MLS No Easy League - Obafemi Martins

Seattle Sounders of America striker, Obafemi Martins has described the Major League Soccer, as one of the toughest football leagues in the world. Speaking about the frenetic pace of his introduction to MLS, Martins said with a calm smile: “It’s been tough. Playing in Levante, and then coming straight here to start playing in MLS, I’ve been playing in two leagues instead of resting. I have no choice but to play because the season is going on now but I am ready to go.

“I’m trying to adapt,” Martins said. “It’s been difficult, but I’ve been able to score some goals already. It’s not easy to play here in MLS, though. They play with intensity and they run a lot.”

An experienced veteran of Europe’s top competitions, Martins found similarities between America’s top flight and his time at Newcastle United in the English Premier League. “It’s a bit like England. The competition in MLS is strong and they’re physical as well. And the league is getting much better, and every team out there wants to win, so we have to be ready,” Martins added.

Meanwhile, the past 12 months had been the Nigeria striker’s most demanding spell as a professional yet and there was still much more to come. Martins began the 2012/13 La Liga campaign with Levante, featuring 21 times and scoring seven times along the way.

Then the Major League Soccer club, Seattle Sounders signed the striker, sending him to the Pacific Northwest where the American top flight league was just underway, meaning Martins would be playing another eight months totalling 16 consecutive months of football.