Jackson's rise to stardom is a classic rags-to-riches story. In 2004 the striker was scouted by Colombian club Independiente Medellin when playing in a local tournament. His impoverished family barely had enough money to pay for the 200km journey from his hometown of Quibdo to Colombia’s second-largest city, but his father scraped together the cash and sent his son on his way.
His first coach Pedro Sarmiento said the youngster's spindly build was a direct consequence of malnutrition, owing to a lack of money to properly feed himself. “He didn’t eat well and went hungry several days a week,” Sarmiento told Portuguese football site Maisfutebol. “Despite being a professional footballer, he had awful conditions. I myself had to buy him shorts, socks, shin pads and boots so he could train. He was beyond poor; he was practically destitute.”
To make matters worse, Jackson didn’t open his mouth out of shyness and embarrassment. “He was a wall of silence and shame,” Sarmiento continued. “He would always arrive late for training. I shouted at him but he wouldn’t reply. That was when the others told me he had no money and he came to training on foot, a two-hour walk there and a two-hour walk back. I pressed him to talk and he admitted that he didn’t have a single peso in his pocket. His family were going through tough times and couldn’t send him any money. I took him in and he became one of my household.”
The fame and fortune Jackson’s talent has brought him must have seemed a distant dream in those early days, especially after an inauspicious start to his senior career. “When he first came off the bench, making his debut for a few minutes, he was roundly booed and insulted by the fans,” explained Sarmiento.
“I was one of the few who believed in that skinny kid. I felt he had something special and refused to give up on him. He was given a rough ride by the home supporters, so I waited before picking him again. We travelled to Bucaramanga and I made him a starter. He destroyed them – he played with rage. The fans never disrespected him again.”
Jackson Martinez’s first monthly salary at Independiente was around 400,000 pesos (€172), i.e. next to nothing. Independiente’s football director Fernando Jimenez told Maisfutebol how the money side of things began improving for the teenage striker just minutes before his official debut.
“After talking to the coach we realised that Jackson wasn’t in a good way,” said Jimenez. “He had a sad air about him. I sat beside him just before he went out on the pitch and said: ‘Tomorrow you start earning 800,000 pesos.’ His face broke out into a broad smile I’d never seen before.”
Despite the initial scepticism from his own team’s fans, Jimenez recalls that in the very first week of training he would leave the watching coaches open-mouthed: “On the fifth day of training they were completely convinced. ‘Where did you discover him? He’s a star!’ they said.”
http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features...martinez-finally-ripe-big-move-premier-league
