Argentina today officially released Emiliano Buendia and Emiliano Martinez from international duty. Following an agreement with manager Lionel Scaloni, they are both clear to travel back to Europe before resuming Aston Villa duties.
The players had been in São Paulo, where the match against Brazil was postponed, as all those who’d been in the United Kingdom were supposed to quarantine when entering the country and allegedly lied on paperwork needed to enter the country.
So following a return to Argentina, Emiliano Martinez was soon seen at the Ezeiza airport, where he was waiting for his flight to Europe. He spoke to several local journalists about the latest controversies. Especially about the decision to come and play the international matches, as most Premier League clubs stopped their players from travelling to South America.
“There was the possibility that they would leave the four boys from England there for 14 days, but Chiqui (Tapia) helped us, stood for us all and said ‘we’re all going’ and we all left. Thank him and the boys who always stood for us.
Quoted by TyC Sports, he points out that even though most Premier League players did not travel to South America, the ‘love for the shirt’ spoke louder for the Argentines.
“The four of us decided to come for the love for the shirt, even though all the Premier did not want to come, we decided to come anyway. After winning the Copa América, the whole team wants to be with the group, not just give the national team a victory. It’s something beautiful that we have and we assume the consequences.”
