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Alberth Josué Elis Martínez (born 12 February 1996), nicknamed La Panterita (The Little Panther), is a Honduran professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga Portugal 2 club Marítimo and the Honduras national team.
Elis recorded two assists in the first game of the 2018 season, a 4–0 win over Atlanta United FC. He enjoyed a strong start to the season, scoring eight times and assisting five others in the first 12 matches and being named to the MLS Team of the Week four times during the stretch. On 29 June 2018, Elis was named in the team to play against Juventus FC in the 2018 MLS All-Star Game. He came on as a halftime substitute for Carlos Vela. On 3 July he picked up an assist in the 96th minute to help rescue a 2–2 draw with LAFC. Elis had two assists in the US Open Cup Final on 26 September as the Dynamo defeated the Philadelphia Union 3–0 to win their first ever US Open Cup. Elis finished the year with 21 combined goals and assists in MLS, a club single season record.
On 27 February 2019, Elis came on as a sub in the second leg of the Dynamo's CONCACAF Champions League tie with CD Guastatoya and assisted Mauro Manotas's goal that gave the Dynamo the lead on aggregate. On 16 March, Elis scored one and assisted on both of Memo Rodriguez's goals as the Dynamo beat Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3–2. His performance saw him named to the MLS Team of the Week. In Houston's next game, Elis helped the Dynamo get off to a fast start when he set up Memo Rodriguez for a goal in the 4th minute against the Colorado Rapids. He wasn't done terrorizing the defense however as he also scored one himself and hit two dangerous crosses that resulted in own goals, giving the Dynamo a 4–1 win over Colorado. Elis was again named to the MLS Team of the Week. In the Dynamo's next game, Elis stayed hot, scoring on a Manotas pass to give Elis a goal in his third straight game and to help the Dynamo get a 2–1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes. On 19 April, Elis converted a penalty to score in his 4th straight game, however the Dynamo would fall to the LA Galaxy 2–1. On 27 April, Elis helped the Dynamo continue their good start to the season when he stole the ball, ran down the right wing before sending in a low cross that Manotas put into the net in the 3rd minute. Houston would go onto defeat the Columbus Crew 2–0. On 4 May, Elis helped the Dynamo defeat rivals FC Dallas in a Texas Derby match, picking up an assist in root to a 2–1 win. He made four appearances in the Dynamo's next five games, picking up one goal and one assist, before leaving to join the Honduras national team for the 2019 Gold Cup. In his first game back with the Dynamo after the Gold Cup, Elis scored once and collected two assists in a 4–0 win over the New York Red Bulls. His performance saw him named to the MLS Team of the Week. On 17 July, Elis received a red card after getting in the face of a referee in the 6th minute of a match with Atlanta United. The Dynamo went on to lose the game 5–0. On top of the automatic one-game suspension, Elis was issued an additional one-game suspension by the league. Elis returned from his suspension in 1–0 loss to the Chicago Fire on 3 August, however he picked up a yellow card, meaning he was suspended for the Dynamo's next match due to yellow card accumulation. He struggled after he returned to the team, scoring once and collecting no assists in his next eight matches. Elis ended the season on a strong note, scoring once and assisting two others in a 4–2 win over the Galaxy in the final game of the season. He was named to the Team of the Week for the 4th time of the season.
Elis missed the first two games of the 2020 season due to a hamstring injury he suffered during preseason. The MLS season was paused after two games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. MLS returned to play in July with the MLS is Back Tournament. On 13 July, Elis made his season debut in Houston's first game of the tournament, a 3–3 draw against LAFC with Elis scoring once in the match. He scored again in Houston's next game, but was also sent off for two yellow cards as Houston lost 2–1 to the Portland Timbers. On 25 August Elis had a goal and an assist in a 5–2 win over Sporting Kansas City, but was also subbed off at halftime after hurting his back. He made two substitute appearances in the Dynamo's next two matches, recording two assists in a 3–0 win over Minnesota United FC and scoring once in a 2–1 over Kansas City. With transfer rumors surrounding Elis, the Dynamo held him out of their next three games. He was seen at the airport in Houston on 17 September and announced his goodbyes on social media two days later.
On 9 June 2022, Bordeaux announced that the option-to-buy in Elis's loan deal had been activated. During the 2021–22 season with the club, he scored nine goals and delivered one assist in twenty-one appearances.
