Argentine star goalkeeper Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez was nominated on Tuesday for the Lev Yashin Trophy. The annual award is presented by sports magazine France Football to the best-performing goalkeeper in the world as part of the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Martínez is the only Argentine among the nominees for the additional awards, which include best young player, best coach and best club. This would be his third win, after being awarded in 2023 and 2024.
The Argentine goalie’s nomination might be seen as a surprise. While the 34-year-old had a solid campaign with Aston Villa, with whom he won the 2026 UEFA Europa League, he also struggled in the World Cup, conceding eight goals in eight games out of 28 shots on his goal.
Still, the Mar del Plata-born goalkeeper, who was signed by Chelsea FC in September, did set a record with 11 saves in the World Cup final. The feat made him the shot-stopper with the most recorded interventions in the tournament’s deciding match.
Martínez was nominated alongside nine other goalkeepers, namely Yassine Bounou, Thibaut Courtois, Joan García, Gregor Kobel, Édouard Mendy, David Raya, Matvey Safonov, Unai Simón, and another World Cup hero, Cape Verde’s Vozinha.
Simón and Raya lead the way
Martínez will have a tough time overtaking Simón and Raya, as the two Spanish goalkeepers are the favorites for the award.
Athletic Club and Spain goalkeeper Simón had a historic 2026 World Cup, setting a record of 649 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal at a World Cup, beating Italy’s Walter Zenga’s mark of 517 minutes, set at the 1990 tournament.
The Basque keeper logged 750 minutes across eight matches, keeping seven clean sheets and conceding just once throughout the entire competition, en route to helping Spain to its second-ever title.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s David Raya led the clean sheet standings in both England and Europe, registering 19 clean sheets in the Premier League and topping the Champions League with nine clean sheets.
The Ballon d’Or ceremony will take place on Monday, October 26, at The London Palladium in the English capital.
Facts Only
* Emiliano Martínez is nominated for the Lev Yashin Trophy.
* France Football presents the award as part of the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
* Martínez is the only Argentine nominee for the additional awards.
* Martínez won the award in 2023 and 2024.
* Martínez won the 2026 UEFA Europa League with Aston Villa.
* Martínez conceded eight goals in eight games during the World Cup.
* Martínez recorded 11 saves in the World Cup final.
* Chelsea FC signed Martínez in September.
* Ten goalkeepers are nominated: Yassine Bounou, Thibaut Courtois, Joan García, Gregor Kobel, Édouard Mendy, David Raya, Matvey Safonov, Unai Simón, Vozinha, and Emiliano Martínez.
* Unai Simón recorded 649 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal at a World Cup.
* Spain won its second World Cup title in 2026.
* David Raya recorded 19 clean sheets in the Premier League and nine in the Champions League.
* The ceremony occurs Monday, October 26, at The London Palladium.
Executive Summary
Emiliano Martínez has been nominated for the Lev Yashin Trophy, marking a potential third consecutive win for the Argentine goalkeeper. His nomination follows a mixed period of performance; while he secured the 2026 UEFA Europa League with Aston Villa and set a record for the most saves in a World Cup final, he struggled during the tournament overall, conceding eight goals across eight matches.
The competition for the award is significant, with Spanish goalkeepers Unai Simón and David Raya emerging as favorites. Simón is coming off a historic World Cup performance where he helped Spain secure the title while setting a new record for consecutive minutes without conceding. Simultaneously, Raya has dominated clean sheet statistics across both the Premier League and the Champions League. The final results will be announced on October 26 at The London Palladium.
Full Take
The narrative focuses on a tension between "clutch" performance and sustained statistical dominance. The strongest version of this story is a clash of archetypes: Martínez represents the high-impact, big-game performer (the World Cup final record), while Simón and Raya represent the pinnacle of consistent, systemic efficiency (consecutive clean sheets and league-wide leads).
The framing relies on a juxtaposition of contradictory data to create a sense of "surprise" regarding the nomination. By highlighting both a record-breaking final and a mediocre overall tournament conceding rate, the narrative invites the reader to question the criteria of the award—whether it prizes moments of brilliance or cumulative stability. This reflects a broader sporting paradigm where "narrative" often competes with "analytics" in determining greatness.
The root cause of this tension is the inherent difficulty in quantifying goalkeeping. Unlike goalscorers, a goalkeeper's value is often measured by what *doesn't* happen, or by singular saves that change the trajectory of a tournament, making the "best" performer a matter of philosophical preference rather than raw data.
Who benefits from this framing? The organizers of the ceremony, as the perceived "controversy" or "surprise" of a nomination generates engagement.
Bridge Questions:
1. Does a record-breaking performance in a single final outweigh a season of statistical dominance?
2. How do the specific criteria of the Lev Yashin Trophy differ from a purely data-driven performance metric?
Counterstrike Scan: If this were a coordinated campaign to undermine Martínez, it would weaponize his eight conceded goals to paint the nomination as a fraud or a result of bias. The current content does not match this pattern; it balances his struggles with his achievements.
Patterns detected: none
Sentinel — Human
The text reads like standard sports reporting, balancing the subject's specific achievements with comparative context regarding other nominees in an award ceremony.