Aston Villa 'phenomenon' shares what he did before World Cup win, he 'suffered a lot'

By Lee Clarke

Aston Villa star Emiliano Martinez has explained what he did to help erase the painful memories of Argentina being stunned by Saudi Arabia.

The two-time winners were beaten 2-1 during their opening clash of the competition but bounced back on Saturday.

Lionel Scaloni’s team defeated Mexico 2-0 to breathe some life into their World Cup campaign.

Martinez is now established as the number-one goalkeeper at international level and leaving Arsenal for Aston Villa has paid dividends.

He’s respected by his teammates for club and country and in 2021, Lionel Messi called Martinez a ‘phenomenon’ after a performance at the Copa America.

The 30-year-old took the defeat to Saudi Arabia to heart and he took drastic measures to ensure he bounced back.

He told the media after Saturday’s win: “I suffered a lot these days. I talked with a psychologist because [Against Saudi] they shot me twice and I conceded both. I have 45 million Argentines behind me and I should have given more.”

Argentina now look on course to qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup, with Poland still to play.

A win would definitely see them through but a point could be enough if the Saudi Arabia v Mexico result goes their way.

Martinez explained what he did after losing to Saudi Arabia

The shocking result was arguably one of the biggest shocks in the history of the World Cup.

As a result, it’s no surprise to see the goalkeeper take things to heart a little bit following the contest.

He did bounce back though and keeping a clean sheet against Mexico will have boosted his confidence somewhat.

Martinez is now the established number-one goalkeeper with club and country, following years of frustration at Arsenal.

The stopper had made 91 appearances for Villa and has also collected 21 caps for Argentina during his career.

Martinez has tasted success during his career, winning two FA Cups with Arsenal and the Copa America with Argentina.

Lifting the World Cup would be the tip of the iceberg and he will be doing whatever it takes to make that happen next month.