Emi Martinez dusts off trophy celebration during Copa America parade in Argentina

The Aston Villa goalkeeper has become famed for his somewhat bizarre antics on and off the pitch, with a reputation being earned as one of the best players of mind games in world football. As a result, Martinez has become something of a penalty-saving king.

His exploits when facing nervous opponents in a battle of wills from 12 yards out have allowed Argentina to savour back-to-back Copa America triumphs and a World Cup win at Qatar 2022. At the first of those events, in 2021, Martinez picked up the coveted Golden Glove prize.

He celebrated said triumph by sticking his award against his crotch – with that routine quickly becoming his party piece. He caused a storm when collecting another top keeper award in the Middle East, before seeing the families of team-mates emulate his efforts with the World Cup trophy.

Villa boss Unai Emery said he would “speak to” Martinez about his celebrations, but the 32-year-old sees no harm in his actions. He said in the wake of capturing a global title in Qatar: “The gesture I made with the best goalkeeper trophy was a joke with my team-mates. I had already done it at the Copa America, and they all said to me, ‘No way’ to do it again. Even Leo [Messi] told me that. I did it for them, nothing more. It lasted a second and that was it.”

Martinez has now repeated the trick with the Copa America trophy – much to the amusement of his international colleagues. The Argentina camp were all smiles after seeing their No.1 keep another clean sheet in a 3-0 2026 World Cup qualifying win over Chile.