Mario Alberto Kempes

Although Argentina had produced several fine soccer players and its squad was recognized as one of the best in South America (second only to Brazil), it wasn’t until 1978, when the country hosted the World Cup that Argentina truly rose to become a force to be reckoned with. In a team consisting of many of players shone in their own right, it wasn’t easy to standout, and yet Mario Alberto Kempes managed to do so, becoming one of the bastions in the Argentinean team that raised the World Cup for the first time in 1978.

Born in Belville, Cordoba on July 15, 1954, Mario Alberto Kempes began his career playing with the local Instituto Cordoba club, but soon found himself playing with Rosario Central where he would go on to score 85 goals in 105 matches, establishing himself as a prolific striker. This achievement caught the attention of Spain’s Valencia, which recruited him soon after. While playing for Valencia, he earned the nickname of “El Matador”, due to his aggressive playing style. He participated in the Argentinean team for the World Cups of 1974, 1978 and 1982. At 20 years of age, he was unable to demonstrate his skill in Germany, but he would have his payback four years later in his homeland.
 
After being the top scorer of the Spanish tournament in the two previous years, he was the only player based outside of Argentina that was summoned by Coach Menotti in 1978. The first round of the competition seemed to foretell yet another disappointing World Cup for Kempes, but when the team was forced to play in Rosario, things turned around: “El Matador” Kempes managed to score 2 goals in each of the remaining three games of the Cup, including two against Netherlands in the final match. This was, without a doubt, Kempes’s greatest triumph, being awarded the Golden Boot for it as the top scorer of the tournament.