The question was raised this morning in Clarín.
"Angel Di María, world champion: is he the third most important player in the National Team behind Messi and Maradona?" Oscar Barnade asked in a note where he analyzed the players with the most outstanding performance in the history of the National Team, after
Maradona and Messi
.
Among those figures were
Daniel Passarella
(champion in 1978 and 1986),
Mario Kempes
(scorer in 1978),
Ángel Di María
(figure in the last finals and champion in Qatar), among others.
And a World Champion has already given his opinion.
Just a few hours later,
Emiliano
Dibu
Martínez
, this morning through an interview with Tyc Sports, spoke for the first time since the consecration of Angelito's performance over the years he was in the National Team and was encouraged to say if I would place it within the best or not: "If you rush me a little
I'll put it in the top 3
, and if not also".
And to praise him, he added: "
When I saw that he was playing in the final, I said 'OK, we won. I think mentally he is an animal
(Di María). I think
he is ready to play in the finals
. He played in big teams throughout his career, He also left Argentina as a boy, he is really armed professionally and has a great family behind him that always supports him everywhere, he is very familiar. I think the family helped him a lot to face that final (vs France in Qatar 2022). .
Say Maria, "the man of the finals".
Photo: Page 12
"The world final did not weigh on me, I played it as if I were in a square of
M
Also, a little more than two months after having achieved the third star for Argentina, the 1 against Aston Villa, he reviewed some situations that they went through in Qatar and, true to his style, he told how he lived that last game: "I was calm because we had played all seven World Cup games.
That was the goal.
The final of the world did not weigh anything on me
.
I played it as if I were in a square in Mar del Plata”.
And in case it had not already been clear that the match against France did not weigh on him at any time - he saved two penalties and the saving hand in hand at the end - he recalled the tactic he implemented to prevent Kolo Muani from converting the 4 to 3 in
the
minute end of extra time.
“I couldn't appreciate it the way I appreciated it when the final was won.
The first thing that was seen was that.
When Muani fits, he falls half diagonally.
I said '
well, I'll shrink it slowly'
, I didn't rush, because otherwise it itches on top.
I had to leave him an angle so that the last vision of him is the near post.
Then I played with my hand and foot, praying
'please hit me'
.
I wanted him to hit me in the face, I didn't care where," said one of the references of La Scaloneta.
Dibu and the save that saved Argentina from defeat.
Photo: A24
The native of Mar del Plata even told how his reaction was when Gonzalo Montiel's final penalty hit the goal net: "It's the first time in my life that I collapsed and was awake but fainted at the same time. I did
n't They gave their legs to run
, I would have loved to run and pick up Montiel. When I realize I'm on the ground, I grab my head and say 'I don't know what to do'. It's a moment when my tensions dropped ".
Although he recalled the moments full of happiness that lifting the greatest championship at the national team level entailed,
Dibu
also did not forget to talk about
Kylian Mbappe
, his executioner that night.
After the penalty shootout and the celebrations, the goalkeeper came over to greet and console the French striker.
"I told him to get up, to look ahead because he had unstitched it, that he shouldn't be weak but proud of the game he had played. It's true, he scored four goals for me. I would have to be on the floor," confessed the one who with his performance he is already considered a national hero.
The talk with Messi prior to The Best awards
In addition, the world champion goalkeeper talked about his latest conquest that he won last Monday: The Best award for the best goalkeeper of 2022 and recounted the few expectations he had of keeping the trophy: "I did not expect to win The Best. I traveled
fooling
around with Leo saying 'I travel, I'd be happy if you and Scaloni win it, last of all I'm going to eat for free'. He would laugh and tell me 'No, the three of us are going to win it', very humble as always". .
Martínez, the best goalkeeper according to FIFA.
Photo: The Gazette.
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