Cape Town – Lionel Messi's caustic post-match comments about Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal was the cue for Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to follow up with a volley of vitriolic comments.
Messi may have won the "Man of the Match" award, but Martinez could easily have pipped his famous teammate for that accolade after a stunning performance between the sticks. Argentina surrendered a 2-0 lead by allowing the Netherlands to score two goals later and force extra time.
When extra time failed to separate the two teams, Martinez used a get-out-of-jail card for his country by saving two spot-kicks in the dreaded penalty shoot-out. The goalkeeper saved the kicks from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis, leaving his namesake substitute Lautaro Martinez to blast home Argentina's fifth penalty and secure passage to Tuesday's semi-final.
A while after Martinez had completed his post-match interview, he took off his shirt and ran around the field to celebrate. When he passed the area where Van Gaal and the Dutch entourage were standing, he yelled an X-rated rant: “I f***** you twice, you b**** (referring to his two saves). Keep your mouth shut f****** t***’.
Emi Martínez: “I fu*ked you twice! twice! you bi*ch.”
— All About Argentina 🛎![CDATA[]]>🇦![CDATA[]]>🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) December 9, 2022
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Earlier, Martinez was far more composed as he directed his vitriol at Van Gaal in a formal post-match interview:
"I heard Van Gaal saying we've (the Dutch) got an advantage in penalties, and if they go to penalties, they (the Dutch) win. I think he needs to keep his mouth shut."
After the ill-tempered game, Martinez disclosed that he took a screenshot of Van Gaal's words and sent it to his psychologist. “It lit the dynamite,” Martinez said.
Martinez also had some choice words for Spanish referee Antonio Lahoz after Argentina's pulsating victory. He said the La Liga referee was "useless".
He added that Lahoz was “crazy, the worst referee of the tournament, he is arrogant".
Martinez felt the referee favoured the Dutch.
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“The ref was giving everything for them. They got a good header, a good flick, I couldn’t see it and suddenly it turned upside down. The ref was giving everything for them," said Martinez.
“He gave ten minutes (added time) for no reason. He gave a free kick outside the box for them for no reason two or three times. He wanted them to score, that’s basically it. Hopefully, we don’t have that ref anymore because he’s useless.”
IOL Sport