HomeLatest NewsAlexis Mac Allister on Emiliano Martínez: "Dibu is an animal"

Alexis Mac Allister on Emiliano Martínez: “Dibu is an animal”

Alexis Mac Allister spoke about Emiliano Martínez and his importance to the Argentina national team.

Mac Allister scored a penalty for Argentina in their win vs. Ecuador at the Copa America with Emiliano Martínez making two saves. Mac Allister spoke in an interview on AFA Estudio. Here is what he had to say:

“Dibu is an animal, there is not much to say. He has been showing it for quite some time. He is a character on and off the field. It is very important for us because it gives us that peace of mind. We went to kick afterwards much calmer.

“When you go to kick thinking that you have to score, it is different from when we were in the situation we were in after the two penalties he took. The nervousness is always there, but Dibu always says before each round that he will save one or two. And that gives us peace of mind.”

36 Comments

  1. Emi, Licha, Cuti –> 3 key figures in the current team. All others have been inconsistent. Emi cannot be the saviour every time our resistance fails.

  2. Messi will perform if he’s healthy plain and simple vs Canada or whomever because it’s gonna be his last big chance to win another trophy for ARG.
    We as ARGENTINA fans can’t ask for more, he brought us what we ALL wanted and then some, his debt was paid the sec the final whistle blew in 2022.
    He’s free to do whatever he wants, not that he needs our permission. There is plenty of talent on this team to qualify and do well in the next WC without him. THINK ABOUT the next 2 games and that’s it and even if he doesn’t, it’s fine too.

    • Yes he has done allready so much fit ARG as ADM too and hopefully they will get to repeat it once more for ARG as if not, well their legends will live forerever like EL DIEGO’s as greatest ever in all time history of football, for sure as i Could add DIBU there too, but as he will hopefully continue with ARG to WC 26, well anyhow even if he does not he will and is allready amongst those above allready as obviously every Argentine player who has won COPA or WC forexample as there are also many Argentine’s who may had not won anything with ARG NT, but are easily amongst the best ever in from the whole world too ! Just more than amazing how many good and great players had come from Argentina !

  3. I’ll have to disagree Messi is done. What has Mbappe, KDB, Bruno Fernandez, Grizeman or others have done that makes Messi a Joe Biden of this team. LoL. Every European team would struggle against these fast and physical South American teams. Yes, Messi hasn’t showed up in this tournament yet, but that disastrous quaterfinal coupled with a penalty miss , a different Messi is going to show up! My only concern is the support cast , they were nowhere to be seen. We need a defensive mid that isn’t afraid to take down opposition players if needed and Paredes and Guido would be perfect for this role and having a proper defensive mid will help MacAllister and Depaul to contribute more in attack. Depaul falling and rolling over is very important to slow down the aggressive approach of South American teams, he knows what he is doing. I will start Julian against Canada, not only he presses incessantly but he is a hybrid of no 8 and no 9. Lautaro without service is basically useless. Nico & Molina are our fastest players and may be give Dimaria and Garnacho some mins too we will need them in the final.

    • My friend, no true Argentine fan does not love Messi. We all know what Messi brings and what he means to the national team. The reality is that Michael Jordan, Kobe, Maradona, Tom Brady, etc., got older. Father time is undefeated. Argentina doesn’t really have a midfield problem; we just can’t take chances and are often “looking for Messi magic.” The midfield is struggling because it is designed to be a supporting cast. Why do you think we always have to adjust when Messi is not playing? Messi has declined even in his final years at Barca. However, he was still sharp in every aspect of the game. Today his speed is gone; no more dribbling past 4-5 defenders, leaving them in the dust. Now he dribbles, and the defenders catch up and foul (he can’t stay on his feet).

      In terms of levels (Messi level): Messi was level 10+ at Barca; level 7 to 8 in his final years at Barca; level 6-7 at PSG; after WC 2022 in Miami 4-5; current level is 2-3. This is my opinion of his scale. The major concern is Messi dropping below his level 4. My opinion is that if he continues to play in the MLS prior to the next World Cup, his form will have a freefall nose dive. He needs to remain at least above level 3, and a loan can keep him fresh, but he obviously will never be the Messi the world came to know. (Illustration is childish, but I wanted to explain myself. A level 4 Messi is still a national team quality player – passing, awareness, understanding of the game, and can physically play. Below that, he is physically weak – in fact he knows this well and said, “depends how I feel physically”.)

