Emiliano Martinez: ‘I just want to win the game. I never go over the line, I never do’ | Aston Villa

OFor superstitious reasons, before the start of the season, Emiliano Martínez swapped his number 1 jersey for the number 23. The number – a nod to the day his six-year-old son Santi was born – proved auspicious, Martínez says, given that he won four trophies with Argentina, including a second Copa América this summer, wearing it.

Another superstition has taken shape since his wife, Mandinha, gave him two stuffed animals before the World Cup: Santi’s penguin and their three-year-old daughter Ava’s giraffe, to wear as mascots in the dressing room, alongside a photo of his children. “I keep them with me everywhere I go,” says Martínez, whose shin guards are covered in pictures of his family and moments from his career. “It gives me a little motivation before every game. She (Mandinha) told me, ‘You’re going to bring home the gold cup.’ I was away from my family for 40 days and I did it.”

For a split second, the thought of Martínez checking his bag for a few soft toys as part of his matchday ritual disrupted his on-field persona, his image as – how else can I put it? – master of practical jokes, often making himself public enemy number one in the process. Or so many people think of him. Martínez’s greatest moment was surely his save in the dying seconds of extra time to deny Randal Kolo Muani and France the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar. Then he saved in the penalty shootout to thwart Kingsley Coman and the mind games to distract Aurélien Tchouaméni, who then missed his shot.

Martínez insists that the dark arts are not predestined. “I think it’s natural,” he says. “I don’t think about it, I just do it. It’s in the moment. It’s something that can happen, the adrenaline rises and sometimes you just can’t control it. I don’t look for it, it comes like that. Sometimes when you see me from the outside you think: ‘He looks like a braggart.’ But no, I’m just a normal man, a family man. But when it comes to winning, I do everything I can to win.”

Does Martínez feel misunderstood? “Yes, exactly… (people who think I’m) the braggart are probably people from the team who don’t know me. When you ask all my teammates, the ones from the national team, I do everything for my team, I try to help everyone in the club. The only thing I want is the best for my club and my country. That’s all that matters to me.”

In other words, the 31-year-old is desperate to win at all costs, even if it’s hard to keep a straight face when he says he never intends to anger supporters. Jamie Vardy, who taunted Tottenham fans on Monday by pointing to the Premier League crest on his shirt, certainly appreciates a bit of dialogue with those in the stands. “Everyone has their own ideas,” Martínez says. “I never try to anger fans, I never do that. I just try to slow things down when the game is against us; I try to hit the ball as hard as I can on the other end.”

“But if you stay calm and don’t insult anyone, any religion… I think you can do whatever you want. I don’t swear, I don’t insult anyone. I just try to help my team, that’s all. I always respect the players. I just want to win the game. I never go over the line, I never do.”

After making two saves in the Copa América penalty shootout win over Ecuador in July, Martínez celebrated his goal again by showing off his twisting hips. It was the same story in Lille, in Aston Villa’s Europa Conference League quarter-final, where he was booked twice, the second for strategy in a penalty shootout win, but survived a red card due to a small clause in UEFA’s rules. “I thought I was at fault,” Martínez admits, smiling. “I think everyone in football thought that. I was actually asking the ball boy: ‘Can you give me the ball, please?’ And then I got booked for it. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. So I was lucky.” Because of that I missed the semi-final at home (against Olympiakos) in front of the fans, so after all that it was disappointing.”

As Martínez speaks, having announced his new contract until 2029 in front of his family and 400 season-ticket holders in Villa’s refurbished club shop, his son, wearing a replica shirt, arches his back towards him and occasionally Ava taps him with a pair of goalkeeper gloves. “Dad, dad,” she says, as Martínez discusses the merits of his long-time psychologist, David Priestley, with whom he first worked at Arsenal, Villa’s opponents on Saturday. “He brings me down when I’m too high, he lifts me up when I’m too low, and I think he’s someone every player needs,” says Martínez, who turns 32 next month. “It’s an investment, time in the week that I have to work with him. If you look at my performances, I’m never a 10 (out of 10), but I’m never a 4. I always try to be a 7.”

Villa, whose fans chant that Martínez is the best goalkeeper in the world, would dispute such assessments of his performances. Minutes earlier, Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, better known as Monchi, Villa’s president of football operations who was a goalkeeper at Sevilla as a player, insisted that Martínez be mentioned in the same breath as legends such as Lev Yashin, Gianluigi Buffon, Dino Zoff and Ubaldo Fillol, who won the World Cup with Argentina in 1978. Martínez, who won his third Golden Glove with Argentina this summer, was presented with the Yashin Trophy at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris last year.

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Martínez’s point-blank save from Leandro Trossard in a resounding win at Arsenal towards the end of last season will be remembered before the clubs meet again at Villa Park. Villa did the double against Arsenal last season, significantly denting their opponents’ title hopes. Martínez believes “it’s just another game” against his former club and “there’s no chance we can challenge for the title”, but he is confident Villa can surprise in Europe this season. “Especially with the manager we have,” he says of Unai Emery. “He was in the Champions League semi-final with Villarreal (in 2021-22). He’s won four Europa Leagues… for Villa, it’s our first time in the Champions League, it will be new for us, but when you have a manager and players like us, you can go all the way.”

Martínez is confident but also self-critical. “Last season I wasn’t happy with myself, with nine clean sheets (in the league). Javi (García, Villa’s goalkeeping coach) showed me the statistics… I stopped goals, I made more sweeps, I took more crosses, but I want to win the Golden Glove at Villa.”

“I’ve changed a lot since Unai came here. Javi and Unai have made me play as a central defender, a central defender, a central defender. We conceded a lot of goals (last season). If we can reduce the number of goals we concede, I think we’ll have a better chance of being in the top four and winning a trophy, which is what we were missing.”

Martínez worked with ‘mad man’ García at Arsenal under Emery and could have reunited with both at Villarreal in the summer of 2020, but he chose Villa. During his time at Arsenal he had loan spells at Oxford in League Two and Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham, Wolves and Reading in the Championship, as well as Getafe in La Liga. He impressed at Arsenal but failed to establish himself as first-choice goalkeeper under Mikel Arteta. “I play more games now, so I have more experience. I am a father,” he says. “When I was at Arsenal I was a young boy, learning the language, learning English life. I am a completely different person now.”

As for superstitions, they don’t stop at one or two. “Aaah, I have a lot of them,” says Martínez. “I keep the same routine: I make sure to do pilates, yoga two days before, I pray before the games, I go to a psychologist.” ^­The swapping of shirt numbers is already paying off, he says, referring to Villa’s opening day win at West Ham, his first there since joining the club for £20million.

Martínez’s last two appearances for Arsenal have come at Wembley, an FA Cup win over Chelsea followed by a penalty shootout victory in the Community Shield against Liverpool. He is now targeting a title with Villa. “I speak out loud in training saying: ‘We have to win a trophy, we have to play in a final at least,’” Martínez said. “This club and its fans deserve a cup run. I like it here, of course, but I wouldn’t stay at a club where I don’t see progress. Because I want to achieve things, I want to win things, I want to keep trying to be the best goalkeeper in the world if I can.”