Emi Martinez has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, making him one of the greatest in the world for Aston Villa.
Following an outstanding season for Aston Villa and Argentina, Emi Martinez has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or and Yashin trophy.
The Argentine goalkeeper, who helped Unai Emery’s team finish eighth in the Premier League, won the World Cup in 2022 and was undoubtedly Villa’s greatest player in the 2022–23 campaign.
Along with Amadou Onana and Yassine Bounou, Martinez is one of just three goalkeepers who France Football has named as finalists for the Ballon d’Or. His nomination ought to serve as a reminder of the caliber of goalkeeper that Aston Villa has available.
Under Emery and Steven Gerrard, the 31-year-old played 36 Premier League games, giving up an astonishingly low 1.1 goals per game, averaging 2.7 saves per game, and maintaining 11 clean sheets [Sofascore].
Martinez likely contributed to his team winning the World Cup in Qatar by making the crucial stop to prevent Randal Kolo Muani in the dying seconds of the championship game and by recording three shutouts in seven games overall.
The fact that the Aston Villa goalkeeper is listed as one of the three best keepers in the world right now, along with the number one goalkeepers for Inter Milan, Manchester United, and the former Sevilla goalkeeper, speaks volumes about how far Villa Park has come.
since the return of the Villains to the Premier League.
While it is fairly certain that Lionel Messi will win the main award once more following his World Cup victory, it would be quite deserving if Martinez were to win the Yashin trophy for the best goalkeeper in the world.
The 31-year-old made 98 saves while playing for the Villains last season, when Emery’s team finished eighth, and made only one mistake that resulted in a goal. Bounou made 67 saves for Inter in Serie A, whereas Onana was only called upon 62 times [Sofascore].
Thibaut Courtois, the goalkeeper for Real Madrid, earned the Yashin award the previous year after helping Madrid win the Champions League and La Liga, but even the Belgian stopper couldn’t match the performance of the Villa number one (93 saves in the league season of 2021–2022).
With an average of 12.1% stops per 90 minutes in Europe’s top five leagues over the past year, Martinez has been one of the top keepers in the world when it comes to dealing with crosses into the area [Fbref]. He ranks in the 99th percentile for crosses stopped globally.
The Argentine excels as a modern-day “sweeper-keeper,” ranking in the top 1% of keepers for defensive actions carried out outside of his penalty area. He also plays far from his goal line, with the majority of his saves coming from a distance of more than 17 yards from his goal posts.
Martinez’s services were offered to Villa over the summer by Inter Milan, but they turned it down [Daily Mail, 25 July]. Given the success that Martinez, Villa, and Argentina are currently having, Emery should anticipate increased interest in his goalkeeper.
Aston Villa are in a great position to retain the services of one of the top goalkeepers in the world for many years to come because of his current contract at Villa Park, which runs through 2027.
Other Aston Villa news includes John McGinn’s description of the
