Emiliano Martínez

Emiliano Martínez
Martínez with Arsenal in 2018
Personal information
Full name Damián Emiliano Martínez Romero[1]
Date of birth (1992-09-02) 2 September 1992[2]
Place of birth Mar del Plata, Argentina
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[3]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Aston Villa
Number 23
Youth career
2008–2010 Independiente
2010–2012 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2020 Arsenal 15 (0)
2012Oxford United (loan) 1 (0)
2013–2014Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 11 (0)
2015 → Rotherham United (loan) 8 (0)
2015–2016Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 13 (0)
2017–2018 → Getafe (loan) 5 (0)
2019Reading (loan) 18 (0)
2020– Aston Villa 183 (0)
International career
2009 Argentina U17 2 (0)
2009–2011 Argentina U20 5 (0)
2021– Argentina 55 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Argentina
FIFA World Cup
Winner 2022 Qatar
Copa América
Winner 2021 Brazil
Winner 2024 United States
Finalissima
Winner 2022 England
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:16, 13 September 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 09:22, 10 September 2025 (UTC)

Damián Emiliano Martínez Romero (born 2 September 1992), also known as Dibu, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Argentina national team. Known as a specialist in saving penalty kicks, Martínez is often regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.[4][5][6][7][8]

Martínez trained at Independiente's youth ranks before moving to Premier League club Arsenal in 2010. At Arsenal, he initially served as understudy, being loaned to various clubs, before breaking into the starting line-up in 2019, featuring in the Premier League and helping the club win a FA Cup and FA Community Shield. In September 2020, Martínez moved to fellow Premier League club Aston Villa in a transfer worth £20 million. In his first season at the club, he kept a club-record fifteen clean sheets in the Premier League.

Martínez represented Argentina in junior international matches from 2009 to 2011, playing on under-17 and under-20 levels. He earned his first senior cap for the Argentina in 2021 and won the 2021 Copa América with the team, receiving the Golden Glove award. Martínez went on to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina, again being voted best goalkeeper of the tournament, and the 2024 Copa América, where he was awarded the Golden Glove a third time. He was also named The Best FIFA Goalkeeper a record two times in 2022 and 2024, and received the Yashin Trophy, also a record two times, in 2023 and 2024.

  1. ^ "Premier League clubs publish 2022/23 retained lists". Premier League. 16 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Emiliano Martinez: Overview". ESPN. Archived from the original on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Emiliano Martínez: Overview". Premier League. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pyzdrowski2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Martinez recognised as world's best goalkeeper". BBC Sport. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Martinez named World's No 1 goalkeeper at 2023 Ballon d'Or". Premier League. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  7. ^ "2024 FC 100: Neuer among best goalkeepers in men's soccer". ESPN. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  8. ^ Altimas, Callum; Ritchie, Calum (18 July 2023). "The world's 20 best goalkeepers have been ranked". GiveMeSport. Retrieved 11 July 2024.