How Messi’s ‘crazy’ mate is lending a hand to Socceroos’ goalkeeping heir

On face value, there would not appear to be many similarities between Emiliano Martinez and Joe Gauci – aside from the fact they now share the same dressing room and play in the same position.

One is an Argentinian World Cup winner who Lionel Messi has described as a “phenomenon” and whose outstretched armpit ended the Socceroos’ campaign in 2022. The other is a former Port Adelaide AFL season ticket holder. One has been known to produce foul-mouthed rants to get inside an opponent’s head; in the words of another teammate, a “crazy idiot” who famously thrust his groin into his Golden Glove award on the podium after the final in Qatar. The other is polite, respectful and a deep thinker.

But one is about to follow in the other’s footsteps – in a roundabout way. Long before he was lifting trophies, winning individual accolades and starring in the Premier League for Aston Villa, Martinez was just another deputy. For almost a decade, he sat on the bench for Arsenal behind older, established goalkeepers, and had to bide his time.

That’s where Gauci is right now.

Gauci, 23, broke the A-League’s outbound transfer record when Aston Villa bought him from Adelaide United for a reported $2.5 million, which could rise even higher with add-ons. The offer came at the busiest time in his life when he was ready to sub in for Maty Ryan at any given moment as the Socceroos skipper recovered from a facial fracture at the Asian Cup, which was also Gauci’s first major tournament for Australia.

It was a stressful week, fitting in all those calls between training sessions and team meetings in Qatar, but the deal was finally sealed on transfer deadline day. In and of itself, Gauci reflects on the process of just getting the transfer over the line as a “good mental development” and a pointer to the growth he can already feel happening after less than two months in Birmingham.

Joe Gauci broke the A-League’s transfer record when he signed for Aston Villa on deadline day in January.Credit: Nikki Short

Gauci had turned down earlier interest in the transfer window because he didn’t want to sacrifice regular game time – but this, he says, was an impossible offer to refuse.

“I didn’t want to look back in 10 years time and think, ‘what if’,” he told this masthead.

“For my development at this stage of my career, I think it was the correct step to go and really challenge myself. It has been a challenge, and it is challenging. But I think the development that’s going to happen to my game, on and off the field, is something that ... now I’m there, I’m seeing it first-hand, but at the time, it was something that I couldn’t turn down.”

He had been arguably the A-League’s finest custodian for two seasons, but now Gauci is a small fish in an enormous pond. Villa have mapped out a careful plan for him: first, upskill him to the level required to be Premier League-ready; then expose him to matches, and let his form dictate his course from there. The two goalkeepers ahead of him – Martinez is 31 and Swedish international Robin Olsen is 34 – won’t be around forever, so the opportunity is there for Gauci, if he’s good and patient enough, to ascend the goalkeeping ladder at one of English football’s rising powers.

Joe Gauci warms up before Villa’s clash with Manchester United.Credit: Getty

Gauci had heard all the stories about incumbents being outwardly hostile to Aussies imported to challenge for their spots, but has been warmly embraced by Villa’s playing group, manager Unai Emery and, most importantly, the club’s goalkeeping union, led by Martinez and Olsen, who are now both his rivals and mentors.

“It’s a bit of a change in mindset in my career, going from playing and being the most experienced goalkeeper at Adelaide to now being the least experienced,” he said.

Martinez, he reckons, is a pretty good bloke once you get to know the man beneath the antics.

“He’s completely dedicated to winning and results,” Gauci said. “I guess some people have been maybe judgmental of some of the ways that he goes about things, but away from that, he’s very relaxed, a big character in the change room and loves to have a joke. But as soon as you cross that white line, it’s about getting a result, whatever way possible.

Emiliano Martínez and Lionel Messi at the award ceremony after Argentina’s World Cup win in 2022.Credit: Getty

“He’s just a regular person at the end of the day, and you can kind of see a goalkeeper that for a long time was starved of an opportunity, spent a lot of time as the No.2 behind some great goalkeepers, and in the last couple of seasons since he’s been getting that consistent game time is now really just thriving, and loving playing football every week.”

Villa are now in a head-to-head battle with Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur for fourth spot on the Premier League table and UEFA Champions League qualification. The mastermind has been Emery, whose best quality as a manager might be the clarity of his ideas.

“It’s opened my eyes to world football and the way that it operates,” Gauci said. “The amount of detail that they go into in terms of analysis and the opposition, as well as our own performances, after the games – it’s extremely detailed. Even myself, I have such a clear picture already of our style of play and the options on the field and the way that Unai wants the players to behave and perform. I’ve been able to pick that up so, so quickly, just because of how detailed they are, and how clear the messaging is in the system.”

Because of the nature of goalkeeping, Gauci could find himself in the frame at any moment, should injury or suspension strike down the two blokes ahead of him. It’s the same deal with the Socceroos, except it’s only Ryan ahead of him, so while he may rarely play, he can never switch off.

It’s nothing new to him: he spent his entire tenures at two other A-League clubs on the bench before joining Adelaide, his home-town team, where his debut came very suddenly when a teammate failed a last-minute pre-match fitness test.

“Maty’s been just as influential with the bits of advice that he’s given me – he is a Socceroos legend,” Gauci said. “But, of course, I’m aiming to take his spot. That’s why all the players are here. The two caps I’ve had, it’s been such a buzz and a proud moment and really surreal, and I want more of that.”

In the mornings, the televisions at Villa’s training base are often tuned into Gauci’s old life in the A-League, which makes for perfect pre-training viewing due to the time difference. The other day, they were watching Melbourne City’s stunning 7-0 thumping of the Western Sydney Wanderers. “The boys were saying like, ‘Is this the A-League?’ I’m like, ‘Not every game is like this!’” Gauci said with a laugh.

Gauci’s mindset, even though he’s moved up in the football world, has not changed.

“I just work as hard as I can and ask as many questions as I can and try and learn,” he said. “That’s just overall been the way I’ve approached things – just focus on myself, and I’m just worried about getting to the highest level that I can with my game. And so far, when I’ve been focused on that, the opportunities have come for me. It’s just about putting my best foot forward every day and the rest will take care of itself.”

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