photo by Jordan Bank

New York City FC have confirmed who their star goal-scorer is with 2024 team leader Alonso Martinez already having scored his third of the season against New England Revolution this past weekend. While new head coach Pascal Jansen is still finding his way in Major League Soccer, he looks at players like Martinez and the surging Julian Fernandez as the cornerstones of the new culture the team is trying to build.

“Never being satisfied,” Said Jansen when asked about his young forwards after the game. “If you look at the score sheet, their contributions were quite strong in this game. I see them train every day and they work so hard to improve. That’s the culture we’re building.”

City have started the season strong, having won their second in a row at Yankee Stadium and pushing themselves up to seventh place in the Eastern Conference. With a 2-1-1 record, City have been able to navigate early season headaches as Jansen comes to grips with his players and the league. What is certain at this point is that his forwards, particularly Martinez, will be a strong asset towards the team’s success.

Martinez wasn’t always the option in 2024. While he did receive starts, he was mostly on the wing as the club looked to establish Mounsef Bakrar as the team’s number 9 striker. That didn’t work out as Bakrar’s chances yielded little in the way of results. It wasn’t until a late May win over San Jose, where Martinez scored three goals off the bench, that solidified the decision to make him the team’s lead striker. Since then he has tightened his grip on the spot and has shown little signs of letting it go.

“Alonso (Martinez) is always hunting for goals,” said Jansen. “Sometimes a little too much which makes him miss opportunities to involve teammates, but it’s still a strong quality of his. Julian (Fernandez) is trying to establish himself in the team by working hard, both in games and in training.”

Martinez will take his goal-scoring eye on the road next week as NYCFC travel to Ohio to play the Columbus Crew. While they are still a team coached by Wilfred Nancy, the loss of key players has seen them take a step backwards thus far in 2025. Now, is the time for Jansen and his hungry forwards to continue their push towards acknowledgement within the league.

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