Emiliano Martínez
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Damián Emiliano Martínez (born 2 September 1992) is an Argentine professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
and the Argentina national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Martínez trained at Independiente's youth ranks before moving to Premier League club
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
in 2010. At Arsenal, he initially served as understudy, being loaned to various clubs, before breaking into the starting line-up in 2019, featuring in the Premier League and helping the club win a FA Cup and
FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...
. In September 2020, Martínez moved to fellow Premier League club Aston Villa in a transfer worth £20 million. In his first season at the club, he kept a club record 15
clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...
s in the Premier League. Martínez had represented Argentina in junior international matches. He played on under-17 and
under-20 Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...
levels. He earned his first senior cap for the Argentina national team in 2021, helping his nation win the
2021 Copa América The 2021 Copa América was the 47th edition of the Copa América, the international men's football championship organised by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament took place in Brazil from 13 June to 10 July 2021. The tour ...
, winning the Golden Glove trophy and keeping a clean sheet in the final. Martínez went on to win the
2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...
, when he also won the best goalkeeper of the FIFA World Cup award, the Golden Glove for his performance in the tournament. For these achievements, he was named
The Best FIFA Goalkeeper The Best FIFA Goalkeeper is an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, to the world's best men's and women's goalkeeper. The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper Award winners The Best FIFA Women's Goalkeepe ...
in 2022.


Club career


Independiente

Born in
Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...
, Martínez started his career playing for Independiente's youth team. In 2009, shortly after his 17th birthday, he was invited to trial at Arsenal, and was initially offered a youth contract.


Arsenal


2010–2019: Loan moves and fringe appearances

After impressing in a trial and being approved for a work permit, Martinez was formally registered as an Arsenal player in July 2010. After injuries to Ryan Clarke and Wayne Brown, and the termination of
Connor Ripley Connor James Ripley (born 13 February 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Port Vale. Ripley turned professional at his local team Middlesbrough – where his father, Stuart, had played – in January ...
's loan, Martínez went on emergency loan to
Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...
, making his debut in the
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
in their final game of the season against
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in
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on 5 May 2012; Port Vale won 3–0. Later that year, Martinez was named on the Arsenal substitute bench for their fixtures away at
Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
on 26 August and against Liverpool on 2 September, as cover for the injured Wojciech Szczęsny and Łukasz Fabiański, respectively. On 26 September, he made his Arsenal debut in a 6–1 home win against
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
in the third-round of the League Cup. He made his second Arsenal appearance in the following round in a 7–5 win away to Reading. Martínez subsequently transferred to Championship club Sheffield Wednesday on an emergency 28-day loan on 15 October 2013. He made his debut for Wednesday on 23 November, against Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town. Martínez's loan was eventually extended until the end of the season. After returning to Arsenal, Martínez was an unused substitute as Arsenal won the
2014 FA Community Shield The 2014 FA Community Shield (also known as The FA Community Shield supported by McDonald's for sponsorship reasons) was the 92nd FA Community Shield, an annual English football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier L ...
on 10 August, with a 3–0 win over
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at Wembley Stadium. He made his debut in the Champions League soon after, helping Arsenal defeat
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2–1 in the group stage. He then made his Premier League debut as a 2nd half substitute, replacing the injured Szczęsny against
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
at the
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on 22 November. With injuries to backup goalkeeper David Ospina, Martínez played his second Champions League game on 26 November, keeping a
clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...
in a 2–0 victory over Borussia Dortmund. His "faultless" performance in the match led to him being named in the UEFA Team of the Week. He made his first Premier League start on 29 November against West Bromwich Albion, and also started against Southampton four days later; he kept two clean sheets as Arsenal won both matches 1–0. On 20 March 2015, Martínez joined Championship club Rotherham United on an emergency loan until the end of the season. He made his debut the following day against South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday, conceding two added-time goals in a 3–2 home defeat. On 2 August, Martínez was an unused substitute as new signing Petr Čech played for Arsenal in the 2015 Community Shield, a 1–0 win over rivals Chelsea. On 11 August, he joined Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers on a season-long loan. After making 15 appearances in the opening months of the campaign, he suffered a thigh injury that kept him out of contention for several months and was unable to regain his starting place afterwards. He spent the 2016–17 season at Arsenal, and played five matches during the campaign, including two Premier League appearances against Crystal Palace and West Ham United. On 2 August 2017, he joined La Liga club Getafe on a season-long loan, and on 23 January 2019, he was loaned to Championship club Reading until the end of the season. At Reading, Martínez made his debut on 29 January against
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
, and won the man of the match award against
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
a few days later.