      • I still feel like it was his injury that held him back in the last match. I remember the 1-1 draw against Ecaudor in 2022 WCQ and he had similar disastrous game. Yes, he is not the same Messi from the world cup where he was at 10/10 as a goal scorer, playmaker and a leader. I still think he can play as huge role as a playmaker role if he decides to play a little deep and not play higher up as he clearly don’t have the pace to outrun defenders and loses possession easily. It is time to let Lautaro, Julian, Nico and other young forwards take care of the goals but still at this age he finds a way to get in a position every now to score and almost had a goal too in the last match. Let see how he fares against young and fast Canada. He should be in a better shape fitness wise as he avoided all the tackles in the last match and he would have 5 days of rest too!

        • I completely agree with you. We just need Messi to be 100% healthy at his current age to see what fast players like Gvardiol can do to him.

      • > Argentina doesn’t really have a midfield problem;

        1) Horrible 1st touches
        2) Tons of misplaced passes. Def not used to seeing such sloppy passing tbh.
        3) Not supporting each other to give the ball mover several options to pass
        4) not pressing as unit

        Yes, we have a midfield problem. All these factors have nothing to do with Messi even if we agree Messi is underforming. Even the fullbacks are underperforming. All key components to advancing and moving the ball around.

  4. There’s a ton of talk about Messi’s future. The reality is he is already semi-retired and living comfortably. If you want to see a decent Messi, he should go on loan to a midtable Spanish, Italian, or English team as a way to prepare for WC 2026. Otherwise, he is just about finished. The MLS diminishes form even though his class is forever (the brain is ahead of his body – then the body fails to do what it is capable of because it hasn’t trained like it used to – missing sharpness). Look at all his missed chances to score. Even a PSG Messi was poor (to his standards), but the Champions League prepared him for the NT due to the quality, speed, etc – I doubt they condition or train 25% as hard as in Europe. In the MLS, they do not know how to play nor protect stars which is why he got hurt repeatedly. The same happened to Ibrahimovic. Anyways, I doubt Messi would go on loan because he is living his best retirement while playing. I wouldn’t leave Miami Beach either

  5. Change is coming I think. Molina didn’t do good against Ecuador so Montiel will come in his place,Paredes for Enzo so Maca will be advanced and Lautaro or Julian (Don’t mind both) also Di Maria coming in place of Nico. All this rumours however I am happy with all this.

    • I won’t be surprised if Scaloni starts Montiel even though Molina is way faster. But Montiel has performed better so far and he is a much better defender than Molina but lacks finishing skills.

  6. Argentina without messi is reality man , messi fans must preper for it because the great man ain’t the great man we get used see which is understandable, for me, Messi is greatest player ever play football, sadly Argentina need to move on from him

    • Agreed sadly on everything said and hopefully Scaloni and CO. prepare and donunderstand this too, though still it might be out their hands as i hope it is not money that might be the most deciissive for those who organizing and ivesting in this COPA, though also maximum 2 games left in this COPA for ARG and i think MESSI will be starting both , well whether the right call or not, honestly i don’t know as i hope he somehow can switch to his MAGIC 2 MORE TIMES, though clearly the signs have indicated something else so far, but never know as we are still talking about the greatest ever with EL DIEGO ( during EL DIEGO’s era ) as personally i hope and wish he surprised me and everyone else and if not i completly understand as playing in MLS is just not enough or the same what he was used to before and what it normally would require at this level as we are talking about none else than COPA AMERICA !

      VAMOS LA PULGA Y VAMOS ARGENTINA ! UNA COPA MAS COPA DESEADO Y MUCHAS FELICITAR ARGENTINA !

