Argentina defender Nicolas Otamendi has admitted that Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez now has a ‘terrible personality’ having undergone a complete transformation in that area in recent years.
The defender was speaking to TNT at the Olympic Games when the subject of Martinez came up and he didn’t hold back.
The Aston Villa man has established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world in recent years with a series of impressive performances, particularly for his country.
He was the star man when they won the Copa América in 2021, the tournament that made him famous thanks to his antics antagonising Colombian players in a now famous penalty shootout victory on their way to that success.
He followed that up with more key performances in the World Cup success in 2022, saving penalties in the final to ensure the Albiceleste came back from Qatar victorious.
That again saw him up to his usual antics, with wild celebrations and a madcap attitude leading FIFA to even change the rules around goalkeepers to stop a growing trend of them distracting or playing psychological games with penalty takers.
Not that it has stopped the Aston Villa goalkeeper from employing his personality to his advantage, although Otamendi admits that’s a personality he hadn’t seen before three years ago.
“Dibu was a very quiet goalkeeper, he wasn’t what he is now,” he said.
“After Colombia he changed completely, we found another version of him. I don’t know if his brother, who is very similar, started to play as a goalkeeper or what, but that’s when he started to change. He has a terrible personality.”
