Emiliano Martinez, The Expert On Penalty Bullying

Emiliano Martinez (Instagram @ emi_martinez26)

JAKARTA - When Bruno Fernandes missed a penalty against Emiliano Martinez's Aston Villa, we all understood that the Argentine goalkeeper was a master of this particular art.

Whether it's mind games, distractions, delays, banter or confrontations, goalkeepers for years have tried to delay penalty takers in one way or another and, statistically speaking, it works.

Or at least, it gives the goalkeeper a better chance. Research shows that distraction techniques, for example, can make a player 10 percent more likely to fail.

There are some iconic examples in football history, such as Bruce Grobbelaar for Liverpool against Roma in the 1984 European Cup final. Or Jerzy Dudek, also for the Reds, this time against Milan in the 2005 final.

Goalkeepers do this because it works and even if it doesn't, it's worth a try. With an uninterrupted, unhindered shot from 12 yards, most penalty takers will score most of the time.

So it's not surprising that goalkeepers often use some unusual tactics. Emi Martinez has proven herself to be a master in this field.

Call it mind games, bullying, distraction or whatever you like, but the 29-year-old goalkeeper has put this strategy to good use.

In this year's Copa America semifinals, Martinez was clearly seen and heard making comments to Colombia's penalty takers, such as telling them he knew they were nervous or that he knew where they were going to put him. Three of them missed, Argentina advanced to the final.

Then, last weekend, we saw the 1.93m goalkeeper do it again with a very new technique. He didn't directly try to confront or delay Bruno Fernandes, but he did succeed by directing his words at team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.

Firmly saying that Ronaldo should take the shot, Martinez is piling pressure on Fernandes, as well as perhaps raising self-doubt. The Portuguese midfielder missed for the first time in more than a year, his shot over the bar in a completely unconventional fashion.

Further evidence that former Arsenal goalkeeper Martinez knew what he was doing is in his records. He has saved 28 per cent of the penalties he has faced (excluding shootouts) throughout his career.

In comparison, Manchester United's David De Gea has saved 18 per cent of the penalties he has faced.

Not everyone likes Martinez's tricks. One of them is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the coach of the Red Devils. However, you can't blame the goalkeepers and the creativity of this Argentine goalkeeper has to be acknowledged.