High school Martino attended
Staples High School in
Westport, Connecticut, where he played soccer and was named
Gatorade National Player of the Year in 1998 after his senior season.
College Martino attended the
University of Virginia from 1999 to 2001. He played
college soccer and scored 17 goals and provided 21 assists. In his junior season, Martino was named ACC Player of the Year. In both his sophomore and junior seasons, he was one of 15 finalists for the
Hermann Trophy.
Professional Martino left UVA after his junior season, signing a
Project-40 contract with
Major League Soccer (MLS) and entering the
2002 MLS Superdraft, where the
Columbus Crew selected him eighth overall. He tallied two goals and five assists in 22 appearances and won the
MLS Rookie of the Year Award, while running the Crew offense for much of the season. His following season was something of a disappointment, as Martino failed to develop into the dominant offensive force that many had expected, although he maintained a spot in the Crew's starting lineup. His third season began like the second with Martino failing to stimulate the offense, but a move up to withdrawn forward saw a resurgence of his offensive abilities, and through the 2004 season he led the Crew to the longest unbeaten streak in MLS history. Martino had a down year in 2005, not scoring a goal and in early 2006 he was dealt to the
LA Galaxy in a four-player deal. He and
John Wolyniec were traded for
Joseph Ngwenya and
Ned Grabavoy. During the first 2006 match between the Crew and the Galaxy, before the trade, it was Martino who, in the last few seconds, scored the game's only goal, delivering a defeat to his soon-to-be teammates. In November 2006, Martino had a trial at
Dutch Eredivisie side
NEC Nijmegen, but did not earn a contract. Martino also had a trial at
Leeds United. Martino retired from professional soccer on February 19, 2008, having been advised by doctors that injuries he sustained throughout his career were severe enough that it would be in his best interest to retire.
International Martino played for the
United States at the 2001
World Youth Championship in
Argentina. He saw little playing time for the senior national team, getting his first cap on November 17, 2002, against
El Salvador. He scored his only international goal against
Panama on October 12, 2005, in a 2-0 World Cup qualifier U.S. victory. ==International goals==