Lisandro Martinez is certainly one of the Manchester United signings in recent years who has most worked his way into the hearts of supporters.
His no-nonsense approach and clear and complete commitment on the pitch has inevitably won him a legion of fans. When the defender was out last season with a repeat, and prolonged, injury issue, it was clear Erik ten Hag’s side missed him.
The defender himself found that spell difficult too, working with his staff away from the pitch to make sure that he was not only physically ready but also mentally in the best shape he could be.
In a lengthy interview with La Nacion, Martinez has spoken about his ongoing desire for self-improvement, in and outside of football.
Within the game, there’s one player he specifically looks to for inspiration. Perhaps surprisingly, that man is Gabriel Heinze, who also found himself an Argentine hero at Manchester United.
“I have always seen myself in him,” Martinez explained.
“The way he took on each game, his determination, how he fought for his team, how he fought to win. That blood, that personality… I always felt identified with him, with his game and with his way of being.
“One day… I was in the lower divisions of Newell’s, I must have been 15/16 years old, and they sent us to do something in the gym. He was injured, because of his rehabilitation he was having problems, and I kept looking at him. The seriousness with which he did those exercises, it was killing me. I couldn’t stop looking at him. I only spoke to him once, but I would love to really meet him for a long chat, to talk a lot about football and life with him.”
La Nacion asked Martinez why Argentine footballers often end up loved by supporters in England, and he said: “Do you know what happens? We Argentines are very grateful, when someone gives us a hand, opens their home to us, bets on us and trusts us, we return it and kill for the one who believed.
“I’ll explain it to you like this: clubs buy us and then, automatically, an internal instinct awakens in us that tells us that we have to give our lives for that club. We Argentines are very competitive, so we want to take that club to the top. And that way of being causes you to motivate your teammates, for them to catch on, for the mentality to be positive and winning. People immediately pick up on it.
“I think that’s why we’re so loved: the fans want their players to give their lives for their club, and the Argentines do just that. We immediately blend in with the club, and the fans notice it quickly. And something else: that connection happens because it’s spontaneous, it’s not forced, it’s from the heart, it’s noble. There are no poses.”
Those words will go down very well with a Manchester United fanbase already enamoured by the player.
Lisandro Martinez is currently away with the Argentina national side, with the country taking part in World Cup qualifiers. He started the 3-0 victory over Chile in the early hours of this morning, and is set to face Colombia on Tuesday.
