Barclays Women’s Super League Player of the Month awards in March and April, Player of the Match after a four-goal haul against Crystal Palace, West Ham United women’s team’s Young Player and Goal of the Season, and WSL Rising Star for 2024/25 - all after her Hammers debut in January.
“I don’t know where to put them all!” joked Shekiera Martinez, who enjoyed a stellar breakout season in England’s top-flight last term.
After recording some TikToks with fellow forward Viviane Asseyi, the Germany U23 international cut a relaxed figure as she sat down on the sofa in the players’ lounge at Chadwell Heath.
Her off-the-pitch demeanor is not too dissimilar to how she glides about effortlessly on it - calm and always wearing a smile. And, as mentioned, Martinez had a lot to smile about last season.
The forward, who spent the first half of the campaign on loan at SC Freiburg to accumulate the necessary points to meet the Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) criteria for international player visas, netted a stunning ten goals in 12 WSL matches, which put her joint-second in the league’s scoring charts.
Standout performances came away to Chelsea, against whom she bagged a brace to help Rehanne Skinner’s side become the only team to take a point away at the Blues last season, and at Crystal Palace, where she netted on four occasions - becoming the first Hammer to do so in a WSL game - as the Irons secured their biggest-ever WSL victory: a 7-1 success.
So, Martinez more than earned her summer break, where she went back home to Germany to spend time with her friends and family.
“I spent the whole holiday there, and it was really nice!” reflected the 24-year-old. “I was speaking to my family and my friends about last season, and they were really proud of me. The step to England was a big step for me because I like to have my family around.
“The reason why it went so well was because I settled in so quickly. The girls pushed me. Anouk [Denton] always told me, ‘I’ll try my best to give you the ball so you can score!’. There was a feeling that everyone wanted to help me to the top of the top-scorer’s list. It was really cute.
“I think I got six awards at the end of the season and I really want to have them all in my apartment! Getting Young Player of the Season for West Ham was really nice because the fans voted for me, and I’d only been here for six months. It made me feel even more welcome.”
After international duty with Germany’s U23 side in June, Martinez returned to London before reuniting with the women’s team on 21 July. She admitted she doesn’t visit central London too often, describing herself as a ‘Dog Mum’ as she enjoys exploring the local parks with her young dog, Ruby.
In the first few days of pre-season, in a break from running and testing, Skinner’s side played small-sided games of football-tennis, in which Martinez was in a team with Verena Hanshaw and new signing Sarah Brasero.
The attacker was in her element, pulling out scorpion kicks and bullet headers. While she was all smiles during the games, there’s a part of pre-season the No19 isn't the fondest of.
She joked: “I hate running, every time we do the runs I say, ‘Why do I play football?’. But in pre-season, I like that we don’t have any pressure. It’s a bit more relaxed, but we still work very hard.
“I think we ended the last season really well, so we want to start the new season as we ended the last. We’ve been training really hard and with Rehanne [Skinner], we’ve watched some clips from last year, so we will improve the things that went wrong and be better.”
Part of the reason why Martinez hit the ground running so quickly last term was due to the warm welcome she received when she returned to east London in January, and with four signings through the door, she is keen to offer them the same support.
She said: “I’m always trying to make the new signings feel comfortable, because I know how it feels to come into a new club."
Hammers Yearbook...
Shekiera Martinez answers questions about her teammates...
Who is the best dressed?
“We have a lot! I like what Shelina Zadorsky wears. She’s very stylish and she always looks beautiful! She always wears pretty clothes.”
Who would you call in an emergency?
“Verena Hanshaw. We played together at Eintracht Frankfurt for six years before joining West Ham, but also because it’s easier to explain in German than it is in English! If I was in a really bad emergency, I wouldn’t know what to say in English!”
Who is most likely to win the lottery, but lose the ticket?
“I’d say maybe one of the younger players, or maybe Manuela Paví - that’s a good call!”
Who would be your karaoke partner?
“It’s got to be Verena!”
Who is the smartest?
“I’d say Amber Tysiak is one of the smartest. She’s very clever.”
Who would you want to sit next to on a long flight?
“Just someone who is calm, because I hate flying! I’d say Verena, or maybe Seraina Piubel. Or maybe Paví, because if I’m scared she would distract me.”
Who is always early to training?
“I think whenever I arrive, Riko Ueki is always there. So I’ll say her.”
Who would be the best comedian?
“I think we have a lot of funny people in the team. Verena is really funny, Seraina is funny, Vivi Asseyi’s funny, Shelina and Paví too. I can’t choose!”
You have to choose one player to take a penalty, and if they score you win £10 million…
“Can I pick myself? Because if I lose the money, then it's my fault! Actually, after I saw the penalty Paví took in the Copa América Femenina semi-finals, I’d say her. It was a crazy penalty, and I think she’d be excited that she’d win the money for me.”
