Matilde 'Mati' Martínez, One-Club Woman 2023
Matilde 'Mati' Martínez, One-Club Woman 2023
Fundación Albacete's former captain spent twenty years with theclub, combining a sporting career with her profession as a nurse
Matilde Martínez Sánchez (Honrubia, 1988), better known as Mati, is our 2023 One-Club Woman. Mati will receive the award at San Mamés on May 4, at half-time during the match between Athletic Club and Betis.
Starting as a 14-year-old and ending at the age of 34, Mati spent her entire sporting career with Fundación Albacete, demonstrating the values, loyalty and commitment that the One-Club Award seeks to honour.
What's more, Mati combined her passion for football with a career as a nurse, a profession which was thrown into the spotlight and the trenches during the recent pandemic. Fundación Albacete’s eternal captain making sure her scrubs and her boots were at hand.
The gradual professionalisation of women's football will always be indebted to women like Matilde Martínez. Mati and all the women she represents deserve extraordinary credit. Several generations of women who, together with their clubs, paved the way for women's football to grow and offer a brighter future for new generations of players.
Mati & Fundación Albacete
The official farewell statement Fundación Albacete dedicated to Matilde when she announced her retirement at the end of last season clearly reflects the values of the One-Club Woman Award.
“This is a sad loss which will leave a void as big as the legacy that will remain... Our captain, who joined the club 20 summers ago, puts an end to her link with Funda after having undoubtedly been one of the most important players to come from our region and one of the people, on and off the pitch, who has done the most to help Funda grow over the years.
“Mati says goodbye after helping the team achieve promotion to the First RFEF [Second tier] and after a career that includes a top-flight promotion and five years in that division.
“Two decades full of achievements. More than half a thousand matches and a string of actions that demonstrate her bond with what will always be her home and that establish her as a person without whom it would be impossible to explain our history.”
Eli Ibarra, our legendary Lioness (15 seasons, 413 appearances, 111 goals) will be in charge of presenting the One-Club Women trophy to Mati at half-time during Athletic vs Betis at San Mames on May 4. Both players competed against each other on the pitch during Ibarra's last three seasons before retiring in 2016/17.