After having tasted World Cup glory with his country Argentina, star goalkeeper Emi Martinez he admits he is desperate to end Aston Villa’s trophy drought in the FA Cup this season.
Martinez, feted as the world’s No. 1 by his club and its supporters, has targeted glory with Aston Villa, and has set out his stance in a forthright manner: “I want an FA Cup run.”
The Argentine is likely to be rested against West Ham as Villa have seven games in 22 days and cherishes both professional and personal reasons for wanting the club to progress, although Villa’s season has yet to hit the heights attained last year. Regardless, they are likely to finish in the top eight of the Champions League table and lie just four points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
However, Villa have not won the FA Cup since 1957 and it is 29 years since Andy Townsend lifted the League Cup. Martinez added: “For me, anything is possible in football. When I came here the club were not in the situation we are in now.
“The season before I arrived, we finished 17th, and then progressively, we were 11th, seventh, and fourth. The season so far has been good – not like I want it to be – but we knew that playing in the Champions League and competing in the top four would be tough.
“We had to sell players and the new players needed time to adapt, which they are doing now. We are doing well.”
Martinez says that success in the competition will place him back in the spotlight. He is the winner of back-to-back Lev Yashin awards – the first time any keeper had won the top FIFA prize – and says that to remain in the hunt for a third, he needs Villa to do well.
He added: “I was talking to my agent, my dad and my wife, saying that you can’t really enjoy awards. It’s game after game after game. Once you get to that level you need to perform week in, week out.
“Everyone expects you to perform and everyone is waiting for you to make a mistake, saying ‘that’s the best ‘keeper making mistakes’. We are struggling to keep clean sheets and that’s hurting me a lot because I demand a lot in myself.”