sport news Not since Diego Maradona have Argentina had a pantomime villain to match ... trends now
Not since the days of Diego Maradona have Argentina had a pantomime villain to match Emi Martinez.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper is the biggest wind-up merchant in world football and is disliked in France in much the same way Maradona was in England after his 'Hand of God' goal knocked Sir Bobby Robson's team out of the 1986 World Cup.
Martinez is not as good as Maradona – who is? – but letting him join Villa for just £16million in 2020 has to be one of the daftest pieces of transfer business Arsenal have conducted this century.
When taking on cricketing greats Shane Warne and Brian Lara, rivals had a simple rule: don't provoke them. Supporters and opponents would do well to follow the same rule when facing Martinez. He was baited by Lille fans from the moment he jogged out for the warm-up – and Martinez loved every second of it, right up to the save he made from Benjamin Andre in the penalty shoot-out to send Villa into the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League.
Martinez was already public enemy No 1 in French football thanks to his antics in the 2022 World Cup Final. He bent the rules as far as possible to unnerve the France players during the penalty shoot-out, which Argentina won. He then compounded it with his lewd celebrations and mocking of Kylian Mbappe, who had scored a hat-trick in that game.
Emiliano Martinez was again the penalty shootout hero in Aston Villa's Europa Conference League clash with Lille
Martinez was baited by Lille fans and loved every moment of it until he won Villa the game
Not since Diego Maradona have Argentina had a pantomime villain like the Villa goalkeeper
'I get motivated by the fans and through my life when I've had stuff thrown on my back I always get up,' Martinez said. 'It gives me fuel to perform.
'I love this football club and playing a European semi-final for them is incredible. My career keeps going up and up, and it is 42 years since we've been here in European competition. It's remarkable and we should celebrate these victories.
'We want to go all the way and that's the message we had after the game. We need to have that mentality to think that when we play the next game we kill off the game at home.'
In Lille on Thursday, Martinez's running battle with the Virage Est – the stand that houses Lille's hardcore fans – was more absorbing than anything the other 27 players involved served up.
Every time Martinez
