The impressive saves and the performances of Emiliano Martínez, Dibu for the best fans in the world (according to FIFA enshrined in The Best awards),
left their mark on the history of football
.
But also hurt and upset.
The list is long and diverse.
Come and see...
FIFA, the same one that awarded him as the best goalkeeper in the World Cup in Qatar and in the world in 2022,
now wants to create the colloquially called
"Anti Dibu Law"
, to avoid any type of contact between the goalkeeper and the kicker before a penalty
.
Will there be no more spells from Mar del Plata?
Journalism from abroad was also taken as a point,
mainly French, English (Martínez is a goalkeeper for Aston Villa, in the Premier League) and Spanish.
Just to cite three unequivocal cases.
The French perhaps because of the pain of the lost final, the English always so adept at crucifying alleged disloyalties to the game (always those of others, of course) and the Spanish (basically those of Real Madrid, of which there are many) because Thibaut Courtois did not win.
It is remembered: beyond the titles with the White House, he had a weak World Cup and his Belgian team -candidate, a priori- stayed in the first round.
Even some colleagues pointed out that he did not deserve the award.
The truth is that it was decisive for Argentina to achieve the title.
Even Messi pointed him out in such a way.
Yes Messi.
Let's start with the final:
there is some coincidence that the final save to Kolo Muani was the best in the history of the World Cups
.
In addition, once again -in his own way and manner- he was decisive in the definition by penalties.
Let's go a little further back.
Unbeaten arc in three of the seven games (two in the first round and the semifinal against Croatia);
key in the penalty shootout in the bravísimo match against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.
Valuable wherever you want to analyze it
.
And all this without counting what his classmates mention about him regarding how good he is for the group.
It corresponds to add and tell the detail of why his growing journey deserved everything he got.
Come and see: from 2020 until he raised The Best for the best goalkeeper,
he played five finals;
he won them all...
The premiere of his happy streak
August 1, 2020, at Wembley: Arsenal 2-Chelsea 1, in the FA Cup final
.
Martínez came to English football very young.
He went from the Independiente youth ranks to the London Arsenal ranks
.
In those inaugural times and important decisions, Pepé Santoro -historic Independiente goalkeeper and youth trainer- and the representative of Dibu, Gustavo Goñi, collaborated a lot.
It was not easy to win a place
.
In 2011 he was loaned to a fourth-tier team, Oxford.
Since then he has been hopping between the Arsenal bench and his loan status.
He went through Rotherham, Wolverhampton and Reading (all from the second English category);
he also -in the 17/18 campaign- played for Getafe in Spain.
Why never left the London giant
Arsene Wenger, the club's historic, put it little but he valued it a lot.
Before each transfer market he said the same thing to the board:
"He is a great goalkeeper, don't sell him."
Paradoxically, he earned his place with the arrival of another coach, the Spaniard -born in San Sebastián, Basque Country- Mikel Arteta.
He put it in the decisive match of the FA Cup, the Wembley final in the midst of a pandemic, in 2020. Arsenal -against the bets- beat Chelsea 2-1.
Dibu, with a handful of valuable saves, contributed to the consecration.
In the celebrations of that first day of August the Argentine goalkeeper sobbed
.
A perfect farewell to Arsenal
August 29, at Wembley: Arsenal 1 (5) - Liverpool 1 (4), for the final of the Community Shield
.
28 days after the FA Cup final, he played the opening game of the season, the Community Shield (in which the title is defined by the oldest Cup champion and the Premier League champion, in this case Klopp's Liverpool ).
They equalized 1-1, at Wembley, and reached the definition on penalties.
Martinez 's spells
gave
the
Gunners
the title .
Two finals, two titles.
The perfect farewell
to a tour that at times resembled the play
"Waiting for Godot"
.
With one difference: hope was beginning to transform into glory.
Barely 18 days later, he became the most expensive Argentine goalkeeper in history: Aston Villa hired him in exchange for 20 million pounds.
Lionel Scaloni, the coach of the National Team, already had it in his plans for a while.
The much-desired consecration
July 10, 2021, at the Maracana: Argentina 1 - Brazil 0, for the Copa America final
.
COVID had changed all the scenarios in the world.
Even the one with the Selection arc.
Affected by Franco Armani, the opportunity came to Martínez.
The huge arch of the Selection.
He provided confidence from the beginning, earned the position and was faced with a great challenge: the Copa América 2021, in Brazil
.
Martínez made an impeccable save throughout the entire journey, he was decisive -above all- in the penalty shootout of the semifinal against Colombia.
"Look, I eat you"
, was saved in the long history of Argentine soccer phrases.
But the most beautiful thing was yet to come: the final against Brazil, the owner of the house and of all the forecasts.
