Lisandro’s giant leap

IT HAS been quite the turnaround for Lisandro Martinez at Manchester United since what Gary Neville described as his ‘Patrice Evra moment’. Evra suffered the embarrassment of being substituted at half-time of his debut in January 2006. For Martinez, United’s £55.3million signing, that moment came at half-time of United’s 4-0 defeat at Brentford in his second game. Erik ten Hag resisted the temptation to take the Argentine out of the firing line, instead dropping Harry Maguire and bringing in Raphael Varane to play alongside Martinez in central defence. Martinez’s next game brought redemption with victory over Liverpool and then three more. Evra never looked back after making a false start to his career at Old Trafford, and Martinez also has the makings of a United cult hero. ‘It’s amazing every game they (the fans) sing “Argentina, Argentina” because I love my country,’ he said after United’s 2-0 Europa League win at FC Sheriff. ‘It makes me very proud. Every stadium you feel the atmosphere and that is great because I want to play every game at 100 per cent.’ There is more to Martinez’s game than sheer tenacity. He brings the ball out from the back and reads the game well, which helps compensate for his smaller physique. Mention of Martinez’s lack of height at 5ft 9in is a source of irritation for a player who believes he can handle the demands of English football. ‘The Premier League is the best league in the world,’ he said. ‘At the beginning, it was a bit hard but now we are doing well.’