FIFA World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez lands in Kolkata

Emiliano Martinez, the Argentina Football Team goalkeeper, arrived at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata as part of the player’s South-Asia tour on Monday. There was palpable enthusiasm at the airport with fans cheering for the footballer who was one of the heroes of Argentina’s World Cup victory in Qatar last December.

He will be in the city from July 3 to July 6 for a number of events, including meet-and-greets, a discussion with schoolchildren at Santosh Mitra Square, and the opening of gates at the Mohun Bagan Club with the names Pele, Diego Maradona, and Garfield Sobers.

On July 4, Martinez will be honoured and recognised for his accomplishments, according to Mohun Bagan. During his visit, he will also get the chance to go around the club’s facilities and speak with certain club members. This was announced in a statement issued after the executive committee of Mohun Bagan met.

“I am really excited, feeling great. It was a dream (coming to India). I had promised to come to India, I am happy to be here. India is a beautiful country,” Martinez told reporters at the airport.
Martinez will inaugurate Mohun Bagan’s Pele-Maradona-Sobers gate on Tuesday. In the past, Diego Maradona showed 11 minutes of magic in this Mohun Bagan field. This time, another Argentine will come to Mohan Bagan.

The Argentina football team has a sizable and devoted following in Kolkata, and those supporters, who have witnessed the likes of Maradona and Messi previously, will now be rooting for Martinez, whose anticipation and swiftness helped Argentina win their third FIFA World Cup trophy after a long 36-year drought.
Martinez played a big role in Argentina’s 2022 World Cup triumph in Qatar under Lionel Messi’s captaincy. He saved two penalty shots against the Netherlands in the quarterfinal match and did the same against France in the summit clash.
Martinez, who plays for Premier League club Aston Villa, will meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and former India captain Sourav Ganguly.
Martinez will be the chief guest at a charity match. He will participate in a Maradona memorial event and spend time with underprivileged children. The Argentine footballer will also attend a few sponsor events during his two-day visit to the city.

RAED MOREThe interest from Villa is pretty new. Unai Emery is now keen, according to the Daily Mail, with Johnson keen to join Unique Sports Group before the domestic season gets underway.

It’s claimed by Transfermarkt that Johnson is currently represented by Footwork. At this stage, it’s not clear why the Forest man is keen to swap his representation.

The Reds forward is now on the back of his maiden Premier League season. He scored 10 times in all competitions during the 2022/23 campaign and registered three assists.

Johnson burst onto the Forest scene during the promotion-winning 2021/22 campaign. He scored 19 goals for the Reds as they won the play-offs and also claimed a further nine assists.

Forest will hope that they can keep hold of Johnson, despite vast interest. Brentford are unlikely to pay the £60 million asking price, but with Villa and West Ham both in Europe, they could provide attractive propositions.

Forest star Johnson in talks to switch agents

This could be an interesting one for Johnson. He will surely want to stay at Forest and help them build on what they have achieved over the past couple of years.

Johnson is unlikely to be sold. If he was to enjoy another emphatic season with the Reds next season, the club would feel that his value will rocket even further.