Argentine goalie Emiliano Martínez has deflated after Argentina’s victory over the Netherlands. The celebrated goalkeeper, who saved two penalties, lashed out at referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz and Dutch national coach Louis van Gaal. Goalkeeper Andries Noppert also got on Martínez’s nerves in recent days.
“It was a tough match,” Martínez began in an interview with beIN Sports. “I thought we controlled the game well.” According to the keeper, the comeback of the Netherlands is partly due to Lahoz, whom he accused of having a preference for the Orange. “The referee gave everything in their favour. They then scored from a good header, I couldn’t see the ball. Then it tipped over,” he added.
“The referee gave ten minutes of stoppage time for no reason. He gave them two or three free kicks outside the box. He just wanted them to score, that’s the bottom line. Hopefully we don’t have that umpire anymore. He’s useless,” Martínez concluded. “I heard Van Gaal say they would have an advantage on penalties. I think he should keep his mouth shut.”
Van Gaal said that the Orange might have a ‘plus’ in a penalty shootout. That quote is not appreciated in Argentina. Noppert said he can also stop a penalty from Lionel Messi. “They goaded him,” Martínez said of Messi in another Argentinian television interview. “Their keeper said he would take a penalty. I told Messi they were stirring him up. He told me, ‘I’ll make two tomorrow.’ And he did. He always delivers.”
Martínez even saved Van Gaal’s statements on his phone. “They shouted a lot of nonsense before the game. I learned that in football you have to speak on the pitch. I got a lot of energy from their statements before the game. That made me stronger and I told them that too. I took a screenshot of the statements on my phone. I showed it to Martin Tocalli (goalkeeper coach). And to my psychologist. I said it worked like dynamite, I wanted to shut them up.”
Images taken after the penalty shootout also show that Martínez took offence at the Orange players. He walked bare-chested to the dug-out of the Dutch national team and shouted, among other things: “I fu**ed you twice.” He was referring to his stopped penalties from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis.
