Mario Kempes

Mario Kempes is a celebrated Argentine football legend. On the field he was known for pace and directness and he would be the most celebrated player after the Argentine World Cup victory in 1978.

Biography

Early years

He was born and brought up in Belville, Cordoba. His father, also a footballer, enthused in him a great love of the game. From a young age, Mario started playing football and grew up to become one of the most notable football legends to ever come out of that part of the world.

Soon after he began playing for his local club called Instituto Cordoba, Mario Kempes’ great potential was noticed. People saw a great talent in the young man. So adept was he that in 1974, when he was only 20 years old, he was established as a first team regular for the Argentina team and played in the World Cup in West Germany that year.

Unfortunately, Argentina’s performance in the World Cup that year was lackluster. They lost to Poland and drew with Italy. They just managed to vanquish lowly Haiti- and even so, the Haiti team managed to score a goal past the Argentinian team despite a thrashing of 7-0 by Poland.

In the second round, matters were worse. They moved from the frying pan into the fire. They were humiliated with a 4-0 defeat from the Dutch team. After that, they lost to Brazil and suffered a 1-1 draw with East Germany. They finished bottom of the group. Kempes hadn’t scored any goal.

Like a wounded buffalo, Kempes decided to step up his skills and dexterity. He moved to Rosario Central after the World Cup. In the two seasons, he was there, he scored a whopping 85 goals out of the 105 matches he participated in- thus, redeeming his image as an unstoppable goal scorer. Opponents in the field dreaded him outside the penalty area. Here he was as fast as a lightning bolt- that, coupled with his dangerous long range shot, made him a formidable footballer admired by his peers and fans and dreaded by his opponents.

He won the adoration of hordes of fans when he moved to the Spanish team Valencia. Here he continued his trail of goals: in the first two seasons, he scored 24 and 28 goals, respectively.

1978 World Cup

In the 1978 World Cup, Kempes went back home to play for his national team. Argentina were then the hosts. Kempes was the only foreign-based player selected to play for the national team in the World Cup that year. Kempes was very determined to replicate his successes in the world cup. However, things began on a rather low note when Argentina lost to Italy in the group stage. That meant Argentina was runners-up and, therefore, had to change venue from Buenos Aires to Rosario.

But it was somewhat a blessing in disguise as this was Kempes’ old home stadium. This, in some way, seemed to spur him to show his full potential. And he didn’t disappoint. The Argentine thrashed Poland 2-0, and it was Mario Kempes who scored both goals. They drew with Brazil 0-0. They unleashed their power and gave a 6-0 thrashing to Peru, two of the goals being scored by Mario Kempes.

Mario Kempes, after the string of victories in Rosario, returned to Bueno Aries for the final with a lot of optimism that they would ace it this time. Kempes dominated the finals and helped thrash Netherlands by scoring two goals. Bertoni scored their third goal. The game ended with a 3-1 victory to Argentine. Kempes was crowned top scorer.

Later carreer

Kempes continued with his streak of victories, winning trophies with Valencia. In the year 1981, he relocated to Argentina in order to play for River Plate. It is here that he won the national league championship.

In the 1982 World Cup that was hosted in Spain, Mario Kempes had relinquished his place as the team’s star to a younger Maradona. The Argentine team performed dismally in the tournament with a loss in the first round to Belgium and two other defeats to both Italy and Brazil in the second group stage. They were knocked out on the second group stage.

After the 1982 World Cup, Kempes stayed back in Spain and rejoined Valencia for a few seasons. He made 247 appearances and scored a whopping 146 goals in all competitions he took part in for the club. Later, the football legend would move to Spanish Minnows Hercules, and then some clubs in Austria and another in Chile.

In the year 1996, he joined the Indonesian league champions as a player-cum-coach. It is the same year he played his last game. After retiring as a player, he became a coach in Albania, Bolivia and Venezuela. In Bolivia, he won himself an award as the manager with the Strongest Football Club in 1999.

He later moved on and began working as a pundit for ESPN in America. He was still working there as of 2016.

By Martin Wahl

References:
http://tim.rawle.org/football/stars.php?star=21
Jonathan Wilson, Angels with Dirty Faces (2016)