Emiliano Martínez Height, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Emiliano Martínez

• Martínez grew up in Mar del Plata.
  

  A childhood picture of Emiliano Martínez with his father and one of his brothers

• Martínez’s full name on his birth certificate is ‘Damián Emiliano,’ which confused people when he joined Arsenal, as people there started calling him Damián. 

• He later explained that his name was meant to be ‘Emiliano Damián’ on his Argentinian ID. His mother waited for a long time at the post office to register his name, but his name got registered in the wrong order, and she did not want to wait again, so she accepted it. She said,
  

  It’s okay, we’ll call him Emi anyway.” 

• The name ‘Damián’ was chosen to honour his grandfather, who passed away before Martínez was born. His mother added ‘Damián’ to his name to remember her father. 

• He is nicknamed ‘Dibu,’ a short form of ‘Dibujo,’ which means ‘drawing’ in Spanish. The name comes from a cartoon character in the Argentine show ‘Mi familia es un dibujo.’

• He got the nickname when he was a young player at Independiente from former goalkeeper and coach Miguel Ángel Santoro, during a time when the show was very popular.

• He began his football career with a youth team named Club Atlético Independiente in Argentina.

• When he turned 17 in 2009, he went for a trial at the Arsenal Football Club.

• Initially, Arsenal offered him a youth contract.

• In July 2010, Martínez officially joined Arsenal after a successful trial and obtained a work permit.
• In June 2011, Martínez was first called up to the Argentina senior team to replace Oscar Ustari for a match against Nigeria.

• In May 2012, due to injuries and the end of some players’ loans at Oxford United Football Club, he joined the club on an emergency loan (temporarily playing for a team).

• On 5 May 2012, he played his first Football League match against Port Vale in League Two, which Oxford lost 3-0.

• In 2012, Martínez was on Arsenal’s team for matches against Stoke City (on 26 August) and Liverpool (on 2 September) as backup for injured goalkeepers.

• On 26 September 2012, he made his Arsenal Football Club debut against Coventry City in the League Cup. Arsenal won by 6-1.

• He played again in the next round and helped Arsenal win by 7-5 against Reading Football Club.

• On 15 October 2013, Martínez joined Sheffield Wednesday Football Club on a 28-day emergency loan.

• He made his debut for them on 23 November against Huddersfield Town Football Club.

• His loan at Sheffield Wednesday was later extended until the end of the season.

• After returning to Arsenal, Martínez was in the team when Arsenal won the 2014 FA Community Shield with a 3-0 win against Manchester City on 10 August 2013.

• After that, he made his Champions League debut and helped Arsenal beat Anderlecht by 2-1.

• On 22 November 2013, he played his Premier League match as a substitute against Manchester United after Szczęsny got injured.

• When backup goalkeeper David Ospina got injured, Martínez played again in the Champions League on 26 November 2013.

• His strong performance earned him a place in the UEFA Team of the Week.

• On 29 November 2013, he played his debut Premier League match against West Bromwich Albion.

• On 20 March 2015, he played temporarily for Rotherham United in the Championship until the end of the season.

• On 2 August 2015, he was selected as a substitute in Arsenal’s 1-0 Community Shield win against Chelsea.

• On 11 August 2015, he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on a season-long loan.

• He played 15 matches early in the season but suffered a thigh injury. He could not win back his place after recovery.

• In the 2016-17 season, he returned to Arsenal and played five matches, including two Premier League games against Crystal Palace and West Ham.

• On 2 August 2017, he was loaned to Getafe in Spain’s La Liga for the season.

• On 23 January 2019, he joined Reading Football Club in the Championship on loan until the end of the season.

• On 29 January 2019, he played his debut match for Reading against Bolton Wanderers.

• After that, he won the man of the match award in a game against Aston Villa.

• On 20 June 2020, Martínez played as a substitute after Bernd Leno got injured during Arsenal’s match against Brighton. He made his first Premier League appearance since the 2016-17 season.

• He finished the season as Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper and received praise for his outstanding performances.

• On 1 August 2020, he played in the FA Cup Final against Chelsea. He made key saves and helped Arsenal win their 14th FA Cup. He was seen in tears after lifting the trophy.

• On 29 August 2020, he played in the Community Shield match against Liverpool. Arsenal won the match on penalties.

• After the match, there was speculation about his future as Bernd Leno was returning from injury.

• Martínez said that he wanted to either stay as Arsenal’s first-choice keeper or leave permanently.

• On 16 September 2020, Martínez shifted to Aston Villa from Arsenal in a deal worth up to £20 million and signed a four-year contract with the club.

