Lionel Messi might not always come across as someone who can inspire people with passionate speeches, but Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez has opened up about the PSG forward’s Copa America inspirational speeches.
Messi finally ended a career long pain of never having won an international tournament with the Argentina national team last summer.
The 34-year-old led his team to the Copa America title, beating Brazil in the final, whilst being the tournament’s top scorer and Player of the Tournament along the way.
However it wasn’t just his ability on the pitch that helped his national side become South American champions for the first time since 1993, but also his leadership.
Emi Martinez explained during a recent chat with Ben Foster, ahead of Aston Villa’s recent game with Leeds United, about how Messi’s speech inspired him and the team.
“He done a speech saying it was going to be his last one, so he was gonna give it his all,” Martinez told the Watford goalkeeper on Amazon Prime.
“And, oh mate, I got little shivers.”
“Everyone shut up,” the former Arsenal keeper added when asked if everyone stopped to listen to the seven time Ballon d’Or winner.
“Whoever it is: the manager, the president of Argentina… whoever’s in there, they just shut up.”
Messi had plenty of influence on the pitch in the early rounds of the competition, scoring a brilliant free kick against Chile in the opening game.
And Martinez also explained a conversation he had with his captain during half time in the win over Uruguay helped inspire his own performance.
“Mate, he just said one thing to me before half-time in the group-stage game against Uruguay. We were winning 1-0, [Edinson] Cavani and [Luis] Suarez were upfront.
“He said, ‘Emi, make sure you’re solid on crosses because that’s the only way they’re going to score.’
“Mate, I wanted to come for everything!”
Messi has been questioned for his performances for PSG in recent weeks and, whilst Martinez was impressed with his personality one former player definitely isn’t.
Paolo di Canio has claimed that the former Barcelona star is an ‘alien without emotion,’ and compared him to Cristiano Ronaldo, saying he ‘prefers a human with a soul.’
I’ll leave you to make your own conclusions about a man who has previously said he’s a fascist, and been accused of doing a Nazi salute as a goal celebration, saying he prefers someone with a ‘soul’…
