Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez became a big character during the Copa America last summer, as besides his great performances, he showed his mind games could be strong enough to make opponents nervous.
The 29-year-old became an important figure with the national team since then, and it turns out there was also some criticism towards the attention he’s been attracting in the following games.
Former goalkeeper Nacho Gonzalez last week made some heavy comments towards the player, claiming ‘the character is eating him’ due to the spotlight he’s attracted to himself.
“Calm down a bit”, was the advice Gonzalez shared.
Now as Sergio Goycochea, the goalkeeper from Argentina’s national team in the 1990 World Cup, spoke to the local media, he shared his opinion on Martinez, and made sure to defend the Aston Villa player.
According to Goycochea, Argentina’s current goalkeeper deserves the success he’s been getting, and that’s having a normal influence on his behaviour.
“I think he’s enjoying the moment. He left the country when he was 17 years old and only found this when he was 28 years old. After 28 years, being champion against Brazil and at the Maracana , you overflow emotionally… He’s going to learn, but it can happen,” Goycochea told EFE (via Vive La Plata).
“No one is prepared to face fame from one day to the next. I say this knowingly. It’s an emotional moment that must be handled carefully because the level of exposure is going to be much greater. What one says and one does reverberates 100,000 times more.”
