Gerry Peyton can’t take any credit for his post-penalty save dance, but the former Arsenal goalkeeping coach’s handiwork was everywhere you look during Argentina’s tango to a third World Cup crown.
Emi Martinez was outstanding throughout the tournament but came into his own in Argentina’s shoot-outs against the Netherlands in the last eight and in Sunday afternoon’s epic finale against France.
Martinez’s ability to get inside the head of those waiting to take their spot kicks was as impressive as the crucial saves which turned the tides of those contests in Argentina’s favour.
The shy kid who arrived in North London from Independiente at the age of just 17 in 2010 has found his voice.
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“When it comes to a shoot-out, he’s waiting to make saves – he’s waiting to be a hero,” says Peyton.
“A lot of the countries have analysts so there will be lots of information given to Emi as a result. But you still have to act on that.
“Look at him physically – when I was working with him as a teenager, you could see that his power and his technique were extraordinary.
“Take a look at that first penalty he saved in the shootout against Holland, he’s able to process information so quickly.
“His brain picks up the movement of the run, then he looks at the body angle of [Virgil] van Dijk and then once he has given that information to his muscles and his tendons, his technique pushing off on his right leg means he gets there so quickly.
“It’s frightening. But it’s also beautiful.
“We would work on everything when he was at Arsenal. He was with me for a long time, seven years altogether and we worked on every aspect of being a goalkeeper. Penalties, crosses, reading situations from angles, long shots. We worked through thousands and thousands of situations and scenarios.
“To see what he has achieved now is just remarkable.”
Equally astonishing is the fact that this World Cup winner – not to mention Copa America champion in 2021 – hasn’t had the gilded football upbringing bestowed on many of his team-mates.
This, after all, is a player who spent part of the season after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil on loan with Rotherham United. His first professional appearance in this country was for Oxford United back on the final day of the 2011-12 season. Port Vale stuck three past him.
There have been times when the chances of Martinez lifting world sport’s most famous trophy looked as remote as Champions League football one day coming to Burslem.
“I sent him out on loans – I think he had 14 of them – and I went to watch him many, many times,” says Peyton.
“He went all over the Football League and we spent hours together analysing everything – his positioning, how he read the game.
“When you take a 17-year-old and try and take them to the top level, there’s many, many pictures and many, many situations that go into the subconscious mind. How quickly that picture comes and how quickly you give that information to the body to react is a key indicator of how successful that player will ultimately be.
“He makes goalkeeping look easy.
“Emiliano has spent all of his professional life in England and he has learned his trade in England. It has taken a long time but he’s now recognised as one of the goalkeepers in the world. And his team-mates all love him.
“He’s a typical down-to-earth family man who just loves being a goalkeeper. You can see when he’s on the pitch. He plays with a positive energy and that rubs off on everyone involved. He has matured into a great goalkeeper. He believes in himself.”
His team-mates clearly believe in him too. As does an entire nation.
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