#PLStories- Aston Villa star Emi Martinez reveals World Cup heroics caused an injury which ‘still hurts’ #AVFC
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Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez has revealed he still has hip pain after a penalty he saved during the 2022 World Cup.
Martinez stopped a spot kick from Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk against Netherlands in the quarter-finals, and his team went on to win not only the shootout but the tournament out in Qatar.
Speaking in an interview this week, Villa star Martinez revealed that he injured his lower hip while saving that penalty, something he says “still hurts” to this day.
Emiliano Martinez said: “I already knew Van Dijk from Liverpool, I saw him taking shots against Chelsea and his shot crossed over with two goalkeepers who were tall and shot well. I didn’t say a word to him, I think that in that penalty I injured my lower hip a bit, which still hurts. I stretched so much… I thought that that penalty, being the first, it was key. I got a lot of anger out of the second goal.”
He also revealed that the key to his penalty saving talents is pressure. It becomes easier for him, he says, when there is something at stake for a penalty taker – nothing more so than the World Cup.
Emiliano Martinez added: “In training they can throw me 72 penalties and they score 72. Now, if we play for money, that already changes. It’s another pressure. Well, imagine with 80,000 people in a World Cup final. The people start to whistle, the goal gets smaller… and I use that to my advantage.”
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