Atletico Ottawa Loans Viti Martinez To Alaves B

Canadian Premier League expansion side Atletico Ottawa has loaned Spanish midfielder Viti Martinez to Segunda Division B side Alaves B.

The 23-year-old played for the full ninety in six of the club’s seven matches at The Island Games, with the Mataro-born midfielder keeping the club’s postseason hopes alive with a last-gasp goal against Pacific FC before the club ultimately bounced out of contention in the final matchday of the regular season.

Today’s loan move announcement means that the player will return to his native Spain to remain match fit during the long CPL offseason. Inadvertently, it also means that Martinez is expected to be back next year, too.

I am happy to see Viti continuing to play and compete at a high level. We are looking forward to seeing him develop while training throughout the Canadian Premier League off-season.

Fernando Lopez

Unlike the loan moves of York9 FC players Michael Petrasso and Nicholas Hamilton, Viti’s loan to Alaves B will wrap up in time for the midfielder to rejoin the expansion side for the expected 2021 CPL preseason in March.

The move also means that Martinez may suit up against Jose Galan, who is spending the CPL offseason with Segunda Division B side CP Villarrobledo with plans to return to Valour FC in March.

As the name implies, Alaves B is the reserve team for La Liga side Deportivo Alaves. During the long Canadian offseason, Martinez will be plying his trade against the reserve teams for sides like Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad (among many independent sides), with Alaves B having last finished 11th in the 20-team division last season.

It’s a league the Spanish midfielder is familiar with, having already accumulated over thirty appearances in the Spanish third tier (and some in the second division) from his time with the likes of CE Sabadell FC and Gimnastic de Tarragona.

I would like to thank Atletico Ottawa for making my arrival at Deportivo Alavés possible. This will help me continue to grow and be active as a player. Right now, I am 100 per cent focused on my new team [and] no doubt I want return to Ottawa for the 2021 season.

Viti Martinez

Atletico Ottawa has kept the contract status of its inaugural roster relatively under wraps, so it’s unknown if there are other loan moves that were wrapped up but undisclosed ahead of the European transfer window deadline. When Martinez signed back in April, the club opted not to reveal his contract length – though evidently he’s set to return for the 2021 Canadian Premier League season.

As things stand, Canadian Premier League clubs will be hoping to secure loan and training moves for as many players as possible so that CPL athletes can maintain maximal match fitness during an offseason that will last over half a year – one of the longest in the soccer world.

Martinez was the expansion side’s sixth international signing (fourteenth overall), with the 23-year-old racking up 540 minutes of playtime and one goal under head coach Mista. With Atletico Ottawa announcing six last minute signings to fill up its inaugural roster as the club arrived in Charlottetown, it’s looking likely that the roster will see some turnover ahead of the next season – though it certainly proved to be a competitive team in its inaugural campaign.