It’s been nearly a year since Argentina won their World Cup title in Qatar, and the achievement is still a big subject in the local media.
This week, it was Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez who spoke to TV Publica about that victory, with him explaining the huge expectations that followed the squad at the time.
The player claimed they were so focused on winning that title that, in case they lost the final to France, he wouldn’t have been able to play for a long time. The quotes are relayed by ESPN.
“I knew I was going to be up to it, I thought about how we were coming back. Happy, sad… I wasn’t thinking about coming back sad. I didn’t have any other goal. Many players have played after the World Cup and I wouldn’t have been able to because of the pain I would have felt,” the Aston Villa star told TV Publica.
“When it came to winning, I could have gone to play the next day, but obviously we had to celebrate with the fans, it was the most beautiful thing and what we were looking forward to the most with the boys. If I had lost, I wouldn’t have been able to come back for two or three months. It’d be mourning, like losing someone.”
Martinez made his debut for Argentine in June 2021, and since then, became a national team hero. First by winning the Copa America in that year, and then with the World Cup title in Qatar. So even though 32 caps for the national team doesn’t seem like a lot, he’s definitely one of the players going into the history books in his country.
Now despite the interviews to his home country’s media, the goalkeeper has his focus on England, where Aston Villa play Zrinjski Mostar in the Europa Conference League tomorrow.