• On 21 September 2020, he made his debut in a 1-0 win against Sheffield United.

• On 3 June 2021, at age 28, he made his international debut during a World Cup qualifier 1-1 draw match against Chile.

• On 14 June 2021, he made his tournament debut in the Copa América, again drawing 1-1 with Chile.

• During the penalty shootout in the 2021 Copa América semi-final matchup with Colombia, Martínez spoke to the Colombian players to divert their attention.

• He helped Argentina reach the final by stopping penalties from Edwin Cardona, Yerry Mina, and Davinson Sánchez.

• Before every Dutch penalty in the 2022 World Cup quarterfinal matchup, Martínez employed mental tricks. He delayed kicks, stared at players, and dropped the ball. He helped Argentina reach the finals by stopping penalties from van Dijk and Berghuis.

• Martínez used the same strategies against France in the 2022 World Cup final.

• During the match, Tchouaméni missed wide after Martínez threw the ball aside to delay him before his turn.

• He then received a yellow card for trying to divert Kolo Muani. Argentina won the World Cup and the shootout.

• Because of his World Cup behaviour, Martínez was mocked by French fans during the second leg of the 2023-24 Conference League quarterfinal match against Lille.

• During the match, he saved Nabil Bentaleb’s shot during the shootout and pointed to the crowd to quiet them down, which earned him a yellow card.

• He played every match for Argentina in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

• In the final, he made a crucial last-minute save against Kolo Muani and stopped Kingsley Coman’s penalty in the shootout. It helped Argentina win 4-2 after a 3-3 draw.

• He then won the Golden Glove for best goalkeeper of the World Cup and was also named The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper for 2022.
  

  Emiliano Martínez while holding the Golden Glove for best goalkeeper of the World Cup 2022

• On 21 January 2022, his contract was extended, which kept him at the club until the end of the 2026-27 season.

• On 27 July 2022, he was named one of Aston Villa’s two vice-captains, along with Diego Carlos.

• After winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup, on 22 December 2022, Martínez received a hero’s welcome at Las Toscas resort in his hometown, Mar del Plata, where more than 150,000 people, including both residents and tourists, attended the celebration.

• On 1 April 2023, he made his 100th Premier League appearance for Aston Villa in a 2-0 win over Chelsea.

• In 2023, football’s rule-makers (IFAB) were thinking about changing rules to limit such behaviour by goalkeepers. During a media conversation, when asked about these changes, Martínez replied,
  

  I already saved the penalties that I had to save.”

• On 15 June 2024, he was selected in Argentina’s 26-man team for the Copa América.

• In the quarter-final against Ecuador, he saved two penalties after a 1-1 draw, taking Argentina to the semi-finals.

• On 14 July 2024, he played the entire match as Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 in the final after extra time, and he won the Golden Glove for the second time.

• In July 2024, he came into the limelight for his performances in penalty shoot-outs such as out of 24 penalties faced for Argentina, only 12 were scored, 9 were saved, and 3 were missed.

• On 28 September 2024, FIFA banned Martínez for two matches for violating principles of fair play.

• In the first incident, he was seen holding a duplicate trophy to his groin after a win over Chile on 5 September 2025.
  

  Emiliano Martínez while holding a duplicate trophy to his groin after a win over Chile on 5 September 2025

• The second was for hitting a television camera after Argentina lost 2-1 to Colombia on 10 September 2025.

• Martínez is known as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He is known for his strong shot-stopping skills and accurate distribution. 

• He is remembered for his passionate playing style, confidence in goal, and sharp mentality during penalty situations. 

• Martínez uses psychological techniques to put pressure on penalty takers, such as distractions and confident gestures. 

• Former goalkeeper Matt Pyzdrowski once described Martínez’s penalty approach as one of the most aggressive and disruptive seen

• Journalist Felipe Cardenas once called his methods “theatrical intimidation.” 

• His playing technique has also faced criticism for being unsportsmanlike. 

• French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who lost to Martínez in the 2022 World Cup final shoot-out, said that he would not use such tactics. Lloris called himself ‘too rational and honest’ for that style. 

• He is an animal lover and has a pet dog. He often shares pictures of his pet dog on social media.
  

  Emiliano Martínez posing with his pet dog

• He is a fitness enthusiast and goes to the gym regularly. He often shares pictures of his gym sessions on social media.
  

  Emiliano Martínez while working out at a gym

• He likes travelling to distant places in his free time.
  

  Emiliano Martínez during a trip