Emiliano Martínez spoke about this Argentina team’s place in history, winning the World Cup and using a psychologist.
Martínez has won everything there is to win with the Argentina national team. He won the Copa America while also being named as the best goalkeeper, he won the Finalissima and won the biggest prize there is to win which is the World Cup.
The Argentine was also named the best goalkeeper at the World Cup to continue to cement his legacy in Argentine football. Martínez spoke to ESPN about the current Argentina team’s place in history. Here is what he had to say:
“I want to win one more Copa America and say: ‘this team is going to be the best in history.
What I enjoyed the most and I still enjoy it every day and when I die I will enjoy it too, is that we have one more star in the team.
“It is not only ‘ah, I won the Cup’ but also ‘I generated this for the next generation’. They are going to say Argentina has 3 stars and not this generation won the World Cup.
“We generated a standard for the next generation to win the fourth, because in the end, football in Argentina is union, it is passion”.
He also commented on the World Cup and speaking to his psychologist after losing to Saudi Arabia in the first match:
“I used my psychologist a lot those three days, after Saudi Arabia. I told him: ‘Look, I think that if I lose to Mexico, I’m going home, it’s killing me’. I would go to sleep and sometimes I would wake up and say: ‘If I lose to Mexico, I’m going home’.
“I was in the room alone… I set up my room for a month. I put pictures of my kids, their favorite dolls, everything. I took the PlayStation, I set it up like at home and I said ‘I can’t go to Argentina in 10 days, it must be devastating’.
“I have the World Cup in my studio, where I play and have my meetings.
“It is upstairs, and I have it with lights. Sometimes I go in at night and it’s elevated and with light blue lights, I look at it and smile.”
Dibu also spoke about his performance in the World Cup final:
“Against France I saved badly, they came at me three times and they were three goals. The one against Mbappé, I was in a bad position, I touched it and it beat me.
“I didn’t feel I saved well in that final. They see the final save or the penalties, but for me I didn’t save well.”
Argentina’s number one goalkeeper commented on his team mates:
“I know the virtue of Cuti (Cristian Romero) and Ota (Nicolás Otamendi). Either the ball passes or the player passes, not both. That gives me life.
“In the final against France, Cuti went with both feet to Mbappé, I grabbed him by the shirt at halftime and told him: ‘if you get kicked out, I’ll beat you up after the game’.
“I have to tell Cuti to please stop hitting. He plays like that. But they are impressive.”
