Drawing: “I sleep with the teddy bears my wife gave me”

Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martínez gave an interview to ‘France Football’, after having won the Yashin trophy for the second consecutive year, where he shared some intimate details and revealed how he prepares mentally for matches. Among his rituals before matches is sleeping with some teddy bears that his wife gave him before the 2022 World Cup.

“ I found my routine six years ago. I never miss my relaxation session and my hour and a half of pilates two days before the match, nor my psychologist the day before. It is a balance to avoid injuries and maintain my strength and flexibility. The big saves in my career, especially in the 2022 World Cup final against Randal Kolo Muani, come from there. I am very superstitious about it. One time, two years ago, I did not follow my routine because I had marketing commitments at the end of the season. I was injured for nine days. I was very angry,” admitted the Argentina goalkeeper.

Emiliano Martínez

More curious is the routine he follows the night before the matches: “The night before the match, in the hotel, I am calm. I always have an hour-and-a-half massage, then I take a sleeping pill. I turn off everything in the room and watch a film. I always follow the same pattern, whether I am preparing for the World Cup final or a match against Fulham. Then I fell asleep with the teddy bears my wife gave me before the 2022 World Cup. She told me: ‘You will be away for more than a month, but this way you can sleep with us every night’. Since then, I take them with me everywhere.”

“ When I’m on the national team, I also do yoga. If I follow all that, I’ll be able to play after 40. I’ve learned a lot since I got injured at 21. I didn’t eat well, I didn’t do anything apart from training. And just before COVID, in 2019, I met my psychiatrist. He keeps me awake when I’m feeling down and calms me down when I let myself go. This balance allows me to perform well and regularly, thanks to a healthy body and mind,” he continued.

 

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El Dibu took the opportunity to praise his coach, Unai Emery, who, in his opinion, has made him a better goalkeeper: “Unai Emery likes me to keep the ball so he can control the game. He doesn’t want me to give it to the center-backs if I’m not in a hurry, because they will be. He wants me to come out of my area to stretch our defensive line and build up. I play in two positions: I often say that I am a center-back as well as a goalkeeper. He demands a lot from me in that aspect and I have learned a lot from him. The thing I found most difficult to master was the way we played offside, with a very high line. I spent hours with the goalkeeping coach and the U-21s working on reading the through passes to understand when it was my turn to go forward.”

 

“Forwards sometimes get scared”

One of Dibu’s strong points is his high-level exits, where he imposes his authority on the forwards: “ Going high is one of my strong points. I feel powerful in the area. If I am in a position, there is no chance that someone will get ahead of me, even if the player is 2 meters tall. The rivals know that I am imposing and aggressive. I can come out with my knee in front and sometimes they get scared. I get forward quickly, they look at the ball and don’t want it to hit them in the face. When they hear me shout, they don’t want to jump anymore. Catching a ball is like scoring a goal for a forward. It starts my game. I don’t try to scare, but to control the area.”

The Argentine goalkeeper has gained fame for his penalty-saving skills, a mix of hard work and instinct: “We prepare a lot for them, but sometimes the final scenario is completely different. Sometimes I dive based on what I feel, rather than what the video recommends. If I react well, my feet follow me. […] That’s why I interact with the fans, I want to take all the pressure off myself.”

 

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El Dibu returned to Argentina’s squad to play against Paraguay and Peru after serving a two-match ban imposed by FIFA: “Against Chile, it was just the joy of having won two Copa Américas in a row. The fans were shouting my name, they wanted me to do this [place the trophy in front of his genitals]. It lasted two seconds and we made a big deal out of it. I think that’s where the sanction came from, more than pushing a camera in the next game [against Colombia].”