Since Argentina still haven’t stopped celebrating their 2022 World Cup title, Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez remains a current national hero.
When the national team faced Panama in Buenos Aires last week, that was more of a party than a proper game, as the players had the chance to meet their fans for the first time in a stadium since the tournament in Qatar.
As the celebrations continue, the AFA (via Marca) held an interview with Emiliano Martinez this week. They obviously had many questions about the World Cup campaign, especially regarding the abilities the Aston Villa goalkeeper has to save penalties. One of those saves was against Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.
Argentina faced the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, and with the game tied 2-2, it went to penalties. It was the Liverpool centre-back who missed the Oranje’s first shot, and the Argentine player has a nice story about it.
“I already knew Van Dijk from Liverpool, I saw him taking shots against Chelsea and his shot crossed over with two goalkeepers who were tall and shot well,” Emiliano Martinez told AFA.
“I didn’t say a word to him, I think that in that penalty I injured my lower hip a bit, which still hurts. I stretched so much… I thought that that penalty, being the first, it was key. I got a lot of anger out of the second goal.”
The Aston Villa star also explained why he’s so good at defending penalties, explaining the real thing is totally different from when they practice it during training sessions.
“In training they can throw me 72 penalties and they score 72. Now, if we play for money, that already changes. It’s another pressure. Well, imagine with 80,000 people in a World Cup final. The people start to whistle, the goal gets smaller… and I use that to my advantage.”
