Add another name to the list of Olympians to watch: Honduran midfielder Mario Martinez. He’s the newest Sounder.
The acquisition on loan of the 23-year-old was disclosed by the club Wednesday.
“He’s a young player who we’ve been tracking for a while now,” said coach Sigi Schmid. “He has a very good left foot and a good shot from distance. Martinez can play wide and can also play underneath the front runners. He is pretty technical and a player who we think has a big upside.”
He is on loan from his Honduran club, Real España, but cannot join the team under after obtaining a P-1 visa. To get him, the Sounders had to surrender a conditional draft choice to Real Salt Lake, which had the No. 1 discovery priority on Martinez.
The Honduran Olympics team has reached the quarterfinals of the Olympics tournament after draws with Morocco and Japan and a win over Spain.
Martinez, 5-foot-7 and 154 pounds, played for Real España since 2006, making more than 50 appearances for the Liga Nacional team based in his hometown of San Pedro Sula. Martinez spent the 2009-10 seasons playing on loan for Norwegian side Valerenga and Anderlecht of Belgium.
Martinez has 29 appearances for Honduras on the international level. He was a member of the U23 team that participated in the 2008 Olympics after winning the CONCACAF men’s Pre-Olympic Tournament, and he has 17 appearances for the senior national team.