There won't be another Messi: Argentina World Cup hero Martinez

Goalkeeper Martinez says everyone wanted to win it for Leo
KOLKATA: In the post World Cup-winning thrill and bliss, one of the first few things Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez had done was to get a tattoo of the trophy on the exact spot of his left leg which he used to pull off that incredible 123rd-minute save to deny France's Kolo Muani in the final.
The match was tied 3-3 at that time but Martinez - nicknamed Dibu - drew on that confidence to come up with another save in the penalty shootout and help Argentina lift the coveted cup.
Now proudly displaying the tattoo to the fans during his visit to the city on Tuesday, the goalkeeper insisted that Argentina's journey would continue to scale new heights after winning the third World Cup in Qatar last year. "We won everything - Copa America, the Finalissima against Italy and the World Cup in Qatar.

But our journey does not end here. We want to win the next Copa America and the next World Cup as well," Dibu said at a programme at Milan Mela, which often turned chaotic.
Argentina started their campaign in Qatar with a surprise defeat to Saudi Arabia - "my first loss as Argentina goalkeeper," Dibu maintained. "But when we beat the Netherlands in the quarterfinal in a shootout (in which Dibu saved two shots), we knew something special was going to happen," he reminisced.

According to Martinez, it was "the mentality of having the best player in the squad" which helped the team overcome the odds. "Messi is a born winner, he was born to win. After the shootout in the final, Messi hugged me and said, 'you rescued us once (in reference to Muani save) and you saved us again'. Everyone in the team wanted to win it for Leo," Martinez, who also won the Golden Glove, said.
"Messi completed football and he is the best," Martinez said when asked to pick between his Argentine captain and Portuguese great Cristiano Ronaldo.
"There won't be another Messi in future. It will be hard to replace him," he added. The Argentine goalkeeper, who plays for Aston Villa in the English Premier League, later inaugurated an exhibition match between Mohun Bagan All Stars and Kolkata Police Commissioner All Stars at the Mohun Bagan ground. Donning a Mohun Bagan jersey and draped in Tricolour, he entered the ground to the roar of 5000-odd people.