New Philadelphia Union midfielder ‘El Brujo’ will wear no. 8

After missing out on the first week of training in Wilmington waiting on paperwork, Philadelphia Union midfielder Jose Andres Martinez arrived in Philadelphia on Saturday ahead of the team’s first of two preseason trips to Florida.

The Union digital team posted a photo of the back of El Brujo’s jersey confirming that he will wear No. 8 this season.

The 25-year-old Venezuelan becomes the sixth player in team history to wear the jersey. Derrick Jones last wore it from 2017-2019 before departing the club in a deal with Nashville SC last May.

Andrew Jacobson was the first to wear No. 8 in the Union’s inaugural season and Roger Torres (2011-2012), Matt Kassel (2013) and Maurice Edu (2015-2017) also wore it for the blue and gold.

Martinez wore No. 8 for previous club Zulia FC during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. He’s also worn numbers 7, 13 and 20.

Matthew Ralph

Matthew Ralph is the managing editor of Philadelphia Soccer Now. He's covered soccer at all levels for a decade in the Philadelphia region and has also written for TheCup.us, NPSL, PrepSoccer and other publications. He lives with his wife and two young children in Broomall, Pa., but grew up in South Jersey and is originally from Kansas.

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