The 2022 World Cup may have not started as expected for Argentina, but it ended exactly how they wanted. Following a shocking loss to Saudi Arabia in their debut, Lionel Scaloni’s men bounced back en route to a long awaited title.
While many felt happy for Lionel Messi, others were waiting for Argentina to crash. Their heated quarterfinal against the Netherlands put the Albiceleste players in the eye of the storm, forging a reputation for being ‘inelegant’ or bad winners.
Emiliano Martinez didn’t seem to care about it, making an obsecene gesture with the Golden Glove award before mocking Kylian Mbappe. That, in addition to his mind games in the penalty shootouts, made Dibu many enemies. However, his coach is fully behind him.
Lionel Scaloni stands up for Emiliano Martinez
“Dibu Martinez may not be happy about certain attitudes, but he’s a spectacular boy,” Scaloni told Spanish radio show El Partidazo de COPE. “He is like a kid. It’s incredible what a good boy he is, you should get to know him. Discovering him made us incredibly happy. He has a lot of character that gave a lot to the group. He may have some attitudes, but it’s because he’s a ‘kid’.”
Martinez, who left his country as a teenager to join the Arsenal academy, was a stranger for most of the Argentine people until 2021. Dibu, who spent several years bouncing around different clubs on loan, had to wait until 2020 to prove his worth in North London.
Though he performed brilliantly, Mikel Arteta chose to keep Bernd Leno as his starting keeper, so Martinez left for Aston Villa. Since then, things couldn’t have gone better. Not only did he shine for the Premier League club, but Dibu also became Argentina’s first-choice goalkeeper.
He played an instrumental role in the 2021 Copa America success, when everyone got to know his infamous mind games and trash talk to opponents – as well as his obscene, eventual trademark, celebration with the Golden Glove. The rest is history. Martinez kept on making crucial saves for his country, being a key contributor in their World Cup victory at Qatar 2022.
