The Hoops dumped Danny Rohl's men out of the Scottish Cup with a penalty shootout victory at Ibrox
10:14, 27 Mar 2026
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Viljami Sinisalo of Celtic
Viljami Sinisalo admits he used Emi Martinez as his inspiration to psyche out Rangers durning Celtic's Scottish Cup quarter-final penalty shootout victory.
And the Celtic No 1 is now first choice for his country as well after being picked over veteran keeper Lukas Hradecky to help Finland to a 2-0 win over hosts New Zealand in the FIFA Series.
Kasper Schmeichel's potentially career ending shoulder injury means the 24-year-old now has the gloves for the Hoops until the end of the season as they try and retain their domestic Double.
Sinisalo helped Martin O'Neill's men fight back from two goals down at Ibrox to rescure a Premiership point before Celts dumped their rivals out of the cup from the spot a week later.
He did his best to put off the Rangers stars ahead of the kicks with his antics on the line - something Argentina hero Martinez is famous for.
And Sinisalo - who was an understudy to the 2022 World Cup Golden Glove winner at Aston Villa - revealed he channelled his inner-Martinez at Ibrox.
He said: "It would have been stupid of me not to have asked Emiliano for advice when I worked with him.
"So I tried to take certain things from what he does during that shootout at Ibrox.
"I don't necessarily go as far as he does, but I picked up a few tips and through that, I would try and make my own version of his routine.
"Everyone should experience an Old Firm game at least once. It's very cool.
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Emiliano Martinez(Image: PA)
"The whole city is watching. For me, I just treated it like a normal game because that's what I have done since I was young. There's no point getting excited about the game.
"It's been a season that probably couldn't have been scripted and won't happen again very often.
"There's a team at the top of the league that hasn't been there for a long time and also a lot has happened on both sides of Glasgow.
"I feel sad about what happened to Kasper. The situation is not nice. I hope it's not a career-ending thing.
"I've always wanted to play. When the moment comes, you have to perform and keep the shirt. A goalkeeper is only as good as his last match."
And Sinisalo insisted flying halfway around the world didn't bother him...or Celtic, after he played the whole match instead of 102-times capped Finnish captain Hradecky in Auckland.
He said: "I feel very proud and honoured to play against New Zealand. I was told I would play the day before.
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"I have to be honest, travelling the long distance hasn't felt any different personally. It's fine.
"The flight was long, but both Celtic and the Football Association told me how to approach the flight, to be in the best possible condition when I arrived.
"You had to do the things that needed to be done. Whether it was with sleep or making sure your body has enough water. Everything was fine and we have prepared well. There were no problems personally."