Wolves have not had many players throughout their history that have won the World Cup, but there was one winner of football’s most coveted prize that passed through Molineux recently.
Ron Flowers is an example of an Old Gold legend who won the World Cup while still playing for Wolves.
However, while he won the trophy with England in 1966, he never touched the pitch during the tournament.
That was over six decades ago, and there is a former Wanderers man who achieved this feat while being a key member of his nation during the competition.
His time at Molineux was extremely short, and it ended in a way nobody wanted it to.
Emiliano Martinez joined Wolves on loan in 2015
Emiliano Martinez was sent out on multiple loans by Arsenal during the early parts of his career, with one of those landing him at Molineux.
The Argentine shot-stopper spent the 2015/2016 season with the Wanderers, who at the time were playing in the Championship.
It seemed to be a loan move that was working out for all parties. Martinez started 15 out of 17 games to start the season, but in that 15th start, he would sustain a thigh injury.
The injury kept the goalkeeper out from the beginning of November all the way to the New Year.
When he returned, the loan signing struggled to regain his place in the starting XI and would not play another minute for the Old Gold.
Carl Ikeme ultimately took back his spot as number one after originally losing it to the Argentinian ‘keeper.
Despite not playing much, Martinez revealed Wolves did try to sign him permanently for £10 million. Perhaps it is one that got away from the club, especially after what he went on to achieve.
Emiliano Martinez won the World Cup with Argentina in 2022
After his spell at Wolves, it would be quite a few years before Martinez would find himself at the top of the sport.
More loan spells ensued following his time at Molineux, with temporary moves to Getafe and Reading taking place.
However, in 2020, he would finally make that big move away from Arsenal, signing for Aston Villa, and the goalkeeper’s fortunes would shift dramatically.
At Villa Park, he impressed so much so that he became Argentina’s number one. Between the sticks for his nation, he won the Copa America in 2021 before later being a key member of the Argentina side that won the 2022 World Cup.
His performances have earned him the honour of being a two-time Yashin Award recipient and being named the best goalkeeper in the world by FIFA on two occasions.
While his time at Molineux was short, and he had limited time to showcase his talent, the Old Gold faithful would not have expected how his career turned out.
At the least, former Wolves defender Conor Coady did not believe Martinez could be that good.