    • That G.O.A.T debate stands on a slippery ground. Still a big number of Argentines still view Diego as untouchable and the best. I watched a video interviewing Boca fan. Some even rate Riquelme better than Messi 🤣😂😂.Am not an Argentine but I believe the G.O.A.T debate is not a straight forward opinion in Argentina. But I prefer both legends being equally appreciated, having two G.o.a.ts both Argentines.

  7. ARG will play better on all positions with or without Messi especially having played lousy and clearly seeing whose in front of them. Canada is Canada and let’s not get ahead of ourselves about the speed and physicality. The crowd will be easily 70-80% Sky-Blue and White and even more for the final. This is ARGENTINA of 2024 not 2018 and I doubt the REF. will allow the game to get outta hand like last night.

  8. As per both Sofascore and Whoscored, Messi, Mac Allister, Romero, Lisandro, and Emi Martinez are our top 5 performer of this Copa.
    Hopefully Di Maria, De Paul, Alvarez, Enzo etc also performing their best football in Semi and Final. We need that Qatar 2022 energy and hungry for the team.

  9. After watching the game I felt like Uruguay ain’t invincible. This Brazil team is shit even they had them almost. Uruguay had only one shot on target as far as i remember. Colombia looks dangerous more than them. They remind me of us back in days when we used to killed team in group and knock out then lose in final. After watching Uruguay against Brazil I feel like we can beat them but we need ourselves back first. The team the coaching stuff needs to get back in their A game. Watch the game Brazil didn’t have any creativity at all otherwise they would’ve had Uruguay. With good planning and players they can be beatable. What I love about us is our adaptability. Hopefully the team we know get back against Canada. And i don’t know what they doing with Messi coz it wasn’t wise to play him last game and hopefully all the coaching staff understand this and correct themselves.

    • Yes, with right tactics Uruguay can ir Could be beaten by ARG, though ARG must play realky clever and in very much better, than they have done so far etc…also Araujo most likely out for Uruguay and Gimenez ain’t that fast anymore also clearly lacking confidence and been also underperforming with ATM too as his passini did not looked good either and Columbia in other hand look’s really scary in terms speed, quality as allmost an perfect team as Davidonn Sanxhez might be their weakest in their starting eleven, but damn even he look’s so much better as what he looked at Spurs as if Lucumi would not been injured, well he would not be a starter as same goes for Gimenez too, but if ARG and hopefully so make’s it to final, well i rather would play against Uruguay, than Colombia as currently obviouly both are really good, but still i fear Volombia even more as right now i would say maybe only Spain would or might have chance maybe France with their boring way of play, though deffensively they seem to be at least still lastina, but offensively not so convincing at all, though they do way too oftenly find their way, lol! But, at the moment theese fast SA team’s might be too though for the Europeans as maybe only Spain if them Could stand a chance…?

  10. Guys good form means nothing in a final, remember how Argentina shined in Copa 2007 and in Copa 2016 before the final and what happened there!

  11. As much as I love our team, the current form is nowhere near Colombia or Uruguay. I will preface this by saying I pray we can pull a magic game and win when we get past Canada.

    First, if you compare to WC, our team is no longer running as much but still pushing the ball high which causes our defenders to have to back track. Against a more skilled team they will kill us potentially. Our midfield is in disarray. Enzo is far from form, DePaul is a mess because he actually causes damage to the ENTIRE team due to him constantly taking dives and trying to draw a foul. This nonsense has to stop by him. Add this to the fact that he has played poorly in many stretches in this tournament. But the diving has to stop. Nobody is buying it anymore. MacAllister is playing great.
    Then you get to Messi which has been beaten to death by me, but much as we all love him he is nowhere near the guy he was even a year ago. Yes he has magical moments, but he is also missing plenty of opportunities. This only gets magnified because players are still giving up shots to get him the ball. Frankly, we look old, slow, stale, and not hungry. I don’t know what will happen in this tournament, hopefully our experience will prevail. Even if we get to penalties we have a better shot of winning because of Dibu. But there literally are about 10-12 players that need to be ejected off this team and replaced. Armani, Acuna, Armani, Pezella, Guido, LoCelso,Otamendi, Martinez Quarta, DiMaria (by his choice), and yes, even Leo, I am willing to say goodbye to and turn the page unless he understands that 80 percent of the old Messi for 30 minutes is better than 20 percent of the current Messi for 90 minutes. He would be the super sub game changer he can be at this stage of his career. It happens to every team, but the changing of the guard needs to happen win or lose.

