Emiliano Martínez is remembered by many Colombians for that penalty shootout in the semifinal of the 2020 Copa América where he managed, in some way, to intimidate some kickers of the Colombian National Team by telling them things or making gestures before the collections. An attitude that paid off as he managed to save three collections and became the great figure in the qualifying for the grand final of the contest.
After the match and with the passing of time, the goalkeeper took on great relevance within the 'Albiceleste', however, the attitude that the goalkeeper took in that penalty shootout was unknown to many, since he not only managed to deconcentrate several players, but also, he became one of the most criticized by the fans of the Selección Colombia on social networks.
Now, eight months later, it would be his father, Albero Martínez, who announced the reason for his son's behavior and revealed the details of what happened that night at the Mané Garrincha stadium. In an interview on 'How are you doing? ' , said that his son was very angry with the Colombians because of what happened in a previous match.
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“Emi was very angry with the Colombians because they had danced to Muslera, who is a good friend. That's why he told them 'they won't dance to me',” said the goalkeeper's father, referring to what happened in the match against Uruguay, where the Colombian National Team kept the scoreline without goals and defined the classification from the eleven steps.
According to his father's comments, Dibu Martínez was sure that he was going to save some of the penalties since, during his time in Arsenal, he coincided with David Ospina and Petr Cech, and they bet on whoever saved the most penalties in training.
“Some penalty against Colombia was going to save, because in Arsenal they were always betting and competing to save penalties with Ospina, Cech and the rest of the archers,” said the father of the Argentine goalkeeper. About this whole situation, Dibu Martínez himself referred in an interview with ESPN that they are situations that stay on the court and assured that Colombia is a beautiful country.
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“It's a beautiful country, I have many friends. David Ospina came to my marriage, I have many Colombian friends. I love the Colombian people very much, it was only part of football. What happens on the court, stays on the court. What's more, I would love to go on vacation to Colombia,” said the goalkeeper of the Argentine National Team.
The last time Dibu Martínez faced the Colombia National Team was in the Qatar 2022 World Cup Qualifiers match. In that match, which was played on February 1, 2022, he was victorious again as he managed to keep his goal at zeros and Lautaro Martínez, Inter Milan striker, scored the only goal of the match.
Now the situation of the Colombian National Team is not the best, it has no margin for error, it will have to score six points against Bolivia in Barranquilla and Venezuela in Ciudad Guayana. Reinaldo Rueda's team will have to break the bad streak of seven games without winning and 646 minutes without scoring a single goal.
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