One of the main reasons why Aston Villa star Emiliano Martinez gets so much love from Argentina is the penalties he has saved for the national team.
It’s well known that besides his ability to stop shots, he’s also been great at provoking opponents and making the most of mind games to help him and his team out.
So with recent reports claiming FIFA are about to change the rules and stop goalkeepers from speaking to penalty takers, the Argentine press quickly went to speak to the Aston Villa player.
ESPN featured an interview with Martinez at the weekend, and asked his opinion about this new rule.
“I always said that after the Copa América, I don’t know if I would do it again. I already saved the penalties that I had to save,” Martinez told ESPN.
“And now the same thing happened to me, I don’t know if I’m going to save a penalty in 20 years, maybe not, but those I had to save them in the Copa América and in the World Cup, I was able to stop them and help the team win, that’s enough for me.”
“We’ll always have to adapt to modern rules and what FIFA wants, so there will be no problem. We will adapt.”
After winning the World Cup in Qatar last year, the Aston Villa goalkeeper now claims to be excited to be back with the national team, especially since he would be playing with them at home.
“Yeah, I can’t wait for it. We talked about that with the boys, about how nice it will be. Everyone is already looking forward to the call-up and to go there and play. I still don’t know if the two games at the Monumental are confirmed or not, but it will be beautiful. I can’t wait to go.”
The Aston Villa star made his debut for Argentina in June 2021, and didn’t take long to become a national team legend, as in a couple of years, he won the World Cup and the Copa America, having big importance in both of those campaigns.
