Gastón Martirena

Uruguayan football rarely puts a 174cm defender at the centre of the back line, but Gastón Martirena has built his place at Racing Club on positioning rather than size. Born in Montevideo, he came through to establish himself in the club's defence, wearing the number 15 shirt.

His path has stayed close to home. Martirena has not represented Uruguay at any level, senior or youth. In an interview with Racing de Alma in June 2025, he recalled a moment when the national team once requested his GPS data during a match — a small sign of attention from the selectors that never turned into a call-up. He spoke about it plainly, without dwelling on it as a missed opportunity.

At club level, his profile is that of a defender who has settled into a system rather than one built around individual moments. What stands out in his own account is the contrast between being watched from a distance by the national setup and never actually being summoned — a detail that says more about how selectors track players than about any single game he has played.