Lionel Messi and Emiliano Martinez are two important players for Argentina
Over the years, many Argentine players have spoken about how they felt overawed being in the presence of Lionel Messi, but Emi Martinez is different. The Aston Villa goalkeeper has been almost as important as Messi has been to the Argentina national team since his debut in 2021.
A late bloomer of sorts, it took until 2019 for Martinez to become a regular at Arsenal, despite having been at the club since 2010. Similarly, he was first in an Argentina squad in 2011 for a friendly against Nigeria, but had to wait 10 years for his debut. The Aston Villa goalkeeper was an experienced shot-stopper by the time he became a regular for his country at the Copa America in 2021.
Emi Martinez recently spoke with the Men in Blazers YouTube channel about how it was playing alongside Lionel Messi and if he ever felt in awe of the man as many others do. He revealed that while Messi is their leader and role model in the national team, he considers him to be just another teammate and jokes with him like everyone else. He said (via GOAL):
