Christian Martinoli, the well-known TV Azteca narrator, shared details of his first FIFA World Cup experience in France 1998, when he traveled as a freelance without official accreditation. In an interview with Yordi Rosado, he described the logistical challenges, from rundown hotels to chasing player interviews. This precarious adventure eventually led to his television career.
Christian Martinoli had his first brush with a FIFA World Cup in France 1998, well before narrating the 2002 Korea-Japan edition on television. At 22, he lacked accreditation and worked as a freelance with an independent cameraman surnamed Silver, who sold footage to networks like Univision, Telemundo, and Los Angeles' Channel 22.
A year earlier, at the Bolivia Copa América, 21-year-old Martinoli had operated without credentials, paying a 'bite' fee to stay with the press. To fund trips, he used his aunt's American Express card, as U.S. networks paid only after receiving cassettes. 'We did interviews top to bottom with all the teams (...), sending cassettes everywhere to all the networks; I'd interview the same guy three times for different outlets,' he recalled.
The World Cup invitation came unexpectedly on a Saturday morning in Toluca. Silver met him that afternoon at AICM Terminal 1. His mother exchanged for francs, and Martinoli traveled by bus and metro from Toluca. In Paris, he stayed at The National hotel near Gare du Nord, booked for four nights.
Arrival was tough: no elevator, they dragged gear to the third floor; the TV showed only two channels. Cockroaches soon appeared. 'I'm there and suddenly a f***ing cockroach, then another... what is this? I go out, want to hit a pharmacy, nothing's open, ended up at a kebab,' he recounted. He spent the night on alert from the pests, adjusting to jet lag.
Days later, Silver arrived, and they switched hotels, where Martinoli slept on the floor due to cramped space. Without accreditation, police chased them from trainings, so they 'hunted' players at the Eiffel Tower. 'It wasn't a pleasant experience at all,' he admitted.
During the event, Martinoli ran into Luis Manuel Jaramillo, TV Azteca's camera director, known from Toluca. Jaramillo recommended him to José Ramón Fernández, leading to a successful audition at the network, where he still works. He earned no money but covered costs and broke even.
