atlanta and his beloved outspoken "hot-take machine" of a grandfather, who has even called Atlanta star Miguel Almiron an ostrich for his running style. Speaking of whom, Martinez spent a lot of ink writing about Almiron -- "the best player in MLS", his teammate and "family" member.
"Sometimes, maybe when I’m tired from training, I’ll just give them the short answer," Martinez wrote of trying to explain his record-setting goal scoring season to reporters. "I’ll look around the room for Miguel, point at him and say, 'You see that guy? He’s why I’m so good.'"
A tougher question, he says, has been how to describe what Atlanta mean to him.
"Atlanta is the supporters, who make the Mercedes-Benz Stadium the best place I’ve ever played soccer," Martinez said. "Atlanta is my teammates, the coaching staff, the friends I’ve made on this team. Atlanta is family. Atlanta means family."
Be sure to read the rest of Josef's article with The Players' Tribune here
