Mario Kempes

Mario Kempes

Personal information
Full name	Mario Alberto Kempes
Date of birth	January 15, 1954 (1954-01-15) (age 57)
Place of birth	Argentina
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
–	Instituto
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1970–1973	Instituto	13	(11)
1974–1976	Rosario Central	107	(86)
1977–1981	Valencia	143	(95)
1981–1982	River Plate	29	(15)
1982–1984	Valencia	42	(21)
1984–1986	Hércules	38	(10)
1986–1987	First Vienna	20	(7)
1987–1990	St. Pölten	96	(34)
1990–1992	Kremser SC	39	(7)
1995	Fernandez Vial	11	(5)
1996	Pelita Jaya
Total		538	(291)
National team
1973–1982	Argentina	43	(20)
Teams managed
1996	Pelita Jaya
1996	Lushnja
1997–1998	Mineros de Guayana
1999	The Strongest
2000	Blooming
2000–2001	Independiente Petrolero
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Mario Alberto Kempes (born 15 July 1954 in Bell Ville, Córdoba) is a retired Argentine footballer. His father, Mario, also a footballer, inspired him to play from a young age. At the age of 7, he began playing with a junior team and at 14, he joined La Cuarta de Talleres. He is most notable for playing for Valencia and being the focal point of Argentina's 1978 World Cup win.

Club career

Kempes at Central

Kempes was nicknamed El toro (Thehis time with Valencia, he won two consecutive Pichichis, scoring 24 and 28 goals in 1976–77 and 1977–78. His career started at local club Instituto before quickly moving on to Central, where he scored 85 goals in 105 matches and established himself as a notorious goalscorer, which prompted a move to Valencia, where he would go on to win the Copa del Rey, the European Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. Famous as a hard-working forward, he used to strike from outside the penalty area with his surging runs goalwards and was not the traditional center-forward operating solely inside the box. Many defenders found difficulties handling his attacking style.

Before the 1978 World Cup, Kempes was the only foreign based player on the list of coach César Luis Menotti's national team in Argentina, he was at the time playing for Spanish giants Valencia while the other squad members all played in Argentina. The coach described him when announcing the squad he had selected for the 1978 tournament, "He's strong, he's got skill, he creates spaces and he shoots hard. He's a player who can make a difference, and he can play in a centre-forward position".

Kempes had been topscorer in La Liga in each of the past two seasons and was determined to show on home soil that he could deliver against the best on the sport's greatest stage as well. However, in 1974, at the age of 20, he failed to get on the score-sheet in West Germany and after the first round group stage in 1978, his name was still missing among goalscorers in the tournament.

International career

During his club career he won 43 caps for Argentina and scored 20 times. He represented his country in three World Cups in 1974, 1978 and 1982, winning the competition in 1978. He was the leading goalscorer in the 1978 tournament, scoring six goals, including two in the final itself. He has also scored some very important goals for Argentina in his career.

In 1978 he was named South American Football Player of the Year ("El Mundo", Caracas, Venezuela). He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

Managerial career

Kempes made his full time coaching debut in Albania. His brief spell with Lushnja was groundbreaking, as he became the first foreign coach who signed a foreign player for the first time in Albanian soccer history. His career in Albania came to a quick end in 1997. The following year, he landed a job with Venezuelan side Mineros de Guayana. In 1999, Kempes moved to Bolivia and managed The Strongest, before taking charge of Blooming in 2000. Previously, he worked as assistant coach for Uruguayan manager Héctor Núñez in Valencia, and as a player-manager of Indonesian League champions Pelita Jaya. He announced his retirement from football management at the age of 41 in 1996.

Commentary career

He currently works as a football analyst and commentator in Spanish for ESPN Deportes (ESPN's Spanish version).

Career statistics

Honours

Valencia

• Copa del Rey: 1
  

1979

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1
  

1980

• UEFA Super Cup: 1
  

1980

River Plate

• Nacional: 1
  

1981

Argentina

• World Cup: 1
  

1978

Individual

• Nacional: 1
  

1974

• Metropolitano: 1
  

1976

• Pichichi Trophy: 2
  

1977, 1978

• World Cup Golden Boot: 1
  

1978

• World Cup Golden Ball: 1
  

1978

• Olimpia de Plata: 1
  

1978

• South American Footballer of the Year: 1
  

1978

• FIFA 100: 1
  

2004

• South American Player of the Century: Ranking Nº 23: 1
  

2006^[1]

• once d'or: 1978

References

"Research: Soccer Net USA". http://www.soccernetusa.com/mario_kempes.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-25. 

External links

• Mario Kempes profile, detailed club and national team statistics and honours
• Argentine Glory Kempes the catalyst for Argentine glory
• Classic Players Mario Kempes
• Observer Sport biography
• (Spanish)Futbol Factory profile (Archived)

Argentina squads Argentina squad – 1974 FIFA World Cup 1 Carnevali • 2 Ayala • 3 Babington • 4 Balbuena • 5 Bargas • 6 Brindisi • 7 Carrascosa • 8 Chazarreta • 9 Glaria • 10 Heredia • 11 Houseman • 12 Fillol • 13 Kempes • 14 Perfumo • 15 Poy • 16 Sá • 17 Squeo • 18 Telch • 19 Togneri • 20 Wolff • 21 Santoro • 22 Yazalde • Coach: Cap Argentina squad – Copa América 1975 1 Ardiles • 2 Asad • 3 Bóveda • 4 Gallego • 5 Gatti • 6 Kempes • 7 D.Killer • 8 M.Killer • 9 Luque • 10 Pavoni • 11 Pavón • 12 Rebottaro • 13 Valdano • 14 Valencia • 15 Zanabria • Coach: Menotti Argentina squad – 1978 FIFA World Cup winners (1st title) 1 Alonso • 2 Ardiles • 3 Baley • 4 Bertoni • 5 Fillol • 6 Gallego • 7 L. Galván • 8 R. Galván • 9 Houseman • 10 Kempes • 11 Killer • 12 Larrosa • 13 La Volpe • 14 Luque • 15 Olguín • 16 Ortiz • 17 Oviedo • 18 Pagnanini • 19 Passarella • 20 Tarantini • 21 Valencia • 22 Villa • Coach: Menotti Argentina squad – 1982 FIFA World Cup 1 Ardiles • 2 Baley • 3 Barbas • 4 Bertoni • 5 Calderón • 6 Díaz • 7 Fillol • 8 Galván • 9 Gallego • 10 Maradona • 11 Kempes • 12 Hernández • 13 Olarticoechea • 14 Olguín • 15 Passarella • 16 Pumpido • 17 Santamaría • 18 Tarantini • 19 Trossero • 20 Valdano • 21 Valencia • 22 Van Tuyne • Coach: Menotti