Josef Martínez entered his first match in Tijuana late, stepping onto the artificial surface at Estadio Caliente with roughly fifteen minutes remaining against Club América. By then, his Major League Soccer career was already behind him, along with the statistical chase that had followed him for years.

Martínez leaves MLS with 130 regular-season goals, a total that places him sixth on the league’s all-time scoring list. He moved ahead of Bradley Wright-Phillips and finished within reach of Jeff Cunningham and Jaime Moreno. With more time, Landon Donovan and Kei Kamara were not unreachable. The record, however, belonged elsewhere. Chris Wondolowski’s 171 goals were built over nearly two decades. The gap once looked reasonably close. But at age 32, with the mileage of a thousand battles and a rebuilt knee, that mountain had likely become too steep to climb.

Martínez remains the fastest player to reach 100 goals in league history, doing so in 125 matches, a record that may stand longer than Wondo’s record.

Martínez has reportedly signed a one-year guaranteed contract with Club Tijuana, with an option that extends into 2027. The deal places him in a squad that is looking for end product. Last season, Xolos generated enough chances to be playoff-bound. The goals never followed, leaving them in the middle of the table.

Atlanta

When Martínez arrived in Atlanta in 2017, the doubts were familiar. He was a Torino castoff, labeled a short winger in a league thought to favor physical giants. Tata Martino recognized a striker. Given the new role, and paired with Miguel Almirón on an expansion side with no history to lean on, Martínez didn’t just settle into the league; he conquered it.

Martínez arrived in Atlanta United’s expansion year and became the focal point almost immediately. His game was narrow, vertical, and direct, built around penalty-box movement and decisive finishing.

Between 2017 and 2022, he became the club’s all-time leading scorer across all competitions and the attacking reference point for its first competitive era. In 2018, his production crossed into historical territory. Thirty-one goals. League MVP. Golden Boot. MLS Cup.

His 2018 season remains the gold standard for attacking dominance: the MVP, the Golden Boot, and the MLS Cup. More than the records, he gave Atlanta an identity. He was the King, and his throne was the Mercedes-Benz Stadium turf.

Club Tijuana

Xolos play at Estadio Caliente, one of the few artificial surfaces in Liga MX. The pitch plays quickly and leaves little margin for hesitation.

The move aligns with the preferences of manager Sebastián Abreu, whose own career spanned continents and decades. Abreu’s teams have consistently centered around a traditional No. 9. Martínez arrives to occupy that space directly. Xolos did not lack possession or service last season; they lacked a striker who could reliably turn sequences into goals.

The current squad reflects a deliberate contrast. On one side is 17-year-old Gilberto Mora, whose value has climbed rapidly before his eighteenth birthday. On the other is Martínez, brought in to finish sequences that previously stalled. Mora was ten years old when Martínez won his MLS MVP.

A veteran finisher nearing the far end of his continental journey, paired with a teenager who represents what comes next.

Tijuana

There is a tactile familiarity to his new home. Estadio Caliente is famous, or infamous, depending on the visitor - for its artificial turf. While Liga MX is largely a grass-pitch league, the bounce and pace in Tijuana favor strikers who read space quickly

Life off the field reflects the geography. It is common for Xolos players to live north of the border, in places like Chula Vista or Otay Mesa, and commute south for training.

Tijuana is semi-arid, coastal, and dense, a city of roughly 1.9 million with a metro population exceeding 2.3 million. Cross-border movement is routine. Spanish and English are intermingled.

Closing

The Clausura tournament is a five-month sprint, running from January through May.

Martínez is no longer measuring seasons against records. He is measuring matches against usefulness, on a surface he understands, in a league that still asks its strikers to finish first and explain later.

In Atlanta, he will always be the King. In Tijuana, he has work to do.