  12. ARG’s camp has been tight lipped thus far about Messi, keeping everybody in the dark including Canada. BTW, Jessie Marsch, Canada’s coach is the one who cried about players coming out of the locker room late and that ARG should be fined. He’s awfully pleased with himself since the U.S didn’t give him the job and they’re out & playing in Copa America’s semifinals vs the WC Champs…….he needs to be brought down to earth

  13. Biesla will find a way to get past Colombia too. Everytime Brazil had the ball and tried to do something with it Uruguay would take their player down. On top of that Brazilian manager was just a mere spectator. Endrick was getting fouled every now and then and struggling to make any contribution whatsoever and this fool of a manager made no substitutions and only brought Martinelli 5 mins before the end of the match that too for Rodrigo when the game was almost certain to go into penalties. The worst one is , this stupid manager sends a defender to take their first kick!

    Scaloni hopefully is paying attention to this whole drama. He can’t take Canada lightly, they have a fast and young team and they also beat Venezuela in penalties to qualify for Semis. Had they been a little more clinical they would have beaten Venezuela by a good margin. Messi & Co can’t wait late to score a goal. We have to score a goal as early as possible and force Canada to come out of their half and score a second one and put the game to bed. I really don’t want to see a stupid formation with aging players from Scaloni playing against Canada and please don’t wait too long to make substitutions. Messi has to have a good game otherwise we we will again struggle so the little magician either be fully fit or let Dimaria start. Despite all the talent we have instead of us stream rolling these smaller teams, this Copa is getting more and more difficult.

  14. ………………..Dibu
    Molina-Romero-Martinez-Tagliafico
    ……………….Parades.………….
    Carboni-Palacios-Mcalister-Garnacho
    ………………..Martinez………….

  15. Look why going against de paul when he is our protector in the mid field. He can play the mind games. Yes it didn’t work out against ecuador. But he knows how to give it all even with lack of form. Just imagine palacios, its going to be just another player. In terms of cunningness and courage no midfielders will catch upto de paul. Just rewind those world cup moments and how de paul got criticised for his bad play. And he made it by giving his 100% in the field. Yes there were mis passes from him. But no can replace him. Yes we had a lot of midfielders talented than de paul in the past but in the field he is much superior in his commitment to the national team.

  16. This type of field is not good for Argentina team… so we need change our system to win the trophy…maybe…

    -EMI Martínez—
    Lucas,M-Rome-Lisandro
    —Guido Rodriguez —
    palac-Mac-LoC—Ni,G
    — Messi—Lautaro

  17. Last night’s massacre wasn’t a football game, lesser talented and technical teams will always resort to DIRTY plays, plain and simple. Let ARG go by Canada as they should and I have NO doubt the game will be called differently, WHY? Because just like the last COPA final, BOTH FIFA and CONMEBOL presidents were at the stadium and whatever BS Brazil might have planned, wasn’t gonna happen.
    2nd, Messi is and has been America’s darling for sometime now plus the fact that they’re playing in Miami, forget about it.
    This is what I strongly believe, ARGENTINA plays their game of quick passes, swarming opponent players whenever there is a hint of an attack, Messi being active and everything else will fall into place.

  18. Beat Canada. And wait for finals.. and play 1 good game, and we can won whole tournament…. Need 2 Messi good performance… People should understand if we can’t won Copa.. expect some player to leave NT, Dimaria, Messi, Otamendi, pezzela, acuna,armani,

  19. I know leo paredes was bad vs peru but if he brings his a game we will win this copa America, if it was up to me I will drop de Paul replace him one of Palacios or lo celso this my prefer midfielders for the next two matchs lo celso Paredes MacAllister only if paredes not been lazy he is deep laying playmaker perfect against teams like Canada and Uruguay playing high line plus we need speedy winger this is where nico gonzalez is good at.

Comments are closed.

Must Read