A collage of photos is circulating on social media. Two goalkeepers are blocking the ball in almost identical positions. One is Moroccan goalkeeper Yacine Bounou, the other is Argentine Emiliano Martinez.
The two are from different continents. Yet, the reason they have been seen together in the collage since last night is because of the Africa Cup of Nations final. Morocco goalkeeper Bounou made a remarkable save in the 37th minute of the final against Senegal in Rabat. Even if you haven't seen the match, you can probably guess why Martinez and Bounou suddenly appear together in a photo.
Yes, two almost identical saves. The word 'almost' is used because Martinez blocked the ball with his left foot, and Bunu with his right foot. Besides, the time of their saves in the match is also different. But the saving technique of both is exactly the same, you could say carbon copy. The original is Martinez's, the copy is Bunu's.
Do you remember the real save? Argentine football fans will never forget it. The 2022 Qatar World Cup final. Argentina and France face off. The match was tied 3-3 and was almost in the final moments of extra time (123 minutes). Nicolas Otamendi's mistake suddenly left goalkeeper Martinez alone in front of the Argentine box, leaving France's forward Kolo Muani. In a situation where France would have won if they had pushed the ball into the net from the side, Martinez incredibly blocked Muani's shot with his left foot.
Some consider it one of the greatest saves in the history of the World Cup, not just the Qatar World Cup. That save later sent the game to a tiebreaker, where Argentina won 4-2 to become the champions.
That was not the case with Bounou. Despite such an incredible save, his team could not win the championship. Senegal won the title with a goal scored in the fourth minute of extra time. However, it is also true that the match would not have gone to extra time if Bounou had not made a few saves in the allotted time. In the 37th minute, Senegal striker Illiman Nadiaye found Bounou alone on the right side of the Moroccan box. Like Martinez, Bounou also moved forward to reduce Illiman's shooting space on both sides. The moment the Everton striker took the shot, the way Bounou spread his legs and arms to block the ball - it looked exactly like Martinez's save. Incredible!
Football is like that. Unbelievable things happen. Take Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona for example. Maradona scored the 'Hand of God' goal in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup against England, and also scored a goal that beat a few people. Who knew that Messi would score two such goals later in his career!
Messi scored a goal against Getafe in 2007, beating four or five people, similar to Maradona's goal. At the time, the media called the goal a 'carbon copy' of Maradona's goal. In the same year, the legend scored a goal with his hand against Espanyol - a goal that was also called in the media, bringing back Maradona's 'Hand of God'.
Did Bunu then turn around Martinez's 'Leg of God'? Time will tell how or by what name football fans remember Bunu's save.
However, Bunu probably doesn't have much regret in his heart even though he didn't win the title. Bunu, who kept five clean sheets in seven matches, smiled in front of the camera after winning the best goalkeeper trophy at the Africa Cup of Nations.
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