Emiliano Martinez: winner’s mentality or unnecessary bad sportsmanship?

In a World Cup final featuring two of the game’s all-time greats in Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, few would have foreseen Emiliano Martinez as the key difference-maker ahead of kick-off. Hardly a household name (outside of Villa Park) a few months ago, the Argentina goalkeeper’s sudden rise to fame has come about through more than an exceptional series of performances at the tournament – worthy of winning the Golden Glove award. Instead, Martinez has become a byword for, well, let’s be polite and say ‘mind games’, which he used to full effect to sway the dramatic final’s penalty shootout in Argentina’s favour. However, such tactics, and particularly his taunting celebrations after the game have raised questions over where to draw the line between winning at all costs and tainting such a victory with cruel gamesmanship.

With the game resting on a knife-edge at 3-3, in the last minute of extra-time, Martinez made an incredible save with his foot to prevent Kolo Muani’s strike from going in, taking the final to penalties. As soon as Mbappe stepped up to take the first penalty, the Argentine’s mind games began, as he insisted the referee, Szymon Marciniak, inspect the ball to ensure it was exactly on the penalty spot. France’s Golden Boot winner was unphased and scored. Using the same trick against Kingsley Coman, however, Martinez managed to save France’s second penalty.

Then, as 22-year-old Aurelién Tchouameni made the long walk from the halfway line, Martinez stirred the Argentina fans behind him into a frenzy, before tossing the ball away just as the Frenchman was about to take it. Though dirty, the tactic worked. Tchouameni missed, and Martinez leapt up to perform a celebratory shoulder dance, basking in his opponent’s misery. It wasn’t until after the goalkeeper’s tirade of abuse against Muani that he finally received a yellow card. Though Muani kept his cool to score, the damage was done. Gonzalo Montiel calmly rolled in Argentina’s fourth successful penalty to crown them world champions for the first time since 1986.

If these tactics were bad sportsmanship, Martinez’s celebrations were downright disrespectful. During celebrations in the dressing room after the game, Martinez called for a minute’s silence for Mbappe, who had scored a hat-trick in the final. He also made a crass gesture upon receiving his Golden Glove award, placing it on his crotch before thrusting, while standing in front of an unimpressed Qatari dignitary. Even after returning home, Martinez’s taunts for Mbappe were not finished, as he carried a doll with the French striker’s face on the victory bus in Buenos Aires.

Pride does not work with me

– Emiliano Martinez

Unsurprisingly, Martinez’s antics in the final sparked a wave of backlash. French World Cup winner in 1996 Patrick Viera called the goalkeeper’s actions “stupid”, while ex-England international Danny Murphy warned that if he plays against Mbappe again, his actions “could come around and bite [him]”. Former France defender Adil Rami went so far as to call the 30-year-old “the most hated man”. Martinez’s critics have not been limited to ex-professionals, as President of the French Football Federation Noel Le Graet has written complaining to his Argentinian counterpart about the team’s “abnormal” celebrations, while French congressman Karl Olive has demanded FIFA rescind his award for best goalkeeper.

On his controversial penalty tactics, Martinez commented: “I did my thing, what I dreamed of. I was calm during the penalties.” And when speaking to the Argentinian radio station La Red, he spoke about his Golden Glove gesture: “I did it because the French booed with me. Pride does not work with me.” It doesn’t sound like he’s losing too much sleep over Viera’s remarks, and frankly, he’d be forgiven for caring more about winning the World Cup than earning the respect of French commentators.

I’m reminded of a quote from someone who certainly knew a thing or two about both winning and winding up his opponents, Jose Mourinho. In the Tottenham Hotspur All or Nothing series, he famously said: “The story of football is that the teams of good guys, they never win.” The irony of this is he said it in a half-time team talk to France’s captain and goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris. He clearly hadn’t listened. While Martinez complained, danced, taunted, and threw the ball away, his French counterpart stood respectfully to one side, dignified and composed, but leaving all four Argentine penalty takers to focus and score. Lloris may have pundits’ and politicians’ appreciation for being a good sportsman, but he does not have the World Cup. The good guy didn’t win.

As a result, you can’t help but feel Jose had a point. Especially, when you consider Martinez’s previous track record of success using mind games. In the quarter-final shootout against the Netherlands, he danced and provoked his way to securing Argentina’s spot in the semis. Similarly, in Argentina’s successful 2021 Copa America campaign, during a semi-final shootout with Colombia, he gave his opponent’s penalty takers a barrage of trash talk, resulting in three of them missing, and Argentina winning yet again. Even in the Premier League playing for Aston Villa, after conceding an injury-time penalty against Manchester United while 1-0 up, he repeatedly begged Cristiano Ronaldo to take the spot-kick, which Fernandes blazed over the bar, before giving the Stretford End a little dance.

With regards to Martinez’s antics in the final, his penalty tactics were cold-hearted yet effective. Had Lloris made the same disruptions for the Argentinian players, or even just picked up the ball so Martinez couldn’t make Tchouameni fetch it, who knows whether the back pages would’ve been covered with Mbappe, not Messi, holding the trophy. But his prolonged taunts just feel cheap and unnecessary. While I won’t shed too many tears for Mbappe and his $128m per year salary, his Golden Boot and his 2018 winner’s medal – for Martinez’s sake, what’s the point? He’d already won.