Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has revealed he warned Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero against getting sent-off during Argentina’s FIFA 2022 World Cup final against France.
It’s almost been a year since Lionel Scaloni’s men lifted the cup in Qatar. Since the tournament concluded, a lot of interesting stories have continued to emerge and the latest one involves a Spurs player in Cristian Romero.
The Argentinian defender was a mainstay in his nation’s backline during the tournament. However, his habit of playing on the edge almost got him into trouble with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who was not willing for the defender to risk their chances of lifting the trophy.
Never one to shy away from a tackle, Romero’s recklessness has often gotten him in trouble with the referees. 26 yellow cards and four red cards in 77 games for Spurs do not exactly make for good reading (Transfermarkt).
Having recently returned after serving a three-match suspension following his sending off against Chelsea, Romero almost got into trouble for a reckless tackle on Newastle’s Callum Wilson at the weekend and was lucky to escape with just a yellow card.
Gary Neville who was on co-commentary duty for Sky Sports, was not pleased about the decision and called the Spurs defender ‘mad’.
(Photo by Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
Emi Martinez reveals what he told Romero
Speaking to ESPN, Emiliano Martinez recalled a particular incident that took place in the first half of the World Cup final when Romero went in with both feet against Mbappe. Here is what the Aston Villa shot stopper had to say to him at half-time.
“I know Cuti’s (Romero) weakness, I remember in the final against France he went with both feet against Mbappe. He grabbed the ball, everything. ”
“And at half-time I grabbed him by the shirt and told him, ‘If you get kicked out, I’ll beat the sh*t out of you after the game’.”
“I have to tell Cuti ‘Please, stop hitting’. Cuti plays like that, on the edge of a red card, and I’m always catching him in that sense. But he’s impressive.”
Spurs Musings Opinion
Everyone knows by now that Cristian Romero plays on the edge. He has often put his side in a spot of bother with his ill-timed tackles but that is also the reason why he is considered a very impressive centre-back. When it comes off, it looks really good. He does need to learn to pick his moments wisely though.
Emi Martinez surely knew how Romero could lose his head in a matter of seconds. It also shows how much the World Cup meant to the Aston Villa goalie. Luckily for him and all Argentina fans around the world, Romero kept his cool and the Lionel Messi-led team went on to lift the cup.