2019–2020: Breakthrough and departure

With Bernd Leno being taken off injured during the first half of Arsenal's defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on 20 June 2020, Martínez came off the bench to make his first Premier League appearance since the 2016–17 season. This led to Martínez seeing out the season as first choice goalkeeper at the club and was highly commended for a string of stellar performances, with former Arsenal striker Ian Wright describing him as "commanding" and as having played "brilliantly" during his extended spell in the team. On 1 August, Martínez was selected to start in the FA Cup Final against Chelsea, he went on to make some crucial saves to help Arsenal win their 14th FA Cup; after lifting the trophy he was visibly emotional and reduced to tears. Martínez started in the 2020 Community Shield against Liverpool on 29 August, which Arsenal won on penalties. Following the match, there was much speculation that Martínez would leave the club with Bernd Leno returning and the player himself stated that he either wanted to stay at the club and be first-choice keeper or leave on a permanent basis. With reported interest from a number of Premier League and foreign clubs, including Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion, Martínez was left out of the squad to face
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on the opening day of the
league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...
season.


Aston Villa

On 16 September 2020, Martínez transferred to fellow Premier League club Aston Villa in a deal worth up to £20 million. He signed a four-year contract. On 21 September, Martínez made his debut for Villa, saving a penalty from
John Lundstram John David Lundstram (born 18 February 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Rangers. Lundstram started his career in Everton's academy. He signed his first professional contract in ...
in a 1–0 home win against Sheffield United. In his first season at Aston Villa, Martínez equalled
Brad Friedel Bradley Howard Friedel (born May 18, 1971) is an American professional soccer coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Friedel played 84 games for the United States national team between 1992 and 2005, and represented his country at ...
's club record for clean sheets in a Premier League season, with 15. He was also named Aston Villa Supporters' Player of the Season. On 21 January 2022, Martínez signed a three-year contract extension which will see him contracted to Villa until the end of the 2026–27 season. On 27 July, ahead of the new season, Martínez was named one of the two Aston Villa
vice-captain Vice-captain, alternate captain (ice hockey) or vice-skip (curling) may refer to a role in a number of sports immediately below the role of captain. The vice-captain may have a number of different roles, including substituting as captain when the re ...
s, alongside Diego Carlos. On 1 April 2023, Martínez made his 100th Premier League appearance for Aston Villa in a 2–0 away victory over Chelsea. That clean sheet was Martínez's 34th, which broke the club record the most clean sheets in a goalkeeper's first 100 games – which was previously set at 33, by both Mark Bosnich and Brad Friedel.


International career

Martínez was called up to the Argentina senior squad to replace Oscar Ustari to face Nigeria in June 2011. He received his second senior call up against Germany and Ecuador on 9 and 13 October 2019; he was an unused substitute for both friendly matches. Martínez made his international debut on 3 June 2021, in a 1–1 draw with Chile in a
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualificationAlso the "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers". was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Parallel tour ...
match. He subsequently made his competitive debut in a major tournament on 14 June, once again in a 1–1 draw against the same opponent in his team's opening match of the
2021 Copa América The 2021 Copa América was the 47th edition of the Copa América, the international men's football championship organised by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament took place in Brazil from 13 June to 10 July 2021. The tour ...
at the
Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos is a multi-purpose stadium located in the neighbourhood of Engenho de Dentro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is used mostly for football matches and athletics and is the home stadium of the football club Botaf ...
in Brazil. In the 57th minute, he saved a penalty from Arturo Vidal, but he failed to prevent Eduardo Vargas from scoring on the rebound. On 6 July, Martínez saved three spot kicks in a 3–2 penalty shootout victory for Argentina over
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
in the semi-final of the tournament. He went on to finish the tournament with a clean sheet in the 1–0 victory over Brazil in the final. Martínez was also awarded the 2021 Copa América's Golden Glove award as the best keeper of the tournament for his performances. On 1 June 2022, Martínez kept a clean sheet as Argentina won 3–0 against reigning European Champions Italy at Wembley Stadium in the
2022 Finalissima The 2022 Finalissima ( es, Finalísima; ) will be the third edition of the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, a football match between the winners of the previous South American and European championships. The match will feature Italy, winners of U ...
. Martínez was included in Argentina's squad for the
2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...
in Qatar, and played in each of his team's games. He saved two penalties in a shoot-out against the Netherlands in the quarter-final, helping his team make it to the last four. In the final, Martínez saved a shot from a 1 on 1 with
Randal Kolo Muani Randal Kolo Muani (born 5 December 1998) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt and the France national team. Early life Randal Kolo Muani was born on 5 December 1998 in Bondy, Sein ...
in the last minute of extra time to force the match to a penalty shoot-out. He later saved a penalty from
Kingsley Coman Kingsley Junior Coman (; born 13 June 1996) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Bayern Munich and the France national team. Trained at Paris Saint-Germain's academy, Coman moved to Juventus in 2014 on the exp ...
in the penalty shoot-out, helping Argentina win the tournament via a 4–2 shootout victory after the game had ended in a 3–3 draw after extra time. He won the Golden Glove award for his performances in the tournament. Martínez also won the 2022 The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper award. Martínez created controversy after winning the Golden Glove during the 2022 FIFA World Cup award ceremony; he put the trophy to his groin and pointed towards the audience, and then emphatically waved it in the air. It generated a stir, and some media outlets reported that he had made a vulgar gesture. Addressing this, Martinez said he had done this gesture due to the French fans booing him. He also led a conga line of Argentine players at the locker room making fun of French player
Kylian Mbappé Kylian Mbappé Lottin (born 20 December 1998) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team. Considered one of the best players in the world, he is renowned for his dribb ...
. During the celebrations in Buenos Aires, fans presented him with a baby-doll with the face of Mbappé. Several international media outlets criticised him for these actions, and many accused him of lacking sportsmanship.


