Alberto César Tarantini (born 3 December 1955) is an Argentine former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a defender. He won the 1978 FIFA World Cup with the Argentina national football team. He played as a defensive left back early in his career, and later as a wing back.

Career

Born at Ezeiza, Tarantini rose through the Boca Juniors youth divisions in the early 1970s, and was noted for his afro hairdo and his large front teeth, which earned him the nickname ''conejo'' ("rabbit"). In

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

with Boca Juniors he won his first international club football competition and one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world and the most prestigious

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

competition in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n football – Copa Libertadores, when after the goalless draw Boca defeated Cruzeiro 5–4 on penalties. The match was held at the

Estadio Centenario Estadio Centenario is a stadium in the Parque Batlle of Montevideo, Uruguay, used primarily for football. The stadium was built between 1929 and 1930 to host the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup, as well as to commemorate the centenary of Ur ...

in Montevideo, Uruguay on 14 September 1977. Tarantini was part of the Argentina under-23 team that won the 1975

Toulon Tournament The Toulon Tournament (officially the Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) is a football (training match) tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams composed of youth players from U-17 to U-23 level. ...

, together with

Jorge Valdano Jorge Alberto Francisco Valdano Castellanos (born 4 October 1955) is an Argentine former football player, coach, and the former general manager of Real Madrid. He is currently working as a commentator for beIN Sports. Nicknamed "The Philosophe ...

Américo Gallego Américo Rubén "El Tolo" Gallego (born 25 April 1955) is an Argentine football coach and former player. As a midfielder, he played 73 times for the Argentina national team during his playing career. Playing career As a player, Gallego debuted ...

, and others, with César Menotti as coach. He became the left-back of the Argentina national football team after Jorge Carrascosa left the team (the book ''El DT del Proceso'' by Gasparini and Ponsico claims that ''the wolf'' Carrascosa declined to play for the dictatorship). He was also, at 22, the youngest player of that team. A few months before the 1978 FIFA World Cup, he had a contractual dispute with Boca that left him clubless, as Boca management pressured all Argentine clubs into denying him a new contract. After his performances during the World Cup (he scored a goal in the 6–0 victory against

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, and played in the final against The Netherlands) he was signed by

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

for £295,000. His spell in England was overshadowed by poor discipline, with Tarantini flattening Manchester United defender Brian Greenhoff, and ending his 23-game spell in Birmingham by wading into the crowd to punch a heckler. After his return to Argentina he played for

Talleres de Córdoba Club Atlético Talleres (; (lit. Workshops Athletic Club) mostly known simply as Talleres (lit. Workshops) or Talleres de Córdoba ) (Córdoba Workshops) is an Argentine sports club from the city of Córdoba. The institution is mostly known fo ...

, River Plate, and European teams

SC Bastia Sporting Club Bastiais ( co, Sporting Club di Bastia, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a Corsican association football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of French f ...

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

and

FC St. Gallen Fussballclub St. Gallen 1879, commonly known as St. Gallen, is a Swiss professional football club based in the city of St. Gallen, Canton of St. Gallen. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the Swiss Super League. History Founde ...

. In 1982 Tarantini was voted into the Top Ten of the South America Player of the Year awards. Tarantini also played in the 1982 FIFA World Cup for Argentina, retiring from the national team immediately thereafter.

Personal life

Tarantini was married to fashion model Patricia ''Pata'' Villanueva. His brother George Tarantini is a former college soccer coach.

Honours

Club

Boca Juniors *

Primera Division Argentina Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera Alí Rafael Primera Rosel ...

: Nacional 1976, Metropolitano 1976 * Copa Libertadores:

River Plate *

: Metropolitano 1980, Nacional 1981

International

Argentina Youth * Toulon Tournament: 1975 Argentina *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

: 1978

Individual

FIFA World Cup All-Star Team At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game. Awards *There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA ...

: 1978 * AFA Team of All Time (published 2015) * World Soccer World XI: 1978 *

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

Argentina All Times Dream Team (Team B): 2021

References

External links

* *
Tarantini at Sporting Heroes
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarantini, Alberto 1955 births Living people People from Ezeiza, Buenos Aires Men's association football fullbacks Argentine men's footballers Boca Juniors footballers Talleres de Córdoba footballers Club Atlético River Plate footballers English Football League players Birmingham City F.C. players SC Bastia players Toulouse FC players FC St. Gallen players Ligue 1 players FIFA World Cup-winning players 1978 FIFA World Cup players 1982 FIFA World Cup players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Argentine expatriate sportspeople in France Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England Argentina men's international footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine Primera División players Argentine people of Italian descent Footballers from Buenos Aires Province