Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez dealt bitter blow by new penalty rules limiting gamesmanship
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez has been dealt a bitter blow by the new penalty regulations being brought into the game from next season, which limits the art of gamesmanship from 12 yards.
The Villans shot-stopper has made a name for himself as one of the toughest goalkeepers to beat from the penalty spot due to his confrontational and borderline tactics when it comes to saving spot kicks.
His antics were on full display for the world to see at the Qatar World Cup, playing pivotal roles in Argentina’s quarterfinal shoot-out win against the Netherlands and the spot-kick’s victory over France in the final.
However, if Martinez had laid plans to continue his dark arts into the future, he has been mistaken.
The 30-year-old’s wings have been clipped quite severely by the introduction of the International Football Association Board’s (IFAB) new rules ahead of next season, which don’t allow a goalkeeper to distract a penalty-taker anymore.
According to the IFAB law change, a goalkeeper cannot act in a manner that “fails to show respect for the game” whilst also having to remain on the goal line, facing the kicker, between the goalposts, without touching the posts, crossbar or goal net.
Martinez’s record from 12 yards is exemplary among the world’s elite goalkeepers, having won his last four shoot-outs with club and country, with his last defeat in this scenario coming back in 2019 while at Arsenal.
In total, Martinez has faced 24 penalties in competitive shoot-outs, saving six and two further players missing the goal entirely. [Independent, 19 December]
This means that exactly a third of all spot-kick takers fail to find the back of the net when facing off against the Argentine in the heat of the moment.
Furthermore, away from penalty shoot-outs, Martinez has saved seven of the 35 regular spot-kicks he has faced, with another three missed, meaning that opposing takers only have a 71% chance of scoring against the Aston Villa man.
This is a far superior record to the top-flight average, which saw a much higher 85% of penalties taken scored before the 2022 season, while only 11% were saved. [Geir Jordet]
Having a goalkeeper of Martinez’s quality is a major bonus for Aston Villa and Unai Emery, but the new penalty rules have dealt him a major blow.
In other Aston Villa news, Ezri Konsa deserved an England call-up according to the stats, which say he’s better than Harry Maguire.