Sacrificing his physical well-being to lift the World Cup for Argentina, goalkeeper Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martinez has revealed that his finger will never fully recover after playing through the tournament with a broken bone. Speaking in an interview on journalist Gaston Edul’s YouTube channel, Martinez shared harrowing details of crying late into the night in excruciating pain and diving “like a zombie” to keep Argentina’s World Cup dreams alive.
Martinez fractured his finger last May prior to former club Aston Villa’s Europa League final against Freiburg. However, undergoing surgery would have sidelined him for six weeks, forcing him to miss the World Cup—a risk he refused to take.
Before the World Cup, Martinez consulted with Argentina goalkeeper coach Martin Tocalli and team doctor Dani Martinez, opting against surgery. Athletic apparel brand Adidas supplied him with specially engineered gloves to provide extra protection.
Recalling the ordeal in Qatar, Martinez stated: “I was diving like a zombie. Every time I hit the ground and placed my hand on the turf, I saw stars. I cried until midnight every day because my finger looked like a blood-clotted sausage.”
Regarding the physical risk, Martinez affirmed: “For the national team, these are risks you simply have to take. If faced with the same situation again, I would make the exact same decision.”
After six years at Aston Villa, Martinez completed a move to Chelsea this past summer. According to The Athletic, an earlier deal with Italian giants Juventus fell through after Juve deemed playing with his uncorrected injury impossible. However, Chelsea viewed the surgery as a personal decision and cleared him for normal play without requiring immediate operation.
