Felipe Martins exclusive: “The reality is that after you retire… people just disappear”

One year ago, Felipe Martins’ life changed forever. After a 17-year playing career that took him from Brazil to Italy to Switzerland to Canada and the U.S., Martins called it quits on soccer and transitioned to a new journey of coaching.

“I realized that it was time to retire in the middle of 2024. I started to see it and feel it; physically, I could continue, for sure, but mentally, I was struggling,” stated Martins in an exclusive World Soccer Talk interview. “I think that was the moment for me where I was starting to see that, ‘Yeah, I think it’s time.’ It was very difficult, it still is very difficult, but now I’m in a process where I have understood that soccer has given me so many things. People of soccer treated me in a certain way because of what I could provide, and because of who I am.”

“Friends that I’ve lost, I understood that they were there just because of what I could provide, and also who I was—even family. The reality is that after you retire, you basically have nothing to offer anymore, and people just disappear, you know? But it was a moment where I could connect more with myself and understand that nobody owes you anything. You just need to take care of yourself and always do the best for yourself, because people will always be just people. It’s a transactional relationship where you give something, and they give you something. It’s very difficult to find people who really like you for who you are, and not for what you can provide.”

Born on September 30, 1990, Martins was raised in Engenheiro Beltrão, Brazil, but left at the age of 10 to pursue his luck in Santa Catarina and then Rio de Janeiro, before eventually heading to Europe and joining Calcio Padova in 2008. However, he would play just five times before being diagnosed with a minor heart defect: hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Unable to play in the league, Martins left the Italian third tier and, after a brief hiatus, made the move to Swiss outfit FC Winterthur. After bouncing around Switzerland at Winterthur, FC Lugano, and FC Wohlen, Martins headed across the Atlantic and joined MLS expansion side Montreal Impact (now CF Montréal), where he played alongside legendary defender Alessandro Nesta.

He established himself as a vital cog in midfield with 14 goals and 21 assists in 107 appearances, leading them to their first two trophies as an MLS club after winning the Canadian Championship in 2013 and 2014. Martins then reunited with ex-Montréal coach Jesse Marsch at the New York Red Bulls, where he registered 10 goals and 10 assists in 125 appearances and guided them to the 2015 Supporters’ Shield as well as a trip to the 2017 U.S. Open Cup Final, before returning to Canada ahead of the 2018 season.

After a fairly brief spell with the Vancouver Whitecaps, Martins then took his talents to D.C. United, where he cemented his status as the team’s midfield linchpin until tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in training on September 1, 2020. But rather than break, Martins merely bent and quickly reasserted himself as a leader in the Black and Red’s midfield.

“My proudest moment was when I came back from my injury, you know what I mean? I think it’s the moment that just solidified who I am and who I was. Coming from an injury is never easy, but I think I’ve done very well since I was injured, and I came back from my ACL injury in 2020. You lose speed, you lose explosiveness, but my part is just that it was tough mentally to overcome that challenge, and I think I did the best way I could at the moment.”

Martins then made the move to Austin FC in 2022, helping them reach the playoffs for the first time and make it all the way to the Conference Finals, earning praise from the likes of Troy Townsend for his performances, before eventually taking his talents to Orlando City. However, he struggled to make an impact in Florida due to a turbulent spell that saw him dropped to the reserves and that also saw him undergo a divorce, before deciding to head back to Brazil at the start of 2025.

After a swan song with FC Cascavel in the Brazilian fourth division, Martins announced his retirement on June 15, 2025. He’s spent the past year attending coaching courses as well as classes at Harvard Business School, in addition to balancing his time between private coaching and mentoring sessions, studying for his A License, and spending time with his two sons, Noah and Liam. And after starting his post-retirement in Orlando, he’s set for a new adventure in New York: he was announced as the head coach of MLS Next Pro club The Island F.C.’s under-17 and under-19 teams, as well as their Head of Player Development, on May 1.

The Island F.C. are expected to start their MLS Next Pro journey in spring 2027, with their games set to take place at a soccer-specific stadium to be built at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, New York.

“I think my coaching legacy will be the same as it was as a player. It’s an example of professionalism, strong-minded, and a team player, a guy who was extremely professional, and who made everyone around him better, either on and off the field, setting the standards, and really leading by example.”