View From Japan | "I'm Sure Thiago Will Be Loved In New York."  | New York City FC (2024)

After New York City Football Club announced the transfer of Thiago Martins from sister club Yokohama F. Marinos, we asked Japanese football expert Tiago Bontempo for the lowdown on our newest recruit.

From Brazil to the United States via Japan – it’s certainly an unusual path for a soccer player. Born in the countryside of Brazil in 1995, Thiago Martins Bueno started his professional career at Palmeiras, one of the biggest and most winning clubs in South America. Having played previously for their youth side, he was considered a promising center-back, but two serious knee injuries hindered his growth. Despite starting for almost half the matches when Palmeiras were crowned Brasileirão (Brazilian first division) champions in 2016, he still hadn’t enough experience and kept being loaned to further improve his skills.

His destiny was about to change dramatically in the summer of 2018, when he unexpectedly went to the other side of the globe to wear the blue, white and red colors of the Yokohama F-Marinos in Japan. Still 23 years old, he arrived at a struggling club that was in the middle of a rebuilding process and in danger of relegation. However, Ange Postecoglou, the Australian head coach who was in charge for the first season, had a plan in the works. Postecoglou plays an aggressive and Guardiola-esque brand of soccer which is beautiful to watch, but takes time and patience to complete. They were conceding a lot of goals in the beginning with the defenders constantly exposed to one-on-one situations in the counter. Thiago’s arrival started to change that.

In the 2019 season, their system was finally working at full steam and Yokohama was playing the best football in the J.League, which culminated in a first league title for the club in 15 years. Thiago, who played as a regular in a full season for the first time in his career, was awarded a spot in the league’s Best Eleven. This writer still has a clear memory of that year’s summer, going to the Nissan Stadium, home of the Yokohama F-Marinos, for the first time, when a supporter called Masumi said: “Thiago is the player that I like the most. The team suffers a lot when he doesn’t play.”

In fact, Thiago’s presence was vital for the soccer they wanted to play, as virtually every fan that I’ve spoken to can attest. “Personally, I think he saved Marinos from relegation in 2018”, said Stuart, who goes to most home and many away games. “Under Postecoglou we changed the style and were playing a very high line, scoring a lot of goals, but the defense were too old and slow to be able to run back if we were counterattacked. Thiago’s first match was one of the first times I’ve ever been amazed by defensive play. He was so fast, and took the ball so easily. It turned the club around, saved us from being relegated and we won the league the next year. His arrival was key. Club legend [and former Japan international] Yuji Nakazawa who Thiago replaced had played the full 90 mins of the previous 178 matches, he never played again…”

“Thiago’s mobility, speed, skill on the ball, and passing range were significant factors in helping us play Ange Postecoglou’s high-risk high-reward football”, says Tony, who supports the Marinos from Australia. “It’s also incredible brave for a defender to take on this burden – when you play such a high defensive line, continually pushing forward, it’s easy to get embarrassed at the back if it goes wrong. We rarely suffered this when Thiago was on the pitch”, he emphasizes.

“Thiago’s sprints to cover opposition attacks in behind our full backs were as exciting as any winger’s exploits going the other way. The crowd would first gasp, then roar in approval when he had intercepted the break and cleared the ball to safety. Even for a supporter whose eyes are drawn to a skillful midfielder or attacker, it was really inspiring. Though Martins was known to sometimes enjoy going for a run up the wing or through the center himself, which always made me laugh”, asserts Tony.

Just to illustrate his running skills, in the 2020 season, when the loan deal from Palmeiras became a permanent move, the Brazilian had the highest average number of sprints (19.94) and one of the highest rates of distance covered per 90 minutes (6.59 miles) among all center-backs in the J.League. On top of that, at least individually, though, Thiago’s best season in Japan came in 2021. Despite ending as runners-up to recent juggernauts Kawasaki Frontale, the Marinos’ overall performance was as good as two years ago and, defensively, even better. Thiago has improved in every department. He became the leader of the defence, his passing and tackling were more efficient and he was as impressive as ever in both ground and aerial duels. At 26, he was playing the best soccer of his career so far. And that is just one of the reasons why the Marinos supporters loved him so much.

“I really loved to see him play. Also, he was a great character in the locker room. He always seemed to make everyone laugh. I think he is the kind of player that everyone loves, men, women and children. We were so relieved when he signed the contract again. I think we would watch a match of another team just to see him play again”, states Stuart.

Among the many supporters that loved him, a 7-year-old girl became famous for always going to the stadium carrying a homemade doll of Thiago Martins and wearing his number 13 jersey. “Thank you for everything, Thiago. Even if you’re playing somewhere else, I’ll always be cheering for you. I love you”, she said tearfully at a video shared by her family on social media.

“First of all, almost all Marinos supporters are grateful to Thiago. Without him, Postecoglou’s tactics using a high line would not be possible and we wouldn’t have won the title in the 2019 season”, said a supporter called Akira. “When he first came to Japan, Thiago was characterized by his speed. He later developed his heading and overlapping skills and eventually even wore the captain’s armband. He became undoubtedly one of the top defenders in the J.League”, he continues.

“I would be happy to see him come back to Marinos someday. Thiago is very humble. He studied Japanese and communicated well with Japanese players. His serious personality combined well with the Japanese, so he was also loved for his character. I’m sure he’ll be loved in New York as well,” he concludes.