Even though it happened a few months ago, this curious story is worth telling. Emiliano 'Dibu' Martínez established himself as the starting goalkeeper of the Argentine National Team a long time ago. The Aston Villa goalkeeper is one of the most beloved players of those who were consecrated in Qatar 2022. Likewise, both he and many of the members of the squad were already earning a place in the hearts of the fans for what they had done in the Copa América 2021, where the final was won against Brazil at the Maracaná.
Recently, one of his coaches from when he was little revealed several characteristics of young Emiliano, who already had a very particular personality. Jorge Peta also revealed the context of humility in which Martínez took his first steps: “We trained in a square. We had 2, 3 balls. We were missing cones because we couldn't buy them. Many times we used soda bottles with sand. We didn't have sticks, we improvised with the boys' divers. Where we went there was little grass, it was practically mud,” he expressed in dialogue with Diario Olé.
Now, the one who spoke was 'Dibu' himself, who gave his opinion on the new rule that will prevent him from doing his show in each penalty shootout. Regarding the implementation of the rule, he said with a laugh: “It's too late.” Then, he clarified that he already got what he wanted, which were titles with the Argentine National Team. "I got what I wanted to get, they can change the rules or whatever they want, it doesn't affect me. I will continue giving my best for the Argentine National Team," said the world champion goalkeeper speaking with Florent Torchut.
What 'Dibu' did for the National Team
The fact that he went from being a substitute at Arsenal to starting at Aston Villa helped Emiliano Martínez a lot to be Argentina's goalkeeper. To achieve that, 'Dibu' confessed that he had a fight: "I had an argument with Mikel Arteta, my coach at Arsenal, and I told him that my dream was to play for the National Team but that I had to leave for that. He didn't like it, but he understood, he told me that he would give me an exit bonus and Aston Villa bet on me, thanks to this club I was able to achieve my goal," the world champion revealed in L'Equipe.
