Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch has branded Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez as ‘infuriating’ for his antics.
Argentina stopper Martinez has come in for criticism in recent days for his attempts to wind up France players in the World Cup final penalty shootout.
With Argentina leading 2-1 after two penalties each, Martinez waited for Aurelien Tchouameni to walk up to the spot… and then threw the ball away.
Tchouameni laughed at first but then dragged his penalty wide, with Martinez ecstatic having already saved Kingsley Coman’s effort.
Argentina did go on to win the shootout, fulfilling Lionel Messi’s World Cup dream in the process.
Messi is of course attracting most of the attention but Martinez played a vital role and his hero status in Argentina is only rising.
Some don’t like it though, suggesting that Martinez took gamesmanship a little too far with his antics against France.
Leeds boss Marsch has his say on Aston Villa ace Martinez
Premier League managers probably get frustrated enough with Martinez’s attempts to wind players up and time waste, with Leeds boss Marsch on the receiving end.
Marsch has written about Martinez for The Athletic, noting that he was using ‘a few antics’ at Elland Road to waste time and stop Leeds – both fans and players – from gaining momentum.
Marsch called Martinez’s actions ‘infuriating’, but noted that it’s ultimately what the Argentinian is trying to do – and he often succeeds.
Marsch noted that Martinez’s antics seem to give him an edge, especially in penalty shootouts, and that mental aspect combined with the sheer size of Martinez just makes him so difficult to beat.
“In talking about doing what you have to to get a result, we should probably chat about Emi Martinez,” said Marsch. “I’m talking from experience here because not so long ago, he played for Aston Villa against my Leeds team and used a few antics to work the clock and subdue the crowd. I mean, it was infuriating, but that’s the point, right?”
“His mind games in penalty shootouts seem to give him an edge — and he knows they give him an edge. The gains he gets from those add to the fact that fundamentally he’s a big goalkeeper. In reality, the football goal is massive and you should score just about every penalty you take. But he has this way of making it look and feel very small,” he added.
You can only imagine that Martinez will ramp up the mind games and gamesmanship when he is back in Premier League action.
Managers will probably feel much like Marsch, but Villa fans will be hoping that he can win them some silverware – just as he did with Argentina.
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