Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has revealed he dabbles in the virtual world, and even enjoyed a Playstation session before the Copa America final.
Martinez, 29, has been a revelation since trading Arsenal for Aston Villa last summer, with his efforts between the sticks earning him a consistent starting berth for Argentina, and culminated in him achieving the Copa America Golden Glove as Argentina won the tournament in the summer.
The Argentine No. 1 produced heroics in the penalty shootout win over Colombia in the semi-finals and kept a clean sheet in the showpiece against Brazil, which also saw him earn a place in the ‘Team of the Tournament’, his third individual accolade of 2021 after he also clinched Villa’s ‘Player of the Season’ award.
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Martinez has now revealed how he relaxes in his downtime away from the turf, admitting he plays Playstation for two hours every night, and even plugged in the console before the Copa America final, with his favourite video game at the minute being Call of Duty.
Speaking to Sebas Fernandez on YouTube, Martinez said: “The truth is that every night I play the PlayStation. Two hours. It is my space, my moment to distract myself.
“I love it because I disconnect. I spend time with my family and then I have my space to play alone, with my friends from Mar del Plata. I take it on all my trips.
“Before the final with Brazil I played a couple of games. After a while I went to play the [final]. It helps me think about something else, not being on the phone all day, it relaxes me and it amuses me.
“When I lived in Mar del Plata I spent all day with the ball, but at night it was all with video games. Today I am still connected with my friends there and I play Call of Duty with them. I love that game, I am a killer, I go out to look for my opponents.
“The [Argentina] group is also very close because we play cards, Among Us, Call of Duty, some play FIFA, ping pong tournaments. The group is competitive and we get together like that.
“Before a qualifying match we had 10 guys in a room and we played until two in the morning. We had a lot of fun.”