The legend of “Dibu” grows with each passing day. Emiliano “Dibu” Martinez, the goalkeeper of both the Copa America-winning Argentina national team and Premier League club Aston Villa, talks trash with the best of them. Now, there are players who don’t lack confidence but wait to trash talk after the fact. Maybe it comes after a goal, after a challenge or what have you, but Martinez talks the talk and then walks the walk. On Saturday, as Cristiano Ronaldo looked on, he got way up in Bruno Fernandes’s face before the Manchester United midfielder missed a decisive injury time penalty that could have salvaged a draw for the favorites. Take a look:
Over the summer, he became an Argentine legend for his performances and trash talking as Argentina reached continental glory to end it’s decade-long title drought. Aside from making big saves against Colombia in the semifinals and against Brazil in the final, his most well-known moment was in the penalty shootout against Los Cafeteros in the semis. He stopped three shots, and there, his trash talking saw him say things like…
- “I’m going to eat you.”
- “I’m sorry, but I eat you, brother.”
- “You look nervous. You are laughing but you are nervous. You are nervous.”
- “Yes, yes, act like an idiot. I know you.”
- “You like to watch, no?”
- “Look me in the face.”
Well, he’s done it again. Aston Villa shocked Manchester United 1-0 with a late goal on Saturday in Premier League play, but that wasn’t without a late penalty kick for the Red Devils. There, Bruno Fernandes stepped up to take the kick and hit it into row k. But before the kick, Martinez was trash talking, telling Cristiano Ronaldo to take the penalty kick. Here is a goalkeeper who few new just a couple of years ago challenging one of the greats.
After the penalty was missed, Martinez turned around and danced in front of United fans to put the cherry on top.
What an astronomical rise to thee top for Martinez. From being a youth player at Independiente and Arsenal, to playing 15 games for the Gunners and going on loan to six different clubs, he’s found his spot with the national team after debuting at the age of 28 and has become a star at Villa for his play on and off the pitch.
Messi called him a phenomenon after the Copa America, and he’s right. Saturday showed why once again.