Why is Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez nicknamed Dibu?

Argentina’s maverick goalkeeper with his furious expressions is nicknamed Dibu, after a 90s family telenovela centering around a ‘cartoon boy’ as protagon.
Mi familia es un dibujo was Argentina’s first live action animated soap opera running from 1996 through 1998 in which an animated child is born into a multigenerational family.
According to sportingnews, “Martinez’s nickname ‘Dibu’ (short for Dibujo) comes from his early days at Independiente. It refers to his supposed likeness to a character from the Argentine cartoon telenovela Mi familia es un dibujo and he has carried it with him ever since.”
The 30-year-old made his international debut rather late at age 29, but has been an animated, expressive presence under the bar. He will be all-important in their final against a French team brimming with attackers, even if all eyes will be on the other end with Messi gunning for World Cup glory.Subscriber Only StoriesPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
Martinez though has become a sort of a cult hero with Argentina fans, owing to his expansive persona. “Martinez emerged on the scene as a late bloomer for Argentina with his international debut coming as a 29-year-old in 2021. Scaloni was unconvinced Willy Caballero, following the retirement of Sergio Romero, and Martinez’s rise at Villa caught his eye,” Sportingnews wrote.
While the telenovela dealt with adjustment issues of the animated child with non-animated children, Martinez’ own struggle was breaking into the Albiceleste, biding his time. “Martinez’s trademark resilience was shown from the start of his Argentina career: he accepted a call-up after two previous false dawns with the national team, after Scaloni’s show of faith. Neither has looked back since, as he was thrown in the deep end of a World Cup qualifier in June 2021 before nailing down his No.1 spot ahead of the Copa America,” Sportingnews wrote.
Animated with antics while saving penalties, and bobbing around under the bar, sniggering, muttering, celebrating and cussing, Martinez packs in quite a show, making him a fan-favourite.
Slow to take off with the national team, his run through the title winning Copa to this World cup final has been quite dramatic. “Martinez has developed a reputation for grabbing chances that fall his way, and he endeared himself in the eyes of Argentina fans after his penalty saving antics en route to them winning the trophy last year, ” Sportingnews wrote.
The telenovela meanwhile ran for 85 episodes, and spawned movie spin offs and musicals. Dibu’s popularity only kept growing, and Martínez who was 6 when the series took off has carried the legend of the cartoon forward.
Lower tiers of Eng in 2012
A decade back when Messi had blasted 93 goals in one season at Camp Nou, Martinez was still playing for Oxford United in the lower tiers of England. He arrived in England, leaving Argentina at 17-years-old to join the Gunners in January 2012. But after a goalkeeping crisis at Oxford, he was loaned out to the football league side.
After Martinez cracked the first team as first choice keeper, right before Copa, he had quickly impressed Messi. Stopping three penalties from Colombia, he had Messi gushing. “It was a tough game but we deserved to win. We had to dig deep at times when they were coming onto us, but we have ‘Dibu’ and he’s a phenomenon. I’m really happy for him, he deserves it,” Messi would tell TyC sports.