After his loan to Brest ended, he returned to Girondins de Bordeaux. On 24 February 2024, during a Ligue 2 game against En Avant Guingamp, Elis suffered a serious head injury and was induced into coma during four days. The injury marked an end to his season, and the likelihood of Elis needing to retire from professional football was a possibility. In August 2024, Bordeaux went into bankruptcy and was relegated into National 2, losing professional status thus ending Elis’ contract with the club.
On 30 September 2014, Elis was called up by head coach Hernán Medford to the Honduras national football team. He made his senior debut on 9 October 2014 in a friendly against Mexico, a 2–0 loss.
After making four senior appearances, Elis played on the Honduras U-21 team at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games, where he made 2 appearances as Honduras finished 4th. He was also part of the Honduras U-20 team that played at the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship. Elis scored four goals in six games to help Honduras to a 3rd-place finish and qualify for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup. At the U-20 World Cup, Elis appeared in all three group games, but was unable to help Honduras advance past the group stage. Elis led the Honduras U-23 team to a second-place finish at the 2015 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship by scoring four goals in five games, including a brace in a 2–0 semifinals win over the United States. He was named to the Best XI of the tournament and finished as top scorer.
Elis returned to the senior national team in December 2015. He scored his scored his first and second international goals in a friendly match against Cuba on 16 December 2015. On 25 March 2016, Elis scored his first goal in a competitive senior match, scoring once in a 2–2 draw with El Salvador in a World Cup qualification match.
On 25 July 2016, Elis was named to the Honduras U-23 squad to play at the 2016 Olympics. He appeared all six of Honduras's games and scored two goals, including the winning goal in the quarterfinals match against South Korea, as he helped Honduras finish in 4th place.
On 29 June 2017, Elis was named to the 23 man squad for the 2017 Gold Cup. He made four appearances and helped Honduras reach the quarterfinals, where they fell 1–0 to Mexico.
On 6 June 2019, Fabián Coito named Elis to the 23 man squad for the 2019 Gold Cup. However, it was a disappointing tournament for Honduras and Elis, as he failed to score in his three appearances and Honduras finished last in their group.
On 6 June 2021, Elis scored in the third place match in the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League tournament. Elis scored what seemed to be the winner against Costa Rica in the 80th minute, but Francisco Calvo equalized for Los Ticos five minutes after. Honduras, however, defeated Costa Rica in a penalty shoot-out to secure a bronze medal.
His nickname of "La Panterita", Spanish for the little panther, is in reference to a former Honduras striker David Suazo, who was known as "La Pantera" and also from San Pedro Sula. Elis is into fashion and owns over 100 pairs of shoes. Elis has done charity work for his home country, such as donating computers to his old school, donating shoes to kids, and repairing local parks.
| + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | + !rowspan="2" | Club !rowspan="2" | Season !colspan="3" | League !colspan="2" | National cup !colspan="2" | League cup !colspan="2" | Continental !colspan="2" | Total | ||||
| Liga Nacional | 0 | |||||||||||
| 2014–15 | Liga Nacional | 8 | ||||||||||
| 2015–16 | Liga Nacional | 22 | ||||||||||
| Liga MX | 0 | |||||||||||
| MLS | 11 | |||||||||||
| MLS | 11 | |||||||||||
| 2019 | MLS | 9 | ||||||||||
| 2020 | MLS | 4 | ||||||||||
| Primeira Liga | 8 | |||||||||||
| Ligue 1 | 9 | |||||||||||
| Ligue 2 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Brest (loan) | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| Ligue 2 | 5 | |||||||||||
| Olimpia | 2024–25 | Liga Nacional | 14 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2025–26 | Liga Nacional | 3 | 3 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | |||
| Marítimo | 2025–26 | Liga Portugal 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| + Appearances and goals by national team and year | |
| Honduras | 0 |
| 2 | |
| 1 | |
| 4 | |
| 0 | |
| 3 | |
| 0 | |
| 2 | |
| 0 | |
| 1 | |
| + List of international goals scored by Alberth Elis |
| Friendly |
| 2–0 |
| 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| Friendly |
| 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League A |
| 4–0 |
| 2021 CONCACAF Nations League Finals |
| 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
Houston Dynamo
Honduras
Individual
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