Leeds United head coach Jesse Marsch has praised Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez for his performance at the World Cup.
Martinez won the Golden Glove award after his penalty heroics led Argentina to the trophy. He also made crucial stops in the Quarterfinals against Netherlands, keeping three clean sheets on the way. Marsch says the goalkeeper’s antics was a repeat of the Leeds-Aston Villa clash in October:
“In talking about doing what you have to to get a result, we should probably chat about Emi Martinez. 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. I actually don’t think Martinez had a brilliant tournament as a whole but to take his save from Randal Kolo Muani near the end of extra time as an example, that ability to make big plays in big moments is exactly where this Argentina team are at with their mentality.”
The Leeds United head coach was a columnist for The Athletic during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Marsch and Leeds resume their league season on 28th December against Manchester City.
