Sport needs more rogues like Emiliano Martinez. He acts like a cartoon villain but goalkeepers are meant to be different, writes RIATH AL-SAMARRAI

When nan awesome Brian Glanville wrote Goalkeepers Are Different five decades ago, he had nary measurement of knowing conscionable really acold Emiliano Martinez would agelong nan boundaries of his concept.

It says alternatively a batch astir nan chap successful Aston Villa's extremity that he is uniquely qualified to beryllium formed arsenic football's astir cartoonish villain and 1 of nan game's very champion keepers. Somehow, 'different' doesn't rather screen his extremities.

There is brilliant successful Martinez, of course. The measurement he performed against Bayern Munich successful midweek offered a reminder that was little than necessary, because we cognize nan depths of his quality. Just arsenic we are good alert that 1 broadside of his encephalon has evolved astatine a faster complaint than nan half overrun by squirrels.

Harry Kane saw Martinez's brilliance up adjacent connected Wednesday evening, and truthful did Serge Gnabry and Michael Olise – awesome chances were met pinch difficult saves. Jhon Duran was nan header but Martinez was nan unpassable furniture betwixt a triumph and a tie aliases worse. We said nan aforesaid astir nan past World Cup last and we mightiness opportunity it again erstwhile Villa look Manchester United connected Sunday.

If location is simply a amended subordinate successful his position, past it is simply a speech constricted to precious fewer names. Alisson Becker takes it for my money. Thibaut Courtois is besides successful that operation and Ederson, David Raya, Unai Simon and Gianluigi Donnarumma make compelling cases.

Certainly, they person each proven themselves difference-makers to results and campaigns. But nary of those guys are different successful nan measurement Martinez is.

They didn't extremity past period pinch a two-game world prohibition from FIFA and nor did they commencement this week pinch a committedness that astir apt won't beryllium kept. In those surreal matters, Martinez stands alone; a keeper whose expertise to specify immense matches is equalled by that compulsion he has to thrust his crotch against nan spoils of victory.

Love moves successful mysterious ways but nary activity is truthful mysterious, truthful odd, arsenic Martinez's hips whenever a prize is wrong arm's reach.

There was his romance pinch nan Golden Glove gong astatine nan World Cup successful 2022. And so its balanced astatine nan Copa America successful 2021, earlier he sewage overly acquainted pinch nan main trophy erstwhile Argentina won it again a fewer weeks back. 

Goodness, if Aston Villa's early Champions League shape carries them to an improbable destination, 2 things would beryllium existent astatine once: Martinez will person played a cardinal domiciled and UEFA must surely prosecute snipers to protect their expansive aged cup.

But let's return to that committedness he distributed via societal media connected Monday. Martinez says his thrusting days are over. He apologises. He said nan intent of his ceremony is 'to make galore kids smile', and he went connected to add: 'It was ne'er my volition to disrespect anyone, nor did I understand that a motion good received by group was offensive, but I will effort not to offend anyone anymore.'

He made akin assurances aft nan World Cup, erstwhile his podium infinitesimal prompted Patrick Vieira to get rather cross. Martinez, he said, had 'taken distant a small of what Argentina achieved'. It wasn't an isolated view.

Martinez was crass and he was pummelled for it. Rightly so. But that is his measurement and humour – often nan brilliant brings nan squirrels to activity and there's nary reasoning pinch squirrels.

On Argentina's astir caller Copa America title past month, truthful conscionable anterior to his rendezvous pinch nan trophy, he slapped a camera and FIFA didn't overmuch for illustration that either. 

Nor did people respond pinch cosmopolitan support erstwhile he bumped his crotch against Kylian Mbappe's look up of a punishment successful nan World Cup last and past cradled a doll, masked pinch a image of nan aforesaid player's face, successful nan autobus parade.

That's what Martinez does – he is childish, a man of 32 without a filter. A maestro of goalkeeping and gamesmanship. A serial irritant who guards arsenic galore lines arsenic he crosses. He riles, he provokes. He is, supra all, different.

And that is invited successful nan astir peculiar way. Now much than ever, maybe.

We unrecorded successful football's petri-dish era, its property of pompous sanctimony, erstwhile nan curation of perfection goes to horribly sanitised places. We want angels and we slam those pinch soiled wings, but athletics needs its rogues.

A fetish for trophies mightiness beryllium a nudge excessively acold successful a dopey direction, but astatine nan very slightest Martinez is flavour. He is nan bonkers, daft and quality look of a crippled that is gravitating towards robots and nan lines of VAR. 

He is simply a scatter of colour erstwhile truthful galore different personalities are stifled and boring; nan benignant of feline who needs reminding astatine yearly intervals that rubbing his crotch connected a trophy successful beforehand of a camera is inappropriate. But he is simply a free tone and that has tremendous value.

Speaking to those successful and astir Aston Villa, they would for illustration to item nan different qualities, which are nan ones that triumph matches. 

They besides talk astir a man whose committedness to his trade is unsurpassed and impervious is successful nan output - to witnesser his ascent from nan fringes of Arsenal to World Cup victor is to reason his signing for £17million successful 2020 was among nan champion deals successful nan past decade of nan Premier League. He worked fiendishly difficult to make it so.

After nan Bayern win, Martinez tapped into that by saying: 'I americium crazy astir continuing to grow, becoming nan best. I person nary ceiling, I want to proceed growing.'

He mightiness person stopped that reside aft 3 words and nary 1 would person challenged his assessment. We mightiness besides wonderment if his committedness to maturation will lead to conformity astatine nan adjacent of a week erstwhile some aspects of his characteristic were put connected trial.

But let's dream nan squirrels clasp immoderate voting authorities wrong his soul monologues. Goalkeepers are meant to beryllium different.

McCarthy should person stayed quiet

There's thing for illustration a bully pile-on and obscurity does a pile-on rather for illustration Manchester United. It must difficult for Erik 10 Hag to support way of each nan boots that person recovered their measurement into his ribs successful these apocalyptic days.

But he whitethorn person been amazed by the kicking he sustained from Benni McCarthy, whose two-year tenure arsenic United's attacking coach ended successful nan summer.

Some of what McCarthy said was piercingly meticulous – passion matters and Ten Hag shows little. We could besides bargain into nan South African's criticisms erstwhile he claimed definite players didn't use themselves successful training, but that rings up a representation of McCarthy being fined £200,000 astatine West Ham successful 2010 for being almost 2 stones overweight.

He mightiness not person passed nan 'show america your medals' trial connected that one, and nan aforesaid could beryllium said connected his wider grounds coaching those forwards astatine United. In McCarthy's 2 seasons, United scored 58 and 57 convention goals. For context, successful 11 post-Ferguson campaigns those tallies rank seventh and joint-eighth, truthful possibly McCarthy should person kept his counsel.

That's not really a pile-on works, of course. When a head is down, you spell for him. But Ten Hag didn't enactment alone.

Sancho leaves Ten Hag red-faced 

Cole Palmer is casting a superb and wide protector successful what has been exceptional commencement to nan play for Chelsea. In nan shade, but not mislaid among it all, is Jadon Sancho. 

This clip past twelvemonth he was banished from Manchester United's first-team lunches and coming he has 3 assists successful 3 games astatine Chelsea and ripped holes successful some West Ham and Brighton. He has nan champion dribbling stats successful nan convention and going into Sunday's fixture pinch Nottingham Forest is looking for illustration nan winger we remember. 

The 1 from earlier his thoughts exploded into a misguided societal media post. It is strangely ironic that moreover successful his absence he is making Erik 10 Hag look bad.