COLUMBUS – Cristian Martinez stands just five-foot-seven. The young midfielder from Panama was given a tall task by Crew SC Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter on Monday evening in Columbus against International Friendly opponent Eintracht Frankfurt of the German Bundesliga.
And Martinez delivered.
In his first appearance of the 2017 season for Crew SC, the second-year midfielder was tasked with manning the attacking midfield for all 90 minutes while his teammates were being subbed out around him. Martinez also played from both the right and left sides, switching at the half.
Martinez was able to deliver not only a 90-minute performance – a performance only three other Crew SC members would have on the night – but he also provided the assist on the game-winning goal in the 26th minute.
Martinez created a breakaway run before he rolled the ball to forward Ola Kamara, who booted it home over Eintracht Frankfurt goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky.
According to Berhalter, Martinez’s great showing was a long time coming.
“I’ve said all along that it’s a shame Cristian hasn’t gotten more games this year,” Berhalter said. “It’s a disappointment to me that he hasn’t been playing more regularly because he has ability. And if he’s fit, you can see that he can make plays. It’s difficult to be fit when you’re not playing games, so it’s a catch-22 situation. Cristian has been plugging away and it was nice to see him on the field tonight.”
Martinez entered the match with some nerves, but enjoyed his time on the pitch and came away optimistic about future opportunities in the Crew SC midfield.
“I was anxious about getting minutes because I hadn’t gotten minutes before, but luckily I was able to get on the field and I felt good once I was in there,” Martinez said. “Gregg had just talked to me in the past and told me to have patience and that my time is going to come. My time did come and I was able to make the most of it, so hopefully that will happen again in the future.”
Another debut was made for the Black & Gold on Monday evening against Eintracht Frankfurt. Rookie midfielder Abuchi Obinwa made his first ever Crew SC appearance after entering as a substitution in the 67th minute. Obinwa was ecstatic following his performance.
“Honestly, it was a great feeling, it felt amazing,” Obinwa said. “It felt good to finally get onto the field for the first time. I was a little nervous at first, being 20 with my first game being against a European side, but I feel like I did well so I just had fun on the field.”
Crew SC’s opponent, Eintracht Frankfurt, was familiar to Obinwa since he spent the 2014-15 and the 2015-16 season with German squad Hannover 96.
“It felt familiar,” Obinwa said. “It felt like I had been there before, in a way because I played against many German teams being over there. So, it was just more like a recap kind of.”
Obinwa, originally born in Columbus, discussed his journey to finally seeing the field for Crew SC at the young age of 20.
“It’s been very tough,” Obinwa said. “Being here, I’ve had to have mental toughness because I’m one of the youngest guys. I have to make sure that, even if I don’t get in games as frequently as I want, that I make sure that I stay strong and know that I’m developing even though I’m not playing and keep going as best as I can.”
Maybe the most impressive performance of the night belonged to Crew SC goalkeeper Brad Stuver. The veteran recorded the clean sheet against the Eintracht Frankfurt attack while eight substitutions were made in front of him on defense.
“I felt good tonight,” Stuver said. “I think both back lines did extremely well. I think they were organized and they were communicating the entire game. No matter who was out there, they were communicating and made my job really easy.”
Stuver reflected post-match on the international friendly and the time he spent on the field with his team.
“It’s good, just to see different styles of different teams from around the world,” Stuver said. “I think it shows these guys, like the level and the physicality of different leagues, that it’s just fun to go out and play. I mean anytime we get a chance to play at home in front of the crowd, it’s always fun.”
The International Friendly against Eintracht Frankfurt yielded many memorable moments for the Crew SC players, coaches and supporters. Berhalter spoke about the experience as a whole after the match before returning his focus to Major League Soccer play.
“It’s nice, you get to see people that you haven’t seen in a long time, a lot of familiar faces that you get to talk to,” Berhalter said. “But again, it’s how does our league measure up to other top leagues in the world? How do our fans get another experience than seeing an MLS opponent every week? And this is a great time to do it. Credit (Crew SC President of Business Operations) Andy Loughnane for organizing the game and making it happen and making a good opponent happen as well because that’s not always easy. But overall, I think it was a positive experience for everyone.”
Crew SC will play a home and home against the Philadelphia Union with the first leg taking place at MAPFRE Stadium on Saturday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Black & Gold will then travel to Philadelphia for a match on Wednesday, July 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Columbus returns home on Saturday, August 12 to face the Chicago Fire in what will be a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
