Bravery on and off the pitch has defined the career of Emiliano Martinez, Argentina’s shootout hero

Untested in extra time, Emiliano Martinez entered penalties as the keeper with more pressure on him, the greater spotlight on his side after having blown a two-goal lead, and the weight of expectations of a nervous Argentinian contingent that were in full noise at the Lusail Stadium. And Martinez delivered.
Amid all of the nerve-wracking moments associated with the art of goalkeeping and the extremely fine margin for error that it allows, Argentinian fans have come to expect Martinez to stay calm through it all. That ability was on show once again during their World Cup quarterfinal against the Netherlands, which saw Martinez pull off a huge result.
Virtually unchallenged for 82 minutes as his side led 2-0, he saw his net breached twice, and once with what was the last kick of regulation time, as Argentina’s World Cup dream seemed to nearly slip away.
Decisively diving to his right and getting both hands to Virgil van Dijk’s spot kick, and then to his left to save Steven Berghuis, he did enough to take his country to the semifinal. Martinez’s heroics were nothing new, having been called upon to make two match-winning saves during his side’s nervy Round of 16 clash against Australia.
For the 30-year-old, his bravery has defined his life, whether it is his head-first diving saves, or moving continents with no financial backing to make a career.
Argentina’s goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez blocks a penalty kick Virgil van Dijk of the Netherlands during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between the Netherlands and Argentina, at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)(AP12_10_2022_000005A)
After a promising junior career in Argentina, Martinez was presented with an opportunity to move to England, where Premier League side Arsenal were seeking to bring in a new reserve goalkeeper. Aged 20 at the time, Martinez did not believe he would be able to make it to Europe, spend time away from his family, and jet back-and-forth from England and Argentina every few months given his visa requirements. But to give his family a greater financial net, he made the call.
“It was not a poor, poor background but my family struggled a lot in financial terms,” he told The Guardian back in 2020. “I saw my brother and mum cry, saying: ‘Please don’t go.’ But I had also seen my dad crying late at night because he could not pay the bills. So I had to be brave at the time, because I said ‘yes’ for them.”
Martinez’s ability to make saves and play with the ball at his feet are both evident, but at Arsenal he struggled to get a chance to showcase that ability. After a few fringe appearances and several loans in succession – ranging from the fourth and second divisions of England to mid-table top-tier teams in Spain – Martinez found himself at a crossroads.
The 30-year-old had spent seven years at Arsenal without much of a chance, but knew he was not going back to Argentina empty-handed. “I said to my mum when I turned 18 and moved into my first flat in Enfield: ‘I don’t want to come back to my country with nothing, I want to make a career here.’ I did not want to be one of those frustrated players who go to Europe and come back with nothing,” he would say.

Martinez showed he was not afraid of making bold calls for his life. He refused to return to Argentina without accomplishing what he set out to do in Europe, facing the uncertainty of being shuffled around from one loan spell to another for seven years. He put himself in a position at Arsenal where he refused to go on loan, to fight for his place in the team, which eventually came at the end of the COVID-delayed 2019/20 season, seeing him keep goal during Arsenal’s FA Cup triumph.
He refused to stay at the club after that, knowing his place would continue to be uncertain, meriting a 20 million-move to Aston Villa which eventually led to the national team call-up, a Copa America triumph, and heroics at the World Cup.
Martinez’s mentality is a product of his career, and his bravery through it. For a player having earned his stripes at Oxford United and Reading, the pressure of a World Cup is a privilege.