Football can often be a case of the path missed rather than taken, and Deportivo Riestra goalkeeper Nacho Arce only has to look at Aston Villa star Emiliano Martinez to know that.
He’s been speaking about the Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper to TyC Sports, relayed by TNT, about his former youth colleague and their paths once met.
Arce played alongside Martinez with the U-17 national team earlier in their respective careers, with Arce actually ahead of his counterpart for several years.
However, that soon changed as the future Aston Villa and Argentina star eventually established himself and moved on.
He has since continued rising, establishing himself as a Premier League star after several years in the doldrums at Arsenal and as his nation’s hero following his key role in winning the Copa America twice and the World Cup.
Now Martinez is considered one of the best in the world in his position, a status he continued to add to this week as Argentina beat fierce rivals Brazil.
Arce was likely watching that game with the rest of his nation and admits things could have been different, but Martinez’s mentality saw him win that battle of their youth.
“He was my backup for many years, but I watched him train and he was killing himself. He went on and improved his shot stopping,” he said.
“He trained in the gym, and I lay in bed. Little by little, he earned his place. Towards the end of the tour, I did a couple of crazy things of my own, and they backfired.
“We trained together. He was already in England and studying English. He’s very capable; his mind is far ahead. There’s a reason he became what he is. He did his homework and everything; he made me take his lessons.”
