Emiliano Martinez, popularly known as ‘Dibu’, was the fighter in front of the goalpost as Argentina lifted the trophy by defeating the French under the captaincy of Lionel Messi at the World Cup. In the quarterfinals against the Netherlands and the final against France, he was in the role of a savior as the game went beyond most of the time and moved into the shootout. Argentina’s keeper was also awarded the Golden Glove award, making it irrelevant to the question of who was the goalkeeper of the World Cup.
He has always been a hero for the Argentines, even though some of Amy’s tricks to lift the mental pressure of the opposing player who comes to take the penalty kick and dominate him have drawn criticism and even led to a change in FIFA rules.
The figures also underscore Amy’s impossible flexibility in front of the goalpost. He has faced 24 penalty kicks so far and has blocked nine. Three were wasted by the opposing players. Only 12 kicks went past him and went inside the post. When Amy is in front, the penalty kicks mean that there is only a half-goal chance.
It was in the penalty shootout against Colombia in the 2021 Copa América semi-final that the world watched in amazement at the Argentine guard’s brilliance. Argentina won 3-2 when three kicks were blocked. It was then that the world witnessed an extraordinary performance in the World Cup. The win was 4-3 when two kicks were blocked in the quarterfinal against the Netherlands. In the final against France, Messi won the match 4-2 and won the match 4-2 as Amy blocked a kick, and the other was wasted by the opponent as he knocked out France’s solid goal in the last minute of extra time and extended the match to the shootout.
Their entire hope was that Amy was there to guard the net as Argentina, who were out to retain the 2024 Copa América title, were held to a draw at the scheduled time in the quarterfinals against Ecuador, and the match went into a shootout. The first kick taken by Lionel Messi for them hit the crossbar and flew incredibly high into the sky, while Emi brought back hope by blocking the next two kicks. As Argentina won 4-2, football enthusiasts are once again hailing the invincible fighter in front of the goalpost.