Ranti Martins, the Nigerian former professional footballer, is one of the best-ever foreigners to have graced Indian Football. When Ranti Martins was on song, making rival defenders look silly, you simply ran out of adjectives to describe the Nigerian sharpshooter. The Nigerian former professional footballer spent twelve years in Indian football.
Ranti Martins: A Legend, A Phenomenon:
Spending twelve years in Indian football with a marvelous success rate shows why Ranti Martins is considered one of the best foreigners to ever play in India. The Nigerian goal machine has a record of 214 goals in the history of the National Football League and the I-League. He also scored a total of 22 goals for Indian clubs at the continental tournament, the AFC Cup.
The Nigerian international has won the National Football League in 2004–05 and 2006–07, the I-League in 2007–08, 2009–10, and 2011–12, the Federation Cup in 2004, the Durand Cup in 2006, and the IFA Shield in 2013. Ranti Martins has a record of scoring the most individual goals in an I-League match (7 goals in Dempo SC vs. Air India in 2010–11). He also has a record of scoring the maximum number of goals in an edition of the I-League. (scored 32 goals in 2011–12).
Ranti Martins, the ‘fox in the box’ for Dempo SC:
In 2004, Ranti Martins first came to India to sign for Goa-based club Dempo SC. And the rest is history. He scored 146 goals in 164 matches at Dempo Sports Club.
On his National Football League debut season in 2004-05, which Dempo won, Ranti scored 15 goals. He also helped Dempo to win the Federation Cup in 2004.
Every season after joining Dempo SC, Ranti continued his prolific goal-scoring capability with an average of 22 goals. In the AFC Cup, Ranti scored 18 goals in his 28 appearances. He also scored 18 goals in the Federation Cup.
During his eight-year stint with Dempo SC, the legendary Ranti Martins scored a total of 183 goals in his 219 Dempo SC appearances.
During his time with Dempo SC, Ranti Martins won the National Football League Golden Boot award in 2005-06. With Dempo SC, he also won the I-League Golden Boot award in 2010–11 and 2011–12.
With Dempo SC, the Nigerian superstar won the NFL twice (in 2004–05 and 2006–07) and the I-League three times (in 2007–08, 2009–10, and 2011–12). Ranti also won the Durand Cup in 2006 with the Goan club.
Ranti Martins, A superb striker for East Bengal, and United SC:
After leaving Dempo SC, Martins joined Kolkata-based club Prayag United in 2012 (now known as United Sports Club). In his two-year stint with Prayag United, Ranti Martins scored 32 goals in 44 appearances. With the club, he also won the IFA Shield in 2013.
In his debut season with Prayag United, he won the I-League Best Player of the Year 2012–13 award. He also won the I-League Golden Boot award in 2012–13.
In 2014, Ranti Martins joined East Bengal and spent two years at the century-old club. For East Bengal, Ranti scored 43 goals in his 60 appearances. He won the I-League Golden Boot award twice with East Bengal.
However, in 2020, he has decided to hang up his boots due to a prolonged injury problem. Now, he is settled in the United States and has also started a real estate business, which he plans to pursue post-retirement.
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