| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kyle Hunter Martino | ||
| Date of birth | (1981-02-19)February 19, 1981 (age 44) | ||
| Place of birth | Atlanta,Georgia, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999–2001 | Virginia Cavaliers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2006 | Columbus Crew | 106 | (10) |
| 2006–2007 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 35 | (3) |
| Total | 141 | (13) | |
| International career | |||
| 2002–2006 | United States | 8 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Kyle Hunter Martino (born February 19, 1981) is an American former professionalsoccer player who spent seven seasons with theColumbus Crew andLos Angeles Galaxy inMajor League Soccer as amidfielder. He is currently a television soccer analyst and host.
Martino attendedStaples High School inWestport, Connecticut, where he played soccer and was namedGatorade National Player of the Year in 1998 after his senior season.
Martino attended theUniversity of Virginia from 1999 to 2001. He playedcollege soccer and scored 17 goals and provided 21 assists. In his junior season, Martino was named ACC Player of the Year. In both his sophomore and junior seasons, he was one of 15 finalists for theHermann Trophy.
Martino left UVA after his junior season, signing aProject-40 contract withMajor League Soccer (MLS) and entering the2002 MLS Superdraft, where theColumbus Crew selected him eighth overall. He tallied two goals and five assists in 22 appearances and won theMLS Rookie of the Year Award, while running the Crew offense for much of the season. His following season was something of a disappointment, as Martino failed to develop into the dominant offensive force that many had expected, although he maintained a spot in the Crew's starting lineup. His third season began like the second with Martino failing to stimulate the offense, but a move up to withdrawn forward saw a resurgence of his offensive abilities, and through the 2004 season he led the Crew to the longest unbeaten streak in MLS history. Martino had a down year in 2005, not scoring a goal and in early 2006 he was dealt to theLA Galaxy in a four-player deal. He andJohn Wolyniec were traded forJoseph Ngwenya andNed Grabavoy. During the first 2006 match between the Crew and the Galaxy, before the trade, it was Martino who, in the last few seconds, scored the game's only goal, delivering a defeat to his soon-to-be teammates.
In November 2006, Martino had a trial atDutchEredivisie sideNEC Nijmegen, but did not earn a contract. Martino also had a trial atLeeds United.[1]
Martino retired from professional soccer on February 19, 2008, having been advised by doctors that injuries he sustained throughout his career were severe enough that it would be in his best interest to retire.[2]
Martino played for theUnited States at the 2001World Youth Championship inArgentina. He saw little playing time for the senior national team, getting his first cap on November 17, 2002, againstEl Salvador. He scored his only international goal againstPanama on October 12, 2005, in a 2-0 World Cup qualifier U.S. victory.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 12 October 2005 | Foxboro,United States |  Panama | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Until the beginning of the 2020/21 season, Martino was a studio analyst andcolor commentator forNBC Sports coverage of the English Premier League. He was previously a color commentator for MLS on theESPN family of networks. In addition to commentating, he is also a television host featured on Travel Channel's36 Hours and NBC'sSpartan Race.
On November 6, 2017, Martino announced he was leaving NBC Sports temporarily to stand as a candidate for president of theUnited States Soccer Federation in the February 2018 election. His campaign was unsuccessful.[3]
| Club performance | League | Cup | Playoffs | North America | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 2002 | Columbus Crew | Major League Soccer | 22 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 3 |
| 2003 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 22 | 2 | ||
| 2004 | 29 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 33 | 5 | ||
| 2005 | 27 | 5 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 28 | 6 | ||
| 2006 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 6 | 1 | ||
| 2006 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 9 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 26 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 3 | 0 | 29 | 3 | ||
| Career total[4] | 141 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 157 | 15 | ||
Columbus Crew
Individual
Martino married actressEva Amurri on October 29, 2011.[5] They have three children, a daughter, Marlowe and two sons, Major and Mateo.[6][7][8]
On November 15, 2019, the couple announced that they were separating. As of March 2020, the couple have finalized their divorce before welcoming their third child.[9][10][11]
