Article by Daniel Grigore – Published on Thursday, 21 May 2026, 13:29 / Updated on Thursday, 21 May 2026 13:32
If Unai Emery is the “Mister Europa League”, Emiliano Martinez (33 years old) is the man of the finals: the Argentinian goalkeeper has won all 7 finals played in his career.
Wednesday evening Aston Villa won the Europa League having Emiliano Martinez, world champion in 2022, between the sticks.
The Argentinian goalkeeper defended though before the match, in the warm-up, he broke one of his fingers!
“Every time I blocked the ball, the finger bent in the opposite direction. But it was something I had to endure,” Martinez said after the game. Fortunately for him, he wasn't called upon very often, with Freiburg only conceding two shots.
Man of the Finals: Emiliano Martinez played in 7 finals and won them all!
Beyond this detail, Martinez also impresses with his impeccable record in the finals played so far: including last night's, there are 7 played and… 7 won!
The first contested final dates back to August 1, 2020, when Martinez kept Arsenal in the FA Cup final, 2-1 with Chelsea.
In the same month, the Argentine also appeared in the FA Super Cup (Community Shield)won by the “gunners” against Chelsea in penalty kicks after 1-1 in regulation time.
A year later, on 11 July 2021, Martinez was among the goals for Argentina in the Copa America finalwon by his country 1-0 against Brazil.
On June 1, 2022, “Dibu” also won a trophy with his country's representative team, Finalissimaan intercontinental match pitting the winners of the Copa America and the European Championship against each other. It was, in this case, 3-0 for Argentina against Italy.
The final number 5 was of the 2022 World Championshipwon by Argentina over France on penalty kicks after 3-3 in 120 minutes of play.
In the summer of 2024, Martinez reached his sixth final, saving Argentina's goal in the final act of the 2024 Copa America1-0 with Colombia after extra time.
Finally, yesterday's Europa League final, May 20, kept his record immaculate.
Martinez hopes to compete in the eighth final of his career this summer. He will be part of the squad with which Argentina will try to defend their world title.
