Dibu Martínez: You ate them, brother | OPINION

Peruvians bought a deception for decades to feel protected: that we are a land of archers. If we review, the great guardians of the national team, party poopers if you want to avoid the greatest joy of this sport, have been the Argentines. From Ballesteros to Quiroga, passing through Ibáñez. The Río de la Plata is an endless and colorful quarry that continues to mark the course of history.

Each Argentine team is usually supported by a great goalkeeper, as if it were a column. Amadeo Carrizo, ‘Pato’ Fillol, Nery Pumpido, the list is as long as unrolling a papyrus. Today, ‘Dibu’ Martínez, that youngster who left for England at the age of 18 to find a life, that mouthful who intimidates his opponents and who a couple of years ago did not exist on the radar of the Argentine National Team, has been the hero of the day Messi is the happiest next to him.

And it has been with the specialty of the house: with two penalties saved against a Netherlands that had rebelled against their luck and perhaps tried to emulate the Croatian epic. In neither of the two goals, marked by Wout Weghorst, the secret weapon, the ‘Dibu’ had responsibility. He’s a goalkeeper who rarely bloopers, though he’s certainly not the most unbeatable in the Premier League.

Those who have kicked a penalty in a packed stadium and before the eyes of the world assure that the goal gets smaller for the players and gets bigger for the goalkeepers. The ‘Dibu’ is more than his meter ninety. It is a state of mind capable of eating your head. If not, my friend Yerry Mina will know that he hasn’t danced salsa choke in the same way again.

Today Dibu Martínez reminded us of Sergio Goycochea, that other guardian who led Argentina to the final of Italy 90, putting aside Yugoslavia and the host country from twelve steps. And also, of course, ‘Chiquito’ Romero who, precisely, eliminated the Netherlands, when it was still called the Netherlands, in Brazil 2014. Dibu is a link in that extensive chain of penalty saves that Argentine soccer enjoys . He appears Croatia now, an expert in the ‘mata-mata’. What a fortune, Argentine friends: the ‘Dibu’ is yours.