Emiliano Martínez: From Almost Goodbye to European Glory

Emiliano Martínez stood on the brink of goodbye 12 months ago. Now he stands on the brink of history.

The Aston Villa goalkeeper, who waved tearfully to the Villa Park crowd after the final game of last season against Tottenham, came close to walking away. It looked like a farewell. It felt like one.

He stayed. And on Wednesday night in Istanbul, the 33-year-old World Cup winner is one match from becoming a European champion with a club that has not lifted a major trophy for 30 years.

From Almost Goodbye to Unfinished Business

Martínez arrived at Villa in September 2020. He has grown into one of the pillars of the club’s resurgence, and ahead of the Europa League final against Freiburg, he made it clear that any doubts about his commitment belong firmly in the past.

"I said goodbye and I cried when I left my family from Argentina to England, and I'm still with family," he said, drawing a line between that first wrench from home and the bond he now feels in Birmingham.

Managers have changed. The squad has evolved. His attachment has not.

"Sometimes football can change, managers come and go. It doesn’t mean I don’t have full respect and love for the club. I had a commitment with Aston Villa, I am a World Cup winner with Aston Villa and I won two golden gloves.

"I will always and forever love this club no matter what. Some day I’ll retire and someone else will go between the sticks."

The message is unambiguous: this is his club, his dressing room, his moment.

Emery, the Architect

If Martínez is the heartbeat, Unai Emery is the architect. The goalkeeper’s admiration for his head coach is blunt and absolute.

"We have a top coach (Unai Emery) – We don’t wish [to have] anyone else on the bench apart from him leading us to a European final."

"When we stick together and fight together we can beat anybody. I am really proud to stay and I made the right choice."

Villa’s journey under Emery has been built on organisation, courage on the ball and a relentless edge in big games. Martínez embodies that edge more than anyone.

Penalties in the Back Pocket

The final may be decided in 90 minutes. It may not. If it stretches to penalties, few goalkeepers in world football relish that scenario more than Martínez.

"I always have shoot-outs in my mind. It’s something I really enjoy, it’s like different competition, I don’t know how to explain it," he said.

He would still prefer a cleaner route.

"Hopefully 'Ginny' (John McGinn) scores two goals and we finish in 90 minutes but if not I prepared and back myself every day of the week in shoot-outs."

It is classic Martínez: part competitor, part showman, completely convinced when the stakes rise.

McGinn’s Proudest Night

If Martínez is the last line of defence, John McGinn is the standard-bearer.

Signed in 2018, McGinn dragged Villa out of the Championship, survived the turbulence of near relegation and now leads them into one of the biggest nights in the club’s modern history. The 31-year-old has chipped in with 10 goals across all competitions this season, but his influence runs far deeper than numbers.

Asked if walking Villa out in a European final will be the proudest moment of his career, he did not hesitate.

"I would say so, yeah. It has been a brilliant journey, full of ups and downs, close moments, very close to going back to the Championship.

"It fills me with pride as to where the club is now and it also fills me with pride as to where this club could go, like the manager has touched upon, this isn’t something we want to come here, celebrate and have a fanfare, we want to be focused on this match.

"We know how difficult it is to get to a final."

"But if you ask me on a personal level, throughout the years I have been here, definitely this is the proudest moment as captain here."

There is no sense of simply enjoying the occasion. McGinn and Martínez talk like men who have suffered too much, climbed too far, to treat Istanbul as a sightseeing trip.

For Villa, this is not a destination. It is a launchpad.