Argentina have now qualified for the final of the FIFA World Cup 2022 after defeating Croatia in the semi-final. Among the many Argentine players who played a crucial role on their road to the final, a special space is reserved for goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
The Aston Villa player helped Argentina reach the FIFA World Cup 2022 semi-final by saving two penalties in the quarter-final penalty shootouts against the Netherlands.
Argentina knocked the Netherlands out of the FIFA World Cup
2022 in a shootout win by 4-3 in the quarter-final match.
Martinez received praise from fans and teammates alike for his performance
in the quarter-final match. When the match went into a penalty shootout, Martinez managed to restrict the Netherlands
to 3 goals and his two saves helped his team reach one step closer to winning
the FIFA World Cup 2022.
“I couldn’t help the boys by making a save in the first 90
minutes,” said Martinez in an interview “but I had to help them there” he
added. Argentina fans also tweeted “True blessing to this world” and also
called him Argentina’s shootout star.
Who is Emiliano Martínez?
Damian Emiliano Martinez, commonly known as Emiliano
Martinez, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Premier League
club Aston Villa and the Argentina national football team as a goalkeeper. He is nicknamed ‘Dibu’, which means drawing in Spanish. He was given this
nickname at Club Atletico Independiente. Before moving to Arsenal, he trained
at the Independiente’s youth ranks.
Also Read: 2022 FIFA World Cup Argentina vs Croatia semifinal: 5 things to watch out for
He represented his country in the under-17 and under-20
levels at the Argentina youth international. Martinez made his first
international debut against Chile on June 3, 2021. He also won the 2021 Copa America’s
Golden Glove award for the tournament’s best keeper.
Martinez also became Aston Villa’s player of the season in 2020-2021 besides winning the Copa America Golden Glove and registering his place in the Copa America Team of the Tournament in the same year. Martinez, in his first season at Aston Villa, equalled the club record of Brad Friedel for clean sheets with 15 in a Premier League season. he was also named Aston Villa Supporters’ Player of the Season.
In 2018, Puma become a sponsor for Martinez.
He married his childhood love, Amanda, in 2017. They couple are parents to two children, son Santi and daughter Ava.
His base salary in 2022 is estimated to be €2,470,000.
