Emi Martinez asserted that Lionel Messi is a natural winner who has accomplished everything in football when asked to compare him to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Emi Martinez, the World Cup-winning goalkeeper for Argentina, met with his ardent supporters on Tuesday in Kolkata. The 29-year-old is the first reigning World Cup champion to visit the city and was crowned the Golden Glove winner at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Fans could not get enough of him and, at one point, leaped over obstacles to get a closer look at their idol.
Fortunately, Martinez was whisked away by security by then, but that was not before the Argentine said that he did find similarities between the city of joy and his home country.
“It is the passion for football that I find similar. I see that passion in young kids here,” he said during the “Tahader Kotha” chat show at Kolkata’s Milan Mela Ground.
Amidst the wild cheers of ‘Dibu’ ‘Dibu’ from the crowd, Martinez seemed at ease and enjoying the rapturous welcome.
Martinez seemed in a happy place and enjoying the break from the game in the off season. When asked about his future goals, the Argentine said there is only one.
“We won everything there was to win, Copa America, 2022 Finalissima against Italy and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. But it does not end there. We want to win the next Copa America and the next FIFA World Cup as well,” he said amidst massive cheers.
Recalling Argentina’s successful campaign at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which began with Saudi Arabia shocking the Latin American nation with two second-half goals in their opening Group C match, Martinez said, “It was my first defeat as an Argentine, and I was a bit sad.”
“But we had the best player in the world in our team – Lionel Messi,” he added.
But the win against the Netherlands, 4-3 on penalties in a dramatic, feisty quarterfinal, truly set the ball rolling for something special.
“When we beat the Netherlands in the quarterfinal, we knew something special was about to happen. The game went to a shootout, and I backed myself because I was accustomed to this,” Martinez revealed.
Martinez is renowned for his aggressive style of goalkeeping. The 30-year-old is fearless in coming off his line and having a word or two with strikers. He also never shies away from being very vocal and animated in his communication. His psychological mind games are his most effective weapon, which was quite effective in the finale.
“I practised my psychology the night before the final against France. I did this to generate chaos, and it worked. But FIFA changed the rules, but we won the World Cup (smiles),” he said.
Martinez also spoke about how Messi was among the first to appreciate his contributions after the shootout win.
“After the shootout, Messi came and hugged me and said – ‘I can’t believe you saved us again’. When the best player in the world says that, it is unbelievable,” he said, getting a tad bit emotional.
When asked who among Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo was the best, he said, “He (Messi) completed football. He is the best,” came the reply from Martinez, signifying Messi’s incredible trophy cabinet, which now boasts every trophy the Argentine could win in his career.
“Messi is a born winner, he was born to win, and he used to talk before every game in the World Cup. In the final, he said – ‘Thank you for everything you have done for me.’ And we ( other players in the team) all wanted to win it for him,” Martinez added.
Martinez was then asked who among the current generation of players could replace Messi and Ronaldo, to which the Villa goalkeeper said, “I have to say an Argentinian player.”
“But Messi is the best player ever, and there will be no Messi in the future. It will be hard to replace him. I hope to win the next Copa America with him,” he concluded. Jampacked for the day and a bit of chaos Martinez has a tight schedule as he returned to his hotel after pleasing his fans with several photo ops. In the evening, he will be heading to the Mohun Bagan football club, where he is slated to felicitate 10 Bengal goalkeepers, including Bhaskar Ganguly and Hemanta Dora. He will also be attending an exhibition match which will be held between Mohun Bagan All Stars and Kolkata Police All-Stars.
But earlier in the day, Martinez was supposed to sign jerseys for fans who had bought gold and platinum tickets. But no sooner did he leave the venue that supporters ( who bought gold tickets ) started protesting, claiming they were denied signed jerseys from the man himself.
Later on in the evening, supporters were handed jerseys signed by Martinez. However, one such fan who had come from Shantiniketan had to leave the venue since he had a train to catch. “I bought a gold ticket but did not get a signed jersey and had a train to catch. So I had to leave. I hope they will courier it to me,” he said.
