Aston Villa: Argentine media left stunned by Emi Martinez’s 10/10 World Cup final
Aston Villa star Emi Martinez emerged from the World Cup final defeat with lots of credit.
His Argentina side were looking to win a second successive edition of the tournament in New York.
However, they came up short as Spain won the showcase event 1-0 through a Ferran Torres strike in extra-time.
Aston Villa News has regularly shared updates on Martinez's performances in the competition.
He has impressed in the majority of matches, but his level went up on the biggest occasion of them all.
That was evident as his national media reacted to his display against La Roja.
How did the Argentinian media react to Emi Martinez's World Cup final exploits?
The performance did not go unnoticed by news outlets in Argentina, as they raved and labelled him as the best player in the team.
La Pagina Millionaria gave him a 10 out of 10 rating, saying: “He responded well every time Argentina needed him.
"He denied Lamine’s first goal and made a low save on Oyarzabal’s shot in the first half, the second half was more of the same: he controlled a shot from Baena, caught a header from Ferrán, blocked a shot from Pedri, denied Cubarsí, and flew to deny Yamal’s opening goal in the final moments.
"In extra time, he made a clear save from Williams and could do nothing about the goal, the man of the match.”
Clarin handed him an eight out of 10, saying: “Dibu delivered his best performance of the World Cup.
"He made eleven saves and was the team’s mainstay during the final, only Torres managed to beat him at the start of the second period of extra time.
"He began with confident responses to low shots and finished by thwarting much more difficult attempts, many of which involved rebounds that changed direction and took unpredictable trajectories.”
Ole produced a separate piece on the Villans star's impressive performance, saying: "Dibu played his own personal final and he responded: so many times that - in his own words - his defenders helped him guard the goal, this time he stood out.
"Because he made 11 saves in the most tense match a player can face, and he did it in true Martinez fashion. Confident, quick, and alert.
"That’s why when the referee blew the final whistle, he collapsed, his face almost touching the grass, he had given it his all."
It is all pretty flattering, but does the Villa Park ace deserve it despite his team being beaten?
Did Aston Villa star deserve such positive reviews?
The media in his homeland are spot on in their verdict, as he made 11 saves in the biggest contest in World football, which is brilliant in itself.
He prevented an expected goals tally of 2.03, according to data from Fotmob, meaning that without his intervention, the Spanish would have eased home.
His importance was highlighted by the fact that he also made 14 recoveries and one high claim.
Perhaps, the only questionable aspect was his distribution as he completed just 58 per cent of his passes.
However, that can be overlooked given the amount of times that he stopped his side from going behind.
Unfortunately, one eventually smashed past him, but he can hold his head up high as he produced another top class showing.
His future in B6 looks uncertain, and it would be a huge shame if the B6 side lost him, as he is truly world class.
They should be doing all that they can to keep him with Unai Emery, as they are unlikely to find better and he clearly still has what it takes.