Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is hoping to work his magic again as Argentina face Colombia in the Copa America final on Monday morning.
The world’s number one is preparing to play in his third major final after winning the previous edition of this competition and the now-famous 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
It’s also the chance for Lionel Messi to add another international trophy to his cabinet and the man on Aston Villa’s books has helped him a long way to achieve that.
It seems as though in every competition Martinez is involved in, he takes part in a penalty shootout and is always the star of the show.
Aston Villa beat Lille in the Conference League quarter-finals last season, with the marmite-like Martinez winding up the French crowd once more and getting the better of them.
Those heroics show no sign of stopping because the Villa man won his sixth consecutive penalty shootout when Argentina beat Ecuador in the quarterfinals.
For Martinez himself, he made it clear, ‘penalty kicks are 100% luck’, even though he is saving at least two every time he takes part in one, as he told TyC Sports.
Many would automatically assume that luck is no longer involved, but the man at the heart of it all thinks differently.
This is despite Messi himself actually disagreeing with his fellow countryman by stating ‘having Dibu is not luck anymore’, as Argentina journalist Roy Nemer posted on Twitter.
Emiliano Martinez in penalty shootouts for Argentina and Aston Villa
“For me, penalty kicks are 100% luck,” said Martinez. “You can study a lot, but not all penalties are the same. I have stopped some that were totally opposite to what I had studied.”
Messi on Martinez: “In penalty kicks, having Dibu is not luck anymore. You know that he will save one or two and that is a great advantage.”
Emiliano Martinez is one of Aston Villa’s best-ever
Villa are blessed and lucky to have a player of Martinez’s calibre because he is already a legend in the Midlands.
Unai Emery guided Villa to the Champions League last season and Martinez was a key reason behind the club’s success.
READ MORE: Ross Barkley training image hints at Aston Villa squad number and likely role under Unai Emery
Now, there have been some big changes ahead of the new season, including Douglas Luiz leaving Villa for Juventus.
But you feel if the team is to progress again, then Martinez needs to do what he always does and that’s produce 9/10 performances nearly every week.
