Johan Martial (born 30 May 1991) is a French professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. He was a France youth international for the under-19 and under-20 teams.

Club career

Martial was born in Massy. He joined

SC Bastia Sporting Club Bastia (, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a French professional association football, football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of Football in France, ...

after leaving the

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...

-based outfit AS Montferrand. He received his first call up to the senior squad for their

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, 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 Prof ...

match against

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

on 13 March 2009, and made his professional debut as a late match substitute in the 1–0 victory. On 2 August 2010, Bastia loaned Martial to fellow

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

team Brest for the entire 2010–11 Ligue 1 season. The loan deal was made permanent at the end of the season. In 2015, after his Brest contract expired, Martial moved to

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

. On 20 June 2017, after Troyes regained their place in the top flight, Martial moved abroad for the first time by joining Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. in the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

. In February 2019, he moved across the league to

Ashdod Ashdod (, ; , , or ; Philistine language, Philistine: , romanized: *''ʾašdūd'') is the List of Israeli cities, sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District (Israel), Southern District, it lies on the Mediterranean ...

. On 4 July 2019, he signed a two-year contract with

Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club (), or with its full name officially romanized as Panaitolikós Gymnastikós Filekpaideftikós Sýllogos (''; Pan- Aetolian Gymnastic and Educational Club''), is a Greek professional football club. It is based in Agrini ...

, on a free transfer. He left the club on 6 June 2020 to join

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy ...

. In January 2022 he joined

Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League (), known simply as the Super League (), is the men's top professional Football in Malaysia, football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnersh ...

side Sri Pahang. He was released by the club in mid season due to injuries.

International career

Martial made his international debut for France under-19 on 9 September 2009 in a 3–3 friendly draw away to Japan. He was part of the team that won the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship on home soil, making an appearance in the final group game, a 1–1 draw with

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Personal life

Johan is of Guadeloupen descent. He is the younger brother of former

Les Ulis Les Ulis () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department, from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris, France. A planned community, it comprises outer suburbs (banlieues) built in the 1970s on the southwestern ...

captain Dorian Martial and the older brother of former

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

forward Anthony Martial. He is the cousin of Servette midfielder Alexis Martial.

Honours

France under-19 * UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

*Greek Cup

References

External links

LFP Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martial, Johan 1991 births Living people French men's footballers SC Bastia players Stade Brestois 29 players F.C. Ashdod players Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. players Panetolikos F.C. players FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players Sri Pahang FC players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Israeli Premier League players Super League Greece players Malaysia Super League players France men's youth international footballers French people of Guadeloupean descent People from Massy, Essonne Footballers from Essonne Men's association football central defenders Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Malaysia French expatriate sportspeople in Israel French expatriate sportspeople in Greece French expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia 21st-century French sportsmen