Lisandro Martinez gets unreal reception after returning to Old Trafford with World Cup winner’s medal
Lisandro Martinez received a spine-tingling ovation on his return to Old Trafford after winning the World Cup.
Martinez was part of the Argentina side which went all the way to deliver a third World Cup triumph for La Albiceleste, playing five times in the tournament.
‘Licha’ made a crucial late block in the round of 16 win over Australia in what was his biggest contribution to a glorious campaign for Lionel Messi and co.
He celebrated with a heck of a FIFA 23 session alongside his teammates and was then given extra time off by United boss Erik ten Hag to head back home for the trophy parade and to spend time with family.
He returned to training last week however and on Tuesday, prior to United’s 3-0 win over Bournemouth, showed off his World Cup winner’s medal to a deafening Old Trafford.
75,000 fans loudly applauded the former Ajax man when he stepped out onto the pitch to clap all corners of the ground, as did Martinez’s teammates.
He looked delighted with the reception he received and took to Twitter to thank fans for the special moment they gave him.
Martinez: “No words… Thank you to Old Trafford, my teammates and the staff for this amazing reception. Feels great to be back & winning.”
Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire started at centre-back for the clash, with Martinez replacing the former late on for a two-minute cameo appearance.
Casemiro opened the scoring in the first half, before Luke Shaw doubled the lead just at half-time. Marcus Rashford continued his fine goalscoring form with a strike in the 86th minute to wrap up a comfortable victory for United, who are just one point behind rivals Manchester City having played one game more.
Next up for United is an FA Cup third round clash with a wounded Everton side on Friday, before they host Charlton in a Carabao Cup quarter-final on Tuesday 10 January.
