Aston Villa's Emi Martinez keeps clean sheet as Argentina retain Copa America
Emi Martinez was named goalkeeper of the tournament for the second time at the Copa America after Argentina’s successful title defence.
The reigning World Cup winners beat Colombia 1-0 in Sunday’s final in Miami to retain their crown and earn a third major tournament victory in the space of three years.
Martinez was once again recognised for his performances in the USA, picking up the Golden Glove Award, just as he did in 2021 and at the 2022 World Cup.
The 31-year-old saved two penalties to help his team claim a quarter-final shoot-out win over Ecuador and then kept a clean sheet in the semi-final win over Canada, before doing the same in Sunday’s narrow final triumph against Colombia.
Lautaro Martinez got the only goal eight minutes before the end of extra time as Colombia, who had Villa striker Jhon Duran on their bench, were beaten for the first time in two years.
Delighted Villa goalkeeper Martinez said: “Being a two-time champion is a very nice thing for this team, for this country.
“We wanted to give the people another joy, we put a lot of effort into it. They thought that by winning titles we were going to relax, but we showed once again the kind of team we are.”
In addition to two Copa America and a World Cup winners medal, Martinez has compiled an impressive list of individual accolades in recent seasons.
He was named as the winner of the prestigious Yashin Trophy at the Balon d’Or awards ceremony last October, as well as The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper Award in 2022.
Argentina’s win on Sunday was marred by chaos and overcrowding outside the 65,000-capacity Hard Rock Stadium, which caused kick-off to be delayed by more than an hour.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi was forced off by injury in the second half in what many believe may have been his final international match.
