One year ago, Felipe Martins\u2019 life changed forever. After a 17-year playing career that took him from Brazil to Italy to Switzerland to Canada and the U.S., Martins called it quits on soccer and transitioned to a new journey of coaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cI realized that it was time to retire in the middle of 2024. I started to see it and feel it; physically, I could continue, for sure, but mentally, I was struggling,\u201d stated Martins in an exclusive World Soccer Talk<\/a> interview. \u201cI think that was the moment for me where I was starting to see that, \u2018Yeah, I think it\u2019s time.\u2019 It was very difficult, it still is very difficult, but now I\u2019m in a process where I have understood that soccer has given me so many things. People of soccer treated me in a certain way because of what I could provide, and because of who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFriends that I\u2019ve lost, I understood that they were there just because of what I could provide, and also who I was\u2014even family. The reality is that after you retire, you basically have nothing to offer anymore, and people just disappear, you know? But it was a moment where I could connect more with myself and understand that nobody owes you anything. You just need to take care of yourself and always do the best for yourself, because people will always be just people. It\u2019s a transactional relationship where you give something, and they give you something. It\u2019s very difficult to find people who really like you for who you are, and not for what you can provide.\u201d<\/p>\n Born on September 30, 1990, Martins was raised in Engenheiro Beltr\u00e3o, Brazil, but left at the age of 10 to pursue his luck in Santa Catarina and then Rio de Janeiro, before eventually heading to Europe and joining Calcio Padova in 2008. However, he would play just five times before being diagnosed with a minor heart defect: hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. <\/p>\n Unable to play in the league, Martins left the Italian third tier and, after a brief hiatus, made the move to Swiss outfit FC Winterthur. After bouncing around Switzerland at Winterthur, FC Lugano, and FC Wohlen, Martins headed across the Atlantic and joined MLS expansion side Montreal Impact (now CF Montr\u00e9al), where he played alongside legendary defender Alessandro Nesta.<\/p>\n He established himself as a vital cog in midfield with 14 goals and 21 assists in 107 appearances, leading them to their first two trophies as an MLS<\/a> club after winning the Canadian Championship in 2013 and 2014. Martins then reunited with ex-Montr\u00e9al coach Jesse Marsch at the New York Red Bulls, where he registered 10 goals and 10 assists in 125 appearances and guided them to the 2015 Supporters\u2019 Shield as well as a trip to the 2017 U.S. Open Cup Final, before returning to Canada ahead of the 2018 season. <\/p>\n After a fairly brief spell with the Vancouver Whitecaps, Martins then took his talents to D.C. United, where he cemented his status as the team\u2019s midfield linchpin until tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in training on September 1, 2020. But rather than break, Martins merely bent and quickly reasserted himself as a leader in the Black and Red\u2019s midfield.<\/p>\n \u201cMy proudest moment was when I came back from my injury, you know what I mean? I think it\u2019s the moment that just solidified who I am and who I was. Coming from an injury is never easy, but I think I\u2019ve done very well since I was injured, and I came back from my ACL injury in 2020. You lose speed, you lose explosiveness, but my part is just that it was tough mentally to overcome that challenge, and I think I did the best way I could at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n