More than 100,000 people gathered on Thursday in the coastal town of Mar del Plata, some 400 kilometres from Buenos Aires, to cheer for their hometown hero – Argentina’s World Cup hero Emi Martinez.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper, who hails from one of the most tourist-heavy spots on the Argentine coast, was honoured in front of a crowd of people, who celebrated his two penalty shootouts – quarter-finals against the Netherlands and in the final against France.
The goalkeeper indicated that in penalty shootouts he is “strong” and knows that opponents “respect” him.
“When I saved the first penalty (against France), I knew the other guy (Aurelien Tchouameni) was going to be nervous, and he missed. He screwed everything up,” Martinez said to the applause of the Mar del Plata crowd.
Martinez, who came with the tournament’s Golden Glove award and the winners’ medal, said captain Leo Messi “is the best player on the planet” and his dream, like the rest of the team, was “to give Leo a title in the national team”.
After the victories in the Copa America (2021) and the World Cup, he said: “my final dream as goalkeeper was to give the best in the world the World Cup so that there is no doubt that he is the best player in history.”
Martinez recalled his origins on a dirt pitch in the Jardin neighbourhood of Mar del Plata and expressed his “pride” at having become a world champion with Argentina.
“Every game we played we said we were playing for the people,” Martinez added. “We don’t go to the national team for money, but for the colours. ??”Seeing Mar del Plata or the boys from each city with so many people was a source of pride. When our legs were not strong enough, our hearts were always a step ahead.”
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