Personal life

Martínez was given the names "Damián Emiliano" on his birth certificate, which caused confusion when he signed for Arsenal and everyone at the club was calling him Damián. "My name was actually going to be Emiliano Damian on my Argentinian ID," Martínez later explained. " t when my mum went to do it in the post office, I don't know where she done it, she was waiting hours and hours in the queue and when they done it they put Damian Emiliano first. To do it again she would have to wait two, three hours so she went 'it's ok, just do it like that, we're going to call him Emi anyway'. It was a bit confusing but now everyone calls me Emi. Damian used to be my grandad's middle name. My mum riginallywanted just two names - Emiliano Martinez - but because my grandad passed away before I was born she wanted to put Damian in between the two names to have my grandad's name, nothing else." He is nicknamed "Dibu" (abbreviation of ''Dibujo'', Spanish for ''Drawing''), after an animated character in the Argentine telenovela ''
Mi familia es un dibujo ''Mi familia es un dibujo'' (''My family is a drawing'') is an Argentine family telenovela broadcast by Telefe from 1996 to 1998. It led to a spin-off in 1998, changing its name simply to Dibu (''Draw''), the name of the cartoon protagonist. The ...
''. Martinez was given the nickname as a young player by former goalkeeper and goalkeeper coach
Miguel Ángel Santoro Miguel Ángel Santoro (born 27 February 1942) is a retired Argentine football goalkeeper. He played most of his career for Club Atlético Independiente and represented the Argentina national football team at the 1974 World Cup. Playing caree ...
at Independiente, at a time when the series was highly popular. Martínez has been married to Amanda "Mandinha" (née Gama) since 2017. The couple have a son, Santi, and a daughter, Ava. On 22 December 2022, after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup with the national team, Martínez was given a welcome reception at Las Toscas resort, in his native city of Mar del Plata. According to the local press, there was an attendance of more than 150,000 people, both locals and tourists.


Career statistics


Club


International


Honours

Arsenal * FA Cup: 2019–20 *
FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...
:
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,
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,
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
Argentina * FIFA World Cup:
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*
Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...
:
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
*
CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions The CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, previously known officially as the European/South American Nations Cup and commonly as the Artemio Franchi Cup, is an official intercontinental football match organised by CONMEBOL and UEFA and contested by ...
:
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
Individual * The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper:
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
* FIFA World Cup Golden Glove:
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
*Copa América Golden Glove:
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
*
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
Player of the Season:
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
*Copa América Team of the Tournament:
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...


References


External links


Profile
at the Aston Villa F.C. website {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Emiliano 1992 births Living people Footballers from Mar del Plata Argentine men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Arsenal F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Getafe CF footballers Reading F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players La Liga players Argentina men's youth international footballers Argentina men's under-20 international footballers Argentina men's international footballers 2021 Copa América players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Copa América-winning players FIFA World Cup-winning players Argentine expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain