Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez dyed part of his hair in the colours of the Argentina flag ahead of Villa’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain. The goalkeeper’s actions acted as a reminder of his performance in the 2022 World Cup final, when he helped his country beat France to lift the trophy in Qatar.
Former Arsenal star Martinez pulled off a big save from Randal Kolo Muani to send the final to penalties, The South American then kept out a spot-kick from Kingsley Coman before Coman’s compatriot Aurelien Tchouameni missed the target from 12 yards.
A number of the home fans at the Parc des Princes will also have been cheering on Les Bleus in Qatar. Ousmane Dembele, one of PSG’s current stars, was also in France’s starting XI as they fell short against Martinez and Argentina.
In the lead-up to Wednesday’s first leg, former PSG and France goalkeeper Bernard Lama took aim at “annoying” Martinez. “He’s a bit annoying with his provocations,” Lama – part of France’s 1998 World Cup winning squad – told RMC Sport.
“I don’t like that. But otherwise, he’s still a good goalkeeper, nothing more. He’s not a great goalkeeper. He’s a good goalkeeper who has good spells, who had his spell at the 2022 World Cup. He’s not THE great goalkeeper.”
It wasn’t the only way in which he keeper was seen to have provoked the home support. He arrived in France wearing a hat bearing the Copa America, World Cup and Finalissima trophies, all of which he has won with the Albiceleste.
Whistles for Martinez were evident from the first time he touched the ball in Paris. “I’m not sure there’s a bigger wind-up merchant in the game at the moment,” co-commentator Ally McCoist said after learning of the hat gesture.
Martinez previously incurred the wrath of French fans when travelling to Lille with Villa in the 2023-24 Conference League. Villa beat Lille on penalties on that occasion, also at the quarter-final stage of the competition.
Villa travelled to the Parc des Princes on Wednesday with the goal of giving themselves a chance to progress to the Champions League’s final four. Fellow Premier League side Arsenal gave themselves a great chance on Tuesday, winning 3-0 at home to Real Madrid in their own first leg.
Prince William was among those in Paris to cheer on Villa. He anticipated a difficult evening for Unai Emery’s side, who he supports, but backed them to claim a 2-1 win.
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