Dibu Martínez answers the question: what place does Di María occupy in the history of the national team?

The issue was raised this morning in Clarin. “Angel Di María, world champion: is he the third most important player on the national team after Messi and Maradona?” asked Oscar Barnade in a note in which he analyzed the players with the most extraordinary performances in the history of the national team, after Maradona and Messi. Among those figures were Daniel Walkway (champion in 1978 and 1986), Mario Kempes (gunner in 1978), angel of mary (figure in the last finals and champion in Qatar), among others. And a World Champion has already expressed his opinion.

A few hours later, Emilian I drew Martinezthis morning through an interview with Tyc Sports, he spoke for the first time since the consecration of Angelito’s performances in the years he has been in the national team and was encouraged to say whether he would place him among the best or not: “If you hurry I a bit I put it in the top 3and but also”.

And to praise him, he added: “When I saw that the final was being played, I said ‘OK, we won. I think mentally he is an animal (Of Maria). I think that is ready to play the finals. He has played in great teams throughout his career, he even left Argentina as a boy, he is really professionally armed and has a big family behind him that always supports him everywhere, he is very familiar. I think the family helped him a lot to face that final (against France in Qatar 2022).

“The world final didn’t weigh me down, I played it as if I were in a square of M​

Furthermore, just over two months after winning his third star for Argentina, the 1 against Aston Villa, he retraced some situations experienced in Qatar and, true to his style, recounted how he experienced that last match : ” I was calm because we had played all seven World Cup matches. That was the goal. The end of the world did not weigh on me. I played it as if I were in a square in Mar del Plata”.

And in case it wasn’t already clear that the match against France never weighed on him – he saved two penalties and the hand-in-hand save at the end – he recalled the tactic he used to avoid Kolo Muani made it 4-3 in the last minute of extra time. “I could not appreciate it as I appreciated it when the final was won. The first thing that was seen was that. When Muani is dropped, he’s dropped in half diagonally. He said ‘Well, I narrow it down slowly’, I’m in no hurry, because otherwise it itches on top of me. I had to leave him a corner so that the last view of him was the first post. Then I played with my hands and feet, praying ‘please hit me’. I wanted him to hit me in the face, I didn’t care where,” said one of La Scaloneta’s references.

The Mar del Plata native also recounted what his reaction was like when Gonzalo Montiel’s final penalty hit the goal: “It’s the first time in my life that I collapsed and I was awake but at the same time I passed out. They didn’t give me the legs to escapeI would have liked to run and get Montiel. When I realize I’m down, I hold my head and say, “I don’t know what to do.” It’s a moment where my tensions have subsided.”

While recalling the moments filled with happiness that it took to lift the top division at national level, I drew don’t forget to speak kylian mbappe, his executioner that night. After the penalties and the celebrations, the goalkeeper approached to greet and console the French forward.

“I told him to get up, to look forward because he had unstitched it, that he shouldn’t be weak but proud of the game he had played. It’s true, he scored me four goals. I should be on the floor”, confessed the one who with his performance is already considered a national hero.

The interview with Messi before The Best awards

Furthermore, the world champion goalkeeper spoke about his latest conquest last Monday: The Best award for the best goalkeeper of 2022 and told how few expectations he had of winning the trophy: “I didn’t expect to win The Best. I traveled jokingly saying ‘I travel, I’d be happy if you and Scaloni won, lastly I’ll go eat for free’. He laughed and told me ‘No, the three of us will win it’, very humble as always”.