After winning the Copa America and the World Cup with Argentina, Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez could even be satisfied with his international résumé, but he’s not.
Interviewed by Directv Sports, the 31-year-old has now revealed that he also has the dream of winning the Olympics for his country.
“I watched the final with Brazil, I liked the team. If there’s one thing I’m missing with the Argentina national team, it’s winning the Olympic Games,” said Martinez.
“It’s very easy to say ‘I’ve already achieved everything’. I keep setting myself goals. I want to reach 100 games with the national team, with the most clean sheets in history. I think I can do it, I’m mad about achieving those goals. It’s me against me, every year. I want to surpass myself. The mirror doesn’t lie.”
Martinez, however, claims to be very conscious that the U-23 squad may not need him in the tournament. Especially because the Aston Villa goalkeeper will be playing the Copa America earlier in the summer, so there’s a chance he won’t even go to Paris.
“Youngsters always need the chance and if we do well in the Copa America and win it, we have to give the place to the youngsters”.
“If they are in a good moment, there is no reason to change the boys who qualified My goal is the Copa America, after that whatever happens. Like me, 90% of the squad think the same way. It’s going to be a mini-World Cup.”
The Copa America will be played between June 20 and July 14 in the United States, while football in Paris’ Olympics will take place between July 24 and August 10.
That means it is possible for players to take part in both tournaments, although we’d need to see whether Aston Villa would let Martinez participate in both.
That’s often a problem for clubs who have South Americans in their squad, as they usually want to play for their national teams as much as possible.
