Career
Martins began his career at Vitória, becoming first choice in 2006, at the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C. He scored 12 goals in the competition, four less than the top goalscorer. On 27 May 2008, he signed a five-year contract with Shakhtar Donetsk. The Ukrainian club agreed to pay €9 million for the player.
On 29 May 2009, unable to establish himself in Donetsk, Martins joined German club Werder Bremen on loan.
Bremen had initially attempted to sign Martins the previous summer, but the player opted for Shakhtar. On 29 January 2010, Bremen terminated his contract and he returned to Shakhtar Donetsk.
At 16:44 on the final day of the transfer window, a six-month loan deal between Shakhtar and Wigan was agreed to take the player to the Premier League. He signed for Wigan Athletic on 1 February on loan.
After returning to Shakhtar as a reserve, Martins was negotiated with Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense and signed with the Brazilian team for a five-year contract starting in 2012.
He was then loaned to Flamengo in 2013 season and Cruzeiro in 2014 season. In February 2015, Martins transferred to Chinese Super League side Changchun Yatai. Due to his success playing for Cruzeiro, he received his first call-up for a friendly match against Peru on 12 September 2007.
Martins scored his first international goal on 20 November 2007, during a 2010 World Cup qualifier against Venezuela.
He was also one of the goalscorers in Bolivia"s 6–1 victory over Diego Maradona"s Argentina on 1 April 2009. On 26 March 2013, he scored a goal in the 1-1 draw against Argentina.
Martins was included in the Bolivia squad for the 2015 Copa América in Chile. He was Bolivia"s top scorer at the tournament with two goals, and also being the only one to score on the knockout stages as Bolivia lost to Peru 1-3 in the quarter-finals.
He announced his retirement from the national squad on 15 September 2015 together with Ronald Raldes, then captain, claiming divergences with head coach Julio Cesar Baldivieso.