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 Ligue 2 club Bordeaux and the Honduras national team.
Club career
Youth
Elis first played for the youth team of Real España in San Pedro Sula. He then moved to Olimpia, where he made his professional debut in September 2013.
Olimpia
Elis made his professional debut on 2 September 2013 in a Liga Nacional match against Motagua. Elis came on as substitute for Anthony Lozano to help secure a 2–1 win in the Clasico Capitalino. He scored his first professional goal on 5 August 2014 to give Olimpia a 1–0 win over Alpha United in a CONCACAF Champions League match. His first league goal came on 24 August 2014 in a 4–0 win over Marathón. Elis would score again on 21 September against Vida as well as score the winner in a 2–1 victory against his former team Real España on 28 September.
Monterrey
After 61 games and 25 goals with Olimpia, Elis joined Monterrey on 26 August 2016. He made his debut for Monterrey on 10 September 2016 in a 0–0 draw with Club Tijuana. After only five appearances and no goals or assists, Monterrey loaned Elis to MLS club Houston Dynamo for the 2017 season.
Houston Dynamo
On 4 March 2017, Elis made his debut with the Dynamo in the first game of the 2017 season; a 2–1 win over the defending champions Seattle Sounders. Elis scored his first Dynamo goal in the team's next game as they won 3–1 against the Columbus Crew. He picked up his first assist for Houston on 18 March in a 4–2 loss to Portland Timbers. On 27 September Elis scored two late goals to help the Dynamo overcome a 3–1 deficit. He helped the team qualify for the MLS Playoffs for the first time since 2013. In the opening game of the playoffs, Elis scored the winning goal in extra time against Sporting Kansas City. Overall, he had a strong debut season, scoring 11 goals and recording four assists in 30 appearances across all competitions. On 13 December, the Dynamo announced that they had acquired Elis on a full transfer from Monterrey.
Elis recorded two assists in the first game of the 2018 season, a 4–0 win over Atlanta United. 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 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.