Shekiera Martinez's household have been sceptical when she informed them, aged eight, she needed to begin enjoying soccer. She was one in all 4 ladies and a boy in her household, rising up in Germany, and one in all her older sisters had by then given up the sport. “I needed to begin however once I informed my mum, she firstly mentioned: ‘No, you gained't play for lengthy, you'll be like your sister,'” Martinez remembers. “And so then I gave her a promise that I might play for longer than my sister.”
Sixteen years later, the West Ham striker has definitely saved that promise. After progressing via her native boys' staff, enjoying for Eintracht Frankfurt for six years and thriving at youth degree for Germany, Martinez most not too long ago collected the Ladies's Tremendous League's Rising Star award for the 2024-25 season after a breakthrough second half of the marketing campaign wherein she scored 10 occasions in 12 WSL video games.
No marvel the 24-year-old has a spring in her step as she sits down for an unique interview on a wise, black workplace chair at West Ham's Chadwell Heath coaching floor, having ended final season with back-to-back WSL player-of-the-month awards for March and April. Our dialog is occurring in the midst of West Ham's pre-season work – “I'm sore on daily basis!” Martinez jokes, earlier than including that the depth has felt actually good – however how did the league's most in-form participant on the finish of final time period spend her summer time break?
“I slept actually lengthy on daily basis,” she says. “I believe I wanted it, simply spending time with my household, strolling the canine and doing nothing after the season as a result of additionally with the change to [move to] England, it was very nice to do nothing and simply chill.”
Final season was life-changing for Martinez off the pitch in addition to on it. She grew to become a West Ham participant in July 2024, signing a three-year contract, however couldn't instantly play in England. Martinez grew to become eligible solely as soon as she had amassed sufficient factors for a visa below the governing physique endorsement system utilized by the Soccer Affiliation for worldwide gamers, and assembled the factors on mortgage in Germany's high division with Freiburg. In January, West Ham recalled her.
“It was actually fast,” she says. “I couldn't even say goodbye to everybody [at Freiburg] as a result of I assumed: ‘I'm going again there.' I [had] all the time mentioned my dream was to play in England one time. It got here faster than I assumed. I used to be prepared for the change and I used to be actually excited.”
To say that recall labored out for West Ham and Martinez could be an understatement; she scored almost a 3rd of West Ham's targets for the season regardless of becoming a member of halfway via the marketing campaign, and ended up because the division's joint third-top scorer. She was one in all solely 4 gamers – together with Alessia Russo, Khadija Shaw and Elisabeth Terland – to succeed in double figures however performed the fewest WSL video games of the highest 16 scorers.
“Sure, I used to be [surprised], to be trustworthy,” she says. “I actually had loads of respect [for the WSL] – I didn't know it will go so properly. The physicality is way tougher right here than in Germany, I believe, [but] we've got health club on daily basis so I additionally received stronger.”
Martinez earned a fame for being a scientific goalscorer seven years in the past, when she was the highest scorer on the 2018 Underneath-17 European Championship with 9 targets to assist Germany end as runners-up.
“I'm a 9, I like scoring targets,” she says. “I'm probably not considering once I'm enjoying soccer; it simply occurs on intuition. If it occurs, I'm joyful, if not it's additionally OK for me. I actually just like the state of affairs once I go one-v-one in opposition to the goalkeeper. Generally it's actually onerous as a result of you may have a lot time to suppose.”
Her love for the joys of scoring targets is evident however she isn't a diehard football-watching fan. She loves watching basketball – the skilled participant Leon Fertig is an effective pal – on tv however not soccer: “I don't watch any soccer, until my buddies are enjoying, so I assist my buddies when they're enjoying. I identical to enjoying greater than watching.”
One other pleasure is strolling her canine, an eight-month-old toy poodle named Ruby, who was born simply as Martinez moved to the WSL. “I don't go into the town typically so I'm simply with my canine within the parks, having fun with my quieter time,” she says. “We're dwelling behind a park so we thought: ‘It's the proper time to get a canine.' I like it. She's my child.”
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If Martinez continues scoring at her current fee, she's going to certainly be unlikely to have the summer time of 2027 at residence with Ruby, as a result of Germany might properly come calling for the World Cup in Brazil, however she isn't placing any stress on herself for a senior call-up: “It will be a dream in fact however I don't need to rush myself. I can't change something, I'll simply attempt to play my greatest and in the event that they prefer it, they prefer it”
Within the way more speedy time period, the WSL season looms on the horizon, with West Ham starting their marketing campaign away to Tottenham Hotspur on 7 September. After a ninth-placed end the plan is to “climb up the desk” and Martinez says: “If we play just like the final half of final season, we might be actually good.”
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