It was the 49th minute on the 27th February 2019 and 27-year-old goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez had just been beaten by a cruel deflection against Sheffield United.
The Argentinian, who was on loan to Reading from Arsenal was gaining a nomadic reputation, having made a horrible error for a Gary Madine goal earlier in the day and now the John Fleck effort, which had taken a wicked nick off Matt Miazga’s ankle, put the Royals four goals behind!
Incidentally, some 80 miles further south, Aston Villa found themselves two goals down against local rivals West Bromwich Albion. At the time Martinez’s Reading sat outside the Championship relegation zone on goal difference, while Villa languished in mid-table, seven points adrift of Middlesbrough in 6th place having played two games more.
Just under three years later, with Steven Gerrard at the helm Villa are building a team capable of a European push in the near future and Martínez is well on his way to becoming the club’s best keeper of the modern era. In fact many would argue that he holds that position already.
Whilst that disastrous day in the Steel City would have been hugely chastening for many goalkeepers, for Martínez, a man with an unwavering belief in his own ability, it has only been up since then.
For the man known as ‘Dibu’, for his similar appearance in his younger days to a popular Argentian cartoon character, this was a sixth loan spell whilst contracted to Arsenal. It was a move that he later admitted he “didn’t want” in a period of his career where he lost a lot of love for the game and “stopped watching football games”. The big stopper was determined for this to be his final loan move.
In 28 games before his Reading debut, the Berkshire side had lost 15 games and shipped 43 goals, at 1.54 goals conceded per game. They conceded 23 in the 18 games in which Dibu played, at 1.28 a match, and lost only four. The goalie was a real catalyst for a successful relegation battle for José Gomes’ side, who finished the season seven points clear of the drop having been below the dotted line when Martínez arrived.
In his short stint at the Madjeski Stadium, Emi showcased impressive reflexes, pinpoint distribution over an array of distances and an assuredness in both punching and collecting crosses.
Whilst his superb form at the back end of the 2018/19 season, coupled with the retirement of Petr Čech meant first Unai Emery and then Mikel Arteta wanted to retain Dibu, Bernd Leno remained the starting goalkeeper.
The man from Mar del Plata was restricted to cup outings and his career looked to be threatening to stagnate once more. That was until German international Leno suffered a season-ending injury after a foul by Brighton’s Neal Maupay. The former Leverkusen man’s misfortune was Emi’s big chance to finally impress at the Emirates.
He kept three clean sheets in six, as Arsenal finished the season strongly and Martínez earned admiration both for his performance and emotional reaction as the Gunners added a 14th FA Cup to their trophy cabinet.
Mikel Arteta owed a great debt of gratitude to the Argentinian stopper for his critical role in the Cup triumph and spoke highly of the training levels and attitude of the man who he claimed had now “earned his place” as number one.
The Arsenal head coach’s word was not his bond, however, and another stellar showing in a Community Shield victory was to be his last for the North Londoners. Dean Smith and Johan Lange pounced in September 2020 as a £20 million transfer was struck.
As debuts go, things could not have gone much better for Villa’s new man between the sticks. Dibu saved a John Lundstram penalty at the Holte End as Sheffield United were defeated 1-0.
Throughout his first year in Birmingham, Villa impressed defensively and the Argentinian won Supporter’s Player of the Year and equalled Brad Friedel’s record of 15 clean sheets in a Premier League season.
He also made the third most saves, had the third most clean sheets and the second highest save percentage in the league, just 0.2% behind Nick Pope in the latter statistic.
The role of goalkeeper is one of the most mentally demanding on the field. One mistake can define a game, season or even a career (see Massimo Taibi). Goalkeeper’s with undoubted ability can wilt at the top level if they do not have elite concentration and self-belief.
For Martínez, no method to ensure he is in the best physical and mental condition is off the table. He has spoken candidly in the past of the importance of psychologists in helping him block out negative or distracting thoughts in a game, which he describes as the “red zone”, and focusing on the positive affirmation of the “blue zone”.
Villa’s goalkeeper coach Neil Cutler, who is a hugely popular figure throughout the whole squad, has struck up a sensational working relationship with Martínez. Cutler spoke recently to the Goalkeepers’ Union Podcast and shed a light on another method used to retain focus and an unbeatable mentality.
This is the introduction of a range of written goals that the pair want Emi to achieve. “In his locker in the changing room, we’ve got lots of different things that he has to tick off,” Cutler disclosed, adding that “he has to keep this many clean sheets, passing percentage has to be this, has to save this amount of penalties… last season, he ticked every single one.”
Villa fans will by now be familiar with the determination and relentlessness of their first choice goalkeeper. So many times goalkeeper’s make a mistake which leads to a poor run of form. Whilst David de Gea is a phenomenal goalkeeper experiencing a remarkable year this time around, a couple of high profile errors triggered a downturn in form in recent seasons.
For Dibu, a mistake often leads to a comeback. He had an uncharacteristically mistake-laden game last season against West Ham, and followed it up with mind-bogglingly good displays at home to Arsenal and, in particular, away to Brighton. Again this season, an error against Manchester United was quickly recompensed with some top quality saves and a clean sheet away at Everton.
A born-winner, Emi Martínez does not know when he is beaten and sets the standards as one of Villa’s most senior figures in the dressing room. On many occasions, an international cap would have seemed ludicrously far away, but for Emi, he always knew that one day he would don the gloves for La Albiceleste. He made his debut in June 2021.
Since then, he has made 16 appearances, keeping 10 clean sheets and starred as Argentina won their first Copa América since 1993. His Golden Glove winning performance earned the admiration of superstar Lionel Messi who called him “one of the world’s best” and “fundamental” to Argentina’s success.
The penalty shootout victory over Colombia in the semi-final saw Martínez play the role of match-winner as he unsettled his opponents and saved three spot kicks. Amongst his many qualities, a knack of getting inside the head of a penalty taker and subsequently denying them is perhaps the most eye-catching in his arsenal.
With an impressive year under his belt in one of the most competitive leagues in the world and a lead role in securing a coveted international trophy, it was no surprise to see the Argentinian keeper ranked as the sixth best in the world in the Lev Yashin trophy rankings. For the ambitious goalie, sixth will hopefully become fifth, or higher, in the coming seasons.
Three years have passed since that loan move to Reading, and Martínez has recently signed a long term deal at an ambitious club in Aston Villa and become a staple in the Argentinian national team’s starting line-up. It has been a remarkable rise, but the person who will be least surprised by it all is the imperious shot-stopper himself.
Joey.
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