Emiliano Martínez Argentinian Footballer From Mar del Plata

Early life

Emiliano Martínez, known to many as Dibu, was born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, and stands 195 cm tall. He started out in the youth teams of Independiente. In 2009, shortly after turning seventeen, he was invited to a trial at Arsenal, which first offered him a youth contract. The Dibu nickname comes from a cartoon character in an Argentine television drama and was given to him by the goalkeeping coach Miguel Ángel Santoro at Independiente. His birth certificate lists the names Damián Emiliano, which caused some confusion when he arrived in England, where colleagues began to call him Damián.

Career

After a successful trial and the approval of a work permit, Martínez was registered as an Arsenal player in July 2010. For most of the next decade he was a reserve goalkeeper who was sent out on loan. He joined Oxford United on an emergency basis and made his Football League debut on 5 May 2012 against Port Vale. His first Arsenal match was a League Cup tie against Coventry City on 26 September 2012, a 6-1 home win. Further loans took him to Sheffield Wednesday in 2013, Rotherham United in 2015 and Wolverhampton Wanderers later that year, then to Getafe in Spain for the 2017-18 season and to Reading in January 2019.

His Premier League debut came as a substitute against Manchester United on 22 November 2014, and he started his first league match a week later against West Bromwich Albion. Despite those appearances, he spent long periods on the bench until 20 June 2020, when he replaced the injured Bernd Leno during a game against Brighton and Hove Albion. He finished that season as the first-choice goalkeeper, started the FA Cup final against Chelsea on 1 August 2020, which Arsenal won, and played in the Community Shield against Liverpool on 29 August, decided on penalties in Arsenal's favour. He was also on the Arsenal squad for the Community Shield wins of 2014 and 2015.

On 16 September 2020 he moved to Aston Villa for a fee of up to 20 million pounds, signing a four-year contract. He made his debut five days later against Sheffield United and saved a penalty in a 1-0 win. In his first season he kept 15 clean sheets in the Premier League, equalling the club record set by Brad Friedel, and was chosen as the club's supporters' player of the season. Villa renewed his contract in January 2022, named him one of two vice-captains that July, and agreed a longer deal in August 2024 that runs to 2029. That summer he changed his club number from 1 to 23, the number he wears for Argentina. On 18 April 2024 he saved two penalties as Villa beat Lille in a shoot-out and reached the Conference League semi-finals. He started the 2026 UEFA Europa League final on 20 May 2026, which Villa won 3-0 against SC Freiburg.

On 30 August 2026 he signed for Chelsea on a three-year contract for 7.5 million pounds and made his debut that day in a 4-3 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion.

With the national side, Martínez played for Argentina's under-17 and under-20 teams between 2009 and 2011. He was first called into the senior squad in June 2011 but did not make his debut until 3 June 2021, in a 1-1 draw with Chile. At the 2021 Copa América he saved three penalties in the semi-final shoot-out against Colombia, kept a clean sheet in the 1-0 final win over Brazil and received the tournament's Golden Glove.

In 2022 he helped Argentina win the Finalissima against Italy and then the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He played every match, stopped two penalties in the quarter-final shoot-out with the Netherlands, made a save in the 123rd minute of the final against France, and stopped a penalty in the shoot-out as Argentina won 4-2 after a 3-3 draw. He took the Golden Glove at that tournament as well. At the 2024 Copa América he saved two penalties in the quarter-final against Ecuador, played the full final against Colombia, won 1-0 after extra time, and collected a second Golden Glove for that competition. Selected for the 2026 World Cup, he started all eight of Argentina's matches and kept two clean sheets; he made 11 saves in the final, a record for a goalkeeper in a World Cup final, although Spain won 1-0 after extra time.

Recognition

Martínez has been named The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper twice, in 2022 and 2024, and has won the Yashin Trophy twice, in 2023 and 2024. He holds an FA Cup, three Community Shields, a Europa League title, the World Cup, two Copa América titles and the Finalissima. Individual honours also include the Copa América Golden Glove in 2021 and 2024, the World Cup Golden Glove in 2022 and the Premier League Save of the Month award for December 2024.

Personal life

After the 2022 World Cup victory he was welcomed in Mar del Plata on 22 December 2022 at the Las Toscas resort, where local press reported a crowd of more than 150,000 people.