After 36 years, Argentina won the World Cup, after beating France in a heart-stopping match. The Albicelestes touched the sky for the third time, displaying courage and heart to shake their country. Not only Messi’s performance was indisputable, Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martínez made a championship. How complete? What is still missing? We transferred the query to the specialists: a handful of Liga 1 goalkeepers. They answered the following questions:
- What surprises you about ‘Dibu’ Martínez?
- What are the virtues that made you decisive for Argentina to win the title?
- What do you consider to be its flaws?
Leao Butrón, former national team
- He’s good, but his greatest quality is the confidence he has to save penalties. Not just the ones he covered up, he almost always guesses. Despite being tall he touches the ball, he has great intuition. Beyond the study work, he has a very good intuition of what can happen.
- Although he had two super-determining bilges against Australia and France towards the end, his greatest quality is his intuition on penalties.
- Not so much as a defect, but suddenly, the style, right? I think it could be a little more serious. It is not necessary to do so many things. It hurts your image more when it should polish it. It is a small mistake that he has made not only in the final, but in other games where he makes fun of some colleagues. Sport and life take turns, and you have to be very careful.
Carlos Grados, goalkeeper for César Vallejo
- It amazes me how good and prepared he is for a penalty or a shootout. You can tell that psychologically he is made for those moments.
- One virtue that he has and I’ve seen him since he covered at Arsenal is that, although he is not a small goalkeeper, the power he has to fly is unusual in a person of his size.
- Although it is true in penalties it is almost a wall, in the matches of his national team and with his team a lot has happened to him that they hit him once or twice, and it ends in a goal.
Diego Penny, Sport Boys goalkeeper
- He has a lot of personality, he trusts him a lot, and he risks a lot. He uses a lot of his length, his size, his strength. That surprised me. I’ve been following him since the Premier League, and this season he’s done very well in his team. He has had many mistakes, but also very good games. However, in the selection he is transformed.
- In penalties, beyond what he talks a lot, he tries to disorient the attacker a bit. I feel like he studies kickers a lot, because when he goes to the side, he does it with a lot of power and confidence. No doubt. It is very difficult for him to stand still. That’s why he saved many penalties: he goes with everything. That has helped him to reach quite a few cornered and strong shots.
- The goalkeeper has to be cheeky, cool, but he doesn’t have to go beyond the limits and be disrespectful. The respect that he deserves has to be given to his rivals. In goalkeeper issues as a defect: they score goals like anyone else. I have seen that he blames himself a lot for the goals they score against him. But each goal is a different story and he has shown that the Argentine goal is much safer with him in the goal.
Steven Rivadeneyra, goalkeeper for Deportivo Municipal
- What surprises me is the confidence you have, it is very decisive and you work on that over the years. He tells that he has a personal psychologist because he hit rock bottom. That is very important to be able to reinvent yourself.
- Despite being big, he knows how to manage the times, how to position himself, and the right moment to go out and cut the aerial balls. Above all, at important moments, such as against France in the last minute of extra time. In the penalty shootout, he was a boss and he has been demonstrating it throughout his career since he was in the youth team.
- I see a complete goalkeeper, there are always things to correct and improve, but he is an elite world goalkeeper, world champion. I can’t tell you something because I’m in the same position, and we all have strengths and weaknesses. Some are less noticeable than others, but always with the intention of wanting to improve every day.
Source: Elcomercio
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have a keen interest in sports and have written for many different publications. I am currently working as an author at 24 News Recorder. I cover mostly sports news but also write about other topics such as current affairs and politics. I have a strong interest in social media and how it can be used to engage with audiences.