And yet, had it not been for Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martinez’s massive, outstretched leg to deny Randal Kolo Muani, through on goal, in the third minute of added time after extra time in the World Cup final, it would’ve been game, set, and match on that fever dream. The scoreline would’ve ended 4-3 in favour of France with no time for an equaliser.
Before taking to the field in the second half against Croatia in the semi-final, the cameras caught Martinez saying ‘They’d have to kill me (in order) to score against me.” He ended that night with a clean sheet. On Sunday, in the biggest game of his life, he had to pick the ball thrice from the back of the net after coming up against an inspired history-making Kylian Mbappe.
When the match went to a penalty shootout, however, Martinez went into the zone where he thrives the best. Trash talking, psychological mind games, making the kick-taker wait, there is no line that Emi Martinez wouldn’t cross to get inside his opponent’s…