An Inter legend conquering the world – how Martinez’s dream came true

Have your bags already been packed, please?

Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez would exchange jokes whenever they got together, requesting whether his Argentina team-mate would travel to Barcelona.

With Martinez on the verge of a replacement for Luis Suarez as their top target the following season, Barca were in search of a replacement for the midfielder in the early 2020s.

Messi played a key role in the effort to bring Inter Milan to the Camp Nou throughout the entire process.

The Covid-19 pandemic eventually caused the deal to appear to be almost done, but it eventually did.

Martinez made Inter his own after five years of San Siro, scoring at least 20 goals in each of his previous four seasons and breaking one record after that.

He is currently one goal away from becoming the club’s top scorer in a single season and is now the Nerazzurri’s all-time top scorer with 18 goals, making him the first Nerazzurri player to score in five consecutive matches for the team in the competition.

Lautaro has already consolidated his place among Inter’s legends, but the 27-year-old will need more as they travel to Barcelona for the Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.

He wants to win the only major trophy he still lacks, which will also demonstrate that he deserves more recognition than he has received thus far in his career.

After placing seventh in the 2024 Ballon d’Or standing, he admitted to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, “Sometimes, I do feel underrated, yes.”

He is not the only one who believes that.

The same sentiments are shared by those who have known Martinez since his first encounter with the Liniers and Racing in Argentina.

Diego Huerta, a former racing scout, told BBC Sport: “If Lautaro did the same thing for Tottenham or Manchester United, he would be talked about more.”

“I don’t believe Lautaro is to blame; rather, I believe he plays for Inter,” he continued.

He is one of their standout players and has already reached the Champions League final [against Manchester City] in 2023, but he is not in the same league as others. For instance, what he did to become the top scorer at the Copa América last year was incredible.

Martinez was born and raised in Bahia Blanca, a southern town known for its basketball-loving residents.

The Argentina international, like his younger brother Jano, had the potential to pursue a career in that sport, but instead chose to focus on football with his father Mario and his older brother Alan.

He has adopted the adage, “You have to be different on the pitch, you have to be different off it,” ever since making that choice.

He has always taken it seriously.

When he made his senior debut with the Liniers, he turned the ball forward at the age of 15, and scored in his very first game. However, that aspect of it wasn’t particularly impressive. The level of discipline he already displayed at the age surprised his teammates.

I used to go there to request the videotapes because there was a TV station there that broadcast our matches. He explained that I had to purchase them because they wouldn’t give them to me for free.

I had a dream to play football professionally. It’s changed now, of course, and I receive editing and delivery. Some people find my personality or thought process surprising. But it seems entirely natural to me.

No trial was required when Racing came upon him a while later; hence, they immediately took him.

He is one of the most amazing professionals I have ever met, Huerta, who is currently employed by Cerro Porteno in Paraguay as a technical secretary.

He had the traits of a very strong mentality, a very serious attitude, and a great commitment to work, from the so-called “invisible trainings” to taking care of himself: he didn’t smoke, drink alcohol, or drink Coca-Cola.

Martinez watched the 2014 World Cup from the famed club dormitory at Casa Tita Mattiussi after arriving from Liniers earlier that year.

He reflected on that experience in the second edition of a book series called Pelota de Papel, which features stories by authors like Pablo Aimar, Juan Pablo Sorin, Javier Saviola, and Jorge Sampaoli.

Martinez was unaware of this at the time, but four years later he would make his international debut. With his nation, he has won two Copa America titles and a World Cup.

I used to sit and reflect on what it would be like to make it to the first team in my room at Racing’s dormitory, which is one of my favorite locations in the world. However, I kept thinking that I would never emulate the idols I admired. He wrote that “Licha ‘ Lopez, Roger Martinez, Gustavo Bou, and Diego Milito are real players.”

“Every time I considered playing, the first thing that came to mind was that I would have to return to my hometown soon and never get a spot on the team.” I’ve always wanted to be like them.

There is probably a child who believes he doesn’t belong in the team in one of those same rooms in that gorgeous dormitory today. When you need to work even harder, work harder, eat better, sleep better, and, most importantly, keep dreaming, do it at that exact moment. Your dream may come true because this is more than just a story.

Martinez did as well.

He joined Racing’s first team in 2015, joined Racing as the club’s most expensive transfer ($31 million) in 2018, and became the first foreigner to score 150 goals for Inter. He left in 2015 as the club’s most expensive transfer ($23 million).

He may still seem unappreciated, but that may soon change.

Are there really that many forwards in the world who can be decisive on the pitch, decisive off it, and true to their game like Lautaro? After Inter eliminated Bayern Munich from the Champions League, La Gazzetta dello Sport reportedly asked the team.