Emi Martinez penalty saves: Argentine’s antics with no fans is interesting now | OneFootball

Emi Martinez became an Argentine treasure when he was key to the Copa America triumph, repeating his heroics at the World Cup as Lionel Messi and co etched their name into footballing history.

Although the story is still Messicentric, that wasn’t the case at the Copa America, where the penalty heroics of Martinez grabbed the headlines, the only difference was the COVID hit tournament was behind closed doors, meaning we could hear exactly what Martinez was saying in the ‘Ghost Games’.

The footage from the semi-final penalty shootout shows the ‘keeper getting into the head of Yerry Mina, who ultimately missed his spot-kick.

Emi Martinez penalty saves

His record in penalty shootouts is becoming increasingly more impressive, with the shot-stopper phenomenal when it comes to the lottery. During the 2018 tournament, he was one of the key men behind the success of Argentina.

A video from the shootout in the semi-final has started going viral on social media, given his s**thousery in shootouts, including the World Cup final which saw him receive a booking given the nature of his antics on the line.

Martinez told Mina he would save it as he started his run up, and of course, he backed up his claims, saving the spot kick before going on to a trademark exuberant celebration that we’ve been seeing more and more recently and on the world’s biggest stage.

What did Emi Martinez say?

He was speaking to Mina throughout his spot kick, including when he was running up, something we could hear in the ghost games, not so much now. Martinez started: “You’re nervous huh? You’re laughing, but you’re nervous. You’re nervous. You’re nervous. Hey, the ball is ahead (of the penalty spot), hey the ball is ahead.

“Yeah, yeah, turn a blind eye. I already know you, hey, look. See how I know where you’ll shoot, and then save it. I’m eating you up, brother. I’m eating you up, brother.”

Of course Martinez saved the penalty and Argentina won the shootout, but the absolute confidence in him to tell Mina he’d save it whilst he was running up is extraordinary, it’s peak s**thousery that is difficult to top, but it is fascinating to hear what he was saying, giving us an insight into the sort of mind games he was playing with the French spot kick takers in the World Cup final.