Dibu had been a father a few days before.
Captain Messi remembered him in his previous memorable talk.
Martinez saved the tears for later
.
Brazil had not lost in the Maracana for 71 years. Argentina had gone 28 years without winning the Copa América
, the oldest title in the history of any confederation (its first edition was in 1916).
"It's today, boys, let's go in calmly, let's win and take the Cup to Argentina
," Messi insisted.
Then the game came.
Angel Di María, Angel of each final, scored the only one of the game at halftime.
Argentina played up to the circumstances.
And when things got complicated, Dibu appeared to guarantee the zero in his own arc
.
"Clean sheet"
, as they say to the undefeated fence in the country where Martínez saves.
Afterwards, the healthy habit of celebrating continued.
With an addition: Emiliano
was chosen the best goalkeeper of the competition
.
La Finalíssima: again the goal at zero
June 1, 2022, at Wembley: Argentina 3 - Italy 0, for the UEFA Champions Cup - Conmebol
.
In the year of the World Cup, as a prelude, the UEFA-CONMEBOL Intercontinental Cup was relaunched (the same one that in 1993 Argentina with Maradona had beaten Denmark).
Previously called Artemio Franchi;
now Finalissima.
In any case, an official title disputed between the champion of the Copa América and the Eurocopa.
In front was Italy, curiously eliminated from the World Cup in Qatar, in any case a historic player who had just won Euro 2020. And who
came with the best he had to get rid of the pain of being left out of the maximum event.
But the Azzurri
couldn't
.
In one of the best performances in the Scaloni cycle, Argentina won 3-0
, with goals from Lautaro Martínez, Di María and Paulo Dybala.
Dibu had a flawless performance and once again demonstrated his enormous power in the air.
Another final against a world champion.
Another own arc at zero.
Another title
.
Knocking on heaven's doors
December 18, 2022, at Lusail in Doha: Argentina 3 (4) - France 3 (2), for the World Cup final
.
It is impossible not to start at that moment.
The best final of all time - it seemed scripted for the cinema or for a Netflix series -
also had, when the game has only a few pieces left, the most wonderful save of the World Cups
.
The game was 3-3, the extra time discount was played.
Argentina deserved to be champion for what they did for well over an hour on the playing field
.
Kylian Mbappé did not deserve to lose because of the way in which he had revived that France that defended the title...
So, the story put Kolo Muani and Emiliano Martínez face to face
.
It was glory for the French, it seemed.
The Best Fans in the World -winner of The Best award- beat and watched from every corner of the stadium, from Argentina, from so many brother countries (even in the beautiful and incredible cases of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal...).
The Frenchman's shot was very strong.
But Dibu came out quickly, exposed his entire body like a handball goalie and covered it.
For all times
.
Then, against, in the last one, Lautaro almost shouted the fourth.
But not.
He had to go to penalties...
Suffering, euphoria, confidence, restlessness, screaming, hoarseness
.
And there, Dibu.
Mbappé converted again.
But the man from Mar del Plata was already prepared to rescue his people again.
Messi tied.
Kingsley Coman had come in and it was
cool
.
It was, he executed,
but a giant willing to win everything, saved
.
The Lusail began to dress in light blue and white.
Dybala -on Martínez's recommendation- did not point to the side as he usually does.
"Set it in the middle
," she told him.
And the crack of Roma did that.
Goal.
With Argentina ahead, it was Aurelien Tchouaméni's turn.
The Real Madrid player had the face of someone going to the slaughterhouse
.
Martínez had the ball, near the penalty spot, he threw it away,
it bothered him
.
And the Frenchman, conditioned, kicked outside, near the right post that Dibu had guessed.
Just in case.
Paredes followed (impeccable as always in each penalty) and Kolo Muani (converted as a useless revenge).
Triple match point.
So, to seal the third star was Gonzalo Montiel, relentless without a doubt.
Goalkeeper Lloris watched the ball and the Cup from afar.
Argentina was already a hug between all.
And a shout: "Champions".
What followed for the central character of this text was more of the same: the celebration of the title with his teammates, the Yashin Award for the best goalkeeper in Qatar 2022, an epic reception in Buenos Aires and its Mar del Plata, the
imminence of a monument
... And, above all, to be living inside a dream that he had told his brother in a gallery, in the previous World Cup, in Russia.
He complied.
look too
The future of Dibu Martínez, destined for a big team: "There are very few clubs that can pay for it"
"Football with stopped clock" and the "anti Dibu Martínez" rule: the changes that FIFA is analyzing
FIFA The Best Awards: Argentina swept Paris with Messi, Scaloni, Dibu Martínez and the fans crowned the best of 2022
The forgotten Cup: Diego Maradona's last title in the National Team
