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BUENOS AIRES (AP) \u2014 Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez<\/span> Even as a child, he already had the talent to annoy his opponents.<\/p>\nWhen he was young, long before he became a World Cup champion, Argentina<\/span>Martinez had a trick for unsettling the attackers he faced at a youth tournament in Mar del Plata, a seaside resort south of Buenos Aires.<\/p>\nOne of his first coaches, Jorge Peta, revealed that if Dib felt he was not being tested enough, he could deliberately allow opposing forwards to take rebounds so they could take more shots. Peta added: “He was already known for being well spoken.”<\/p>\n
He became a national hero with his spectacular save to deny Randall Kolo Muani a late goal. Final vs France<\/span> in qatar 2022<\/span> A sixth sense for saving penalties, Martinez’s provocative temperament robbed the star keeper of the soccer world’s unanimous reputation.<\/p>\nHis excessive celebrations and strategy of distracting opponents before penalty kicks earned him a sanction, which led to FIFA establishing a code of conduct for goalkeepers in penalty shootouts.<\/p>\n
While being Argentina’s captain, lionel messi<\/span> Although he considers Mart\u00ednez to be “fundamental” for Argentina and “one of the best goalkeepers in the world”, there are detractors. Among them are Italian manager Fabio Capello and legendary former Ajax and Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. Emmanuel Petit, who won the World Cup with France in 1998, suggested the Aston Villa goalkeeper needed help controlling his emotions.<\/p>\n“What people think doesn’t affect me. They’ll have all their opinions, good and bad, but I know who I am and what kind of person I am,” Martinez, 33, said in a May 2025 interview with ESPN, responding to his detractors. “Off the field, I’m a father, a husband, a son, but on the field, I just want to win and nothing else.”<\/p>\n
He will return to the big stage alongside Albiceleste at the World Cup, which begins on June 11th in the United States, Mexico and Canada.<\/p>\n
martinez list<\/h2>\n
Martinez was relatively unknown to most fans until he was selected for the Argentina national team.<\/p>\n
He never played in Argentina’s first division and moved to Arsenal as a teenager, but he never established himself as a starting goalkeeper there and was loaned out to lower-tier clubs such as Oxford, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United and Reading.<\/p>\n
Despite lacking playing time, Martinez was called up to the senior national team by coach Lionel Scaloni amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He made his debut in the World Cup qualifying match against Chile in June 2021. Since then, the Argentine goal has had a new owner.<\/p>\n
“I’m sorry, but I’ll stop you, brother,” he told Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez before saving the first of three penalties he would save in the 2021 Copa America semi-final. Argentina later won.<\/p>\n
Mr. Martinez Psychological mastery of penalty kicks<\/span> There will be a separate chapter for Defeated against Netherlands in penalty shootout 4-3<\/span> in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, in a match that became known as the “Battle of Lusail” after the stadium in Qatar.<\/p>\nUtilizing his imposing height and distracting tricks, he made a diving save from Virgil van Dijk’s first penalty, and then a diving save from Steven Berghaus’ attempt. He celebrated with a dance that would later be imitated by Argentine children.<\/p>\n
In the unforgettable final against France, Argentina led three times and Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 scored a hat-trick to force a penalty shootout, but he stood like a wall and deflected Kingsley Coman’s shot. When it was Aur\u00e9lien Choameny’s turn, Martinez threw the ball away to delay the penalty. The current Real Madrid player lost the mental battle and his shot went wide.<\/p>\n
His saves that night were notable, as was his controversial gesture with the competition’s best goalkeeper trophy.<\/p>\n
“I wasn’t going to come home sad[from the World Cup]. That was my only goal,” he said in an interview with Argentina’s public television channel in 2023. “If I had lost in the final, I wouldn’t have been able to accept playing soccer in my heart. I wouldn’t have been able to do it because of the pain.”<\/p>\n
code of conduct<\/h2>\n
After the World Cup, FIFA introduced a code of conduct for goalkeepers. Psychological tactics, the use of tactics to delay penalty kicks, and talking or gestures designed to distract the kicker are prohibited.<\/p>\n
In 2024, FIFA suspended Martinez for two games for aggressive behavior and a violation of fair play principles during the South American World Cup qualifying match between Chile and Colombia.<\/p>\n
Mission: Consecutive World Cups<\/h2>\n
Despite the controversy, Scaloni has confirmed the appointment of a new goalkeeper for the upcoming World Cup, leaving him with a more established position as Aston Villa’s goalkeeper heading into the World Cup. win the europa league<\/span>.<\/p>\nMartinez broke his right ring finger in the final against Freiburg, but is expected to play in the World Cup opener against Algeria on June 16 in Group J, which also includes Austria and Jordan.<\/p>\n
“Everything else is part of his personality and that’s everything. We are focusing on the purely sporting side,” said the Argentine coach.<\/p>\n
On the eve of the World Cup, Martinez’s number 23 jersey was one of the most popular, along with Messi’s number 10 10, proof of his qualities among Argentine fans.<\/p>\n
Goalkeepers ignore their detractors and focus on their accomplishments.<\/p>\n
“The most important thing we took away from this is that Argentina has a lot of goalkeepers in the future,” Martinez said. \u201cMy love for goalkeeping has returned.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP World Cup coverage: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/fifa-world-cup<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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