“I get up every day thinking about the final”, he accepts Lautaro Martinez. El Toro, who hasn’t stopped scoring goals in Italy since his return to Inter, can’t stop thinking about the Scudetto won with the Argentine team in Qatar 2022. And, from Milan, with TyC Sports he recalled the best moments lived in the Arab lands. The emotion for winning the title, the frustration for the disallowed goals against Saudi (“I never saw them again”), the cabal with his wife, reception at White Bay and as who would kick the penalty in the definition of the final against France.
The most important phrases of Lautaro Martínez
On the continuity of the celebrations: “Perhaps we wanted to continue celebrating because it was a World Cup where the date changed. Because usually it’s in the middle of the year, but we had to play it in December where the year ended and then we had to go straight back to our teams and maybe that made it less pleasant our stay in Argentina or those few days they gave us away because we had to play again right away. I think now when we return to the country we will continue to celebrate as we deserve and the people deserve, because bringing the cup after 36 years is an incredible thing to enjoy”.
About what it means to win the World Cupl: “I think every day about what we have achieved, about what we have done and I know that we are entering the history of our country, that it is very difficult to achieve what we have achieved. In a year and a half we have won three championships with the national team and nothing, pure satisfaction and desire to do more”.
His goals disallowed against Saudi Arabia: “I never saw them again. In the second I was ahead because when Leo turned around and I attacked the space he told me that at that moment he couldn’t give it to me because the central defenders had closed it and he still had to go one touch outside and it’s That’s when I was ahead. But in the first one, there was a lot of anger because they allegedly had the wrong doll. They didn’t tell us anything but then they started talking. But no anger because it was a technological error.”
On the match against Holland: “Since the previous match, the coach has talked a lot and they have talked a lot about us about how we had played that match, that presumably we had charged them but in the previous one they were the ones who had talked the most. We were focused on listening to everything. It’s just better that made Leo angry because when he gets angry no one stops him, there’s no chance for anyone.”
Time to decide the penalty against the Netherlands: “That penalty was also important for me because it gave me relief, peace of mind, a little more confidence. Then at the World Cup I couldn’t score except for that penalty but I was happy because my teammates who went on they did it in the best way and one always tries to contribute the best from his place. When it came to choosing who to kick we met and Scaloni started naming names and I obviously told him I wanted to kick. I said I wanted to kick , then they placed the order and I was fifth to try to define and luckily Enzo made a mistake (between laughs)”.
The post transforms the penalty: “It didn’t even occur to me to shout the goal out of emotion, the way it all happened, the way it came from the ankle, I was happy because the results were coming but personally I was sad. I had made excellent qualifications at a football level and physical At that moment I was very well but this ankle problem was what made me go back a bit and feel better more than anything else for that reason, for the emotion and for the family that is also suffering”.
About Scaloni: “Every time I have the opportunity, I thank him. He gave me the opportunity, he trusted me and with the very important forwards who are always there when there’s a period when you can’t score so many goals , was always there bancándome “.
Anecdote about the final: “It was to rank the final that we did. And then being 2-2, while I warmed up suffering a lot. Now when it’s your turn to enter, you live it more calmly, from the outside it’s infinite, it’s constant suffering. Then , at 3-2, inside I thought ‘it’s ours, we’ll take it, we’ll take it’. In that corner I thought ‘we’ll defend this and it’s ours’ and the penalty came and everything fell apart. But hey, for luck we were lucky enough to have the pet (draw) in goal, dream final, suffered, but nice that you can enjoy twice as much afterwards”.
Third goal for France with his contribution: “That goal is very nice because Montiel launches and I see Leo making me a croissant, so I try to leave it there as best I can. I leave it to him and he gives it to Enzo, Enzo gives me power but afterwards when the linesman has raised the flag and said ‘again…’ When I kicked I tried to close my eyes, kick as hard as I could and luckily Leo had the rebound and we were able to celebrate the 3-2 of the penalty field and I see the ball go in but when I saw the line I said “same thing again”. But when they gave the valid goal, as I said, I thought “we’ll take this home”.
About Dibu Martínez: “When we went to penalties we were calm because he comes and says ‘you put in and I’ll take one or two’. So there he gives you enormous confidence and this is important for the confidence of the group, of the one who is about to kick . Then also that he will talk to the opponent and all that. Now I saw that they wanted to make a rule, why the striker can celebrate and the goalkeeper can’t? They never did it for me per se, I put it in the bank because that’s not where he does nothing out of this world.”
The return to Bahía Blanca: “Going back to Bahía Blanca to spend the holidays was a moment of peace, air, tranquility in the sense that it is my air where I relax. But perhaps I could not relax so much because I had not slept for five or six days , where I did not know whether I ate or not, it was a time when we had a lot of fun, even family, friends, former teammates where I played first at Liniers and then how people came to receive me at the municipal theater was proud, impressive. I figured there would be the number of people there, singing the anthem with them, impressive.”
Guess: “I really like them and I always keep them to myself because I don’t tell them, but I have one that I can tell you because the World Cup is over, or when I got up in the morning, we shaved, we washed, we went to breakfast, then my wife came to get the tickets with my daughter, we drank mate, always the two of them, before the visits of relatives but always before the games, whatever the time, at eleven o’clock before lunch , two of them came to look for tickets and took two or three companions”.
His conversation with De Paul before the World Cup: “When we were in the UAE traveling to Qatar, Rodrigo didn’t let me lie to him, I said to him ‘See if we can take him to Argentina’ and he said to me ‘What a dream that would be. It will be very complicated, but hey, let’s try “I tell him”.
About the Caravan: “It was unbelievable, five minutes passed and I started taking off my shirt. The heat was impressive but there was champagne, there was speed, everything but no ice. So the theme was catchy. Fernet, beer , everything except water Also, we hadn’t eaten, it was a unique moment that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives, we already knew that we were not going to get to the obelisk, we were going on the highway and we had been up there for 5 hours , we wanted to get there anyway but it was impossible, the highways had collapsed and suddenly the bus turned right where the helicopters were and the security people started to lower us from the roof and had a barbaric fart. Alexis and Julián were worse than me, they didn’t care.”
To the people: “Thanks for the support, for how they gave us their encouragement in Qatar and Argentina. We heard it, they were one more player for us and well now the cup is at home. Now we have to enjoy these matches a lot, we like you to both of you, with all the people who have to watch it even from home, so nothing, enjoy it with great joy, with a lot of passion because what we have achieved has been very difficult and who continue to support us because this selection will not leave them down , we continue to give everything for this shirt, so that this country leaves them as high as possible”.
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.