Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi (; born 15 July 1954) is an Argentine former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

er who played as a striker or

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

. A prolific goalscorer, he finished as

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

's top goalscorer twice with

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

and amassed 116 goals in 184 league games for the club. At international level, Kempes was the focal point of Argentina's

1978 World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by ...

win where he scored twice in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

and received the Golden Boot as top goalscorer. He also won the Golden Ball for the player of the tournament, making him one of only three players to have won all three awards at a single World Cup, along with

Garrincha Manuel Francisco dos Santos (28 October 1933 – 20 January 1983), nicknamed Mané Garrincha, best known as simply Garrincha (, "little bird"), was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a right winger. He is widely regarded as one o ...

in 1962 and

Paolo Rossi Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional footballer who played as a forward. He led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot as top goalscorer, and the Golden ...

in 1982. Kempes won

South American Footballer of the Year The Rey del Fútbol de América ("King of Football of America"), often referred to as the South American Footballer of the Year, is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar ...

, Onze d'Or European footballer of the Year and

World Cup Golden Ball 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 ...

in 1978. In 2004, he was named as one of the Top 125 greatest living footballers as part of

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

's 100th anniversary celebration. Kempes was nicknamed ''El Toro'' and ''El Matador''.

Club career

Kempes was born in

Bell Ville Bell Ville is a city in center-south of the provinces of Argentina, province of Córdoba Province (Argentina), Córdoba, Argentina, located 200 km southeast from the capital Córdoba, Argentina, Córdoba City, on the intersection of National ...

, Córdoba. His father, Mario Quemp, was of German heritage. His mother, Teresa Chiodi, was Italian. At the age of seven he began playing with a junior team and at fourteen he joined the Talleres reserves. Kempes' career started at local club Instituto, where he played alongside

Osvaldo Ardiles Osvaldo César Ardiles (born 3 August 1952), often referred to in Britain as Ossie Ardiles, is an Argentine football manager, pundit and former midfielder who won the 1978 FIFA World Cup as part of the Argentina national team. He now runs his ...

before quickly moving on to

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the English- ...

, where he established himself as a remarkable goalscorer, scoring 85 goals in 105 matches, prompting

to sign him. At

Mestalla Mestalla Stadium ( es, Estadio de Mestalla , ca-valencia, Estadi de Mestalla ) is a football stadium in Valencia, Spain. The stadium is the home of Valencia Club de Fútbol and has a capacity of 48,600 seats, making it the 8th-largest stadium i ...

he would go on to win the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

, the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

and the

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...

as well as two consecutive Pichichis, scoring 24 and 28 goals in the 1976–77 and 1977–78 seasons. Famous as a hard-working forward, he used to strike from outside the

penalty area The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. Wit ...

with his surging runs towards goal and was not the traditional center-forward operating solely inside the box. Many

defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: *Defense (military) *Defense (sports) **Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...

found difficulty handling his attacking style. Before the

, Kempes was the only foreign-based player on the list of coach César Luis Menotti's Argentina national team. when announcing the squad he had selected for the 1978 tournament, Menotti described him with these words: "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 the top scorer in

the previous two seasons and was determined to show on home soil that he could deliver against the best on the sport's greatest stage. However, he had failed to get on the score-sheet in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

in 1974, at the age of 20, and after the first round group stage in 1978, his name was still missing among goal scorers in the

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

. After leaving Valencia in 1984, Kempes spent two years at Hércules in nearby

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

before spending six years at various

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n clubs. His play declined in his 30s and he did not compete for top scorer honours in the Austrian top flight. He rounded off his career with stints at more obscure clubs in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

during the 1990s.

International career

During his club career he won 43 caps for

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and scored 20 times. He represented his country in three

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, winning the competition in 1978. He was the leading goalscorer in the 1978 tournament, scoring six goals in three braces: the first two in Argentina's first semi-final group stage match against Poland, another two against Peru, and the last two in the final against the Netherlands, which Argentina won 3–1. His second goal, in the 105th minute, was the game winner in extra time. However, in the same tournament, he notoriously stopped a goal with his hand in a second-round match against Poland. This resulted in a penalty kick that was promptly saved by

Ubaldo Fillol Ubaldo Matildo Fillol (; born 21 July 1950), nicknamed ''el Pato'' (in English: "the Duck"), is an Argentine football coach and former goalkeeper. He took part in the 1974, 1978 (where he won the championship with his team and was voted Best Goalk ...

. His goals in the 1978 World Cup Final were his last for Argentina at the age of just 23. In 1978, he was named ''South American Football Player of the Year'' ("El Mundo," Caracas, Venezuela). He was named by

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...

as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

Managerial career

Kempes made his full-time managing debut in Albania. His brief spell with Lushnja was groundbreaking, as he became the first foreign manager who signed a foreign player in Albanian football 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 Asociación Civil Club Deportivo Mineros de Guayana, known as Mineros de Guayana or simply Mineros, is a professional football club based in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela. History The Colegio Loyola Gumilla's field, located in Puerto Ordaz, was us ...

. In 1999, Kempes moved to Bolivia and managed

The Strongest Club The Strongest is a Bolivian professional football club based in La Paz, that currently plays in the Bolivian Primera División. Founded in 1908, their team colours are yellow and black. Although they have a home ground, Estadio Rafae ...

, before taking charge of

Blooming Bloom or blooming may refer to: Science and technology Biology * Bloom, one or more flowers on a flowering plant * Algal bloom, a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in an aquatic system * Jellyfish bloom, a collective n ...

in 2000. Previously, he had worked as assistant coach for Uruguayan manager Héctor Núñez in

and as a player-manager of Indonesian League champions

Pelita Jaya Madura United Football Club is an Indonesian professional football club. The club is based in Pamekasan, Madura, East Java. They currently play in the Liga 1. Established on 10 January 2016, Madura United FC is one of few professional clubs ...

Commentary career

He currently works as a football analyst and commentator in Spanish for

ESPN Deportes ESPN Deportes (, ''ESPN Sports'') is an American multinational Spanish-language pay television sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (whi ...

(

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

's Spanish-language version). With Fernando Palomo and Ciro Procuna he provides the commentary in the Latin American version of the FIFA franchise video games FIFA 13,

FIFA 14 ''FIFA 14'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released in September 2013 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStat ...

FIFA 15 ''FIFA 15'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released on 23 September 2014 in North America, 25 September in Europe and 26 September in the United Kingdom ...

FIFA 16 ''FIFA 16'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android and iOS. The ga ...

, FIFA 17,

FIFA 18 ''FIFA 18'' is a football simulation video game developed and published by Electronic Arts and released worldwide on 29 September 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. It is the ...

FIFA 19 ''FIFA 19'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Vancouver and released by Electronic Arts on 28 September 2018 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows. It is the 26th installm ...

FIFA 20 ''FIFA 20'' is a football simulation video game published by Electronic Arts as part of the ''FIFA'' series. It is the 27th installment in the series and was released on 27 September 2019 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nint ...

FIFA 21 ''FIFA 21'' is an association football simulation video game published by Electronic Arts as part of the ''FIFA series''. It is the 28th installment in the ''FIFA'' series, and was released on 9 October 2020 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switc ...

FIFA 22 ''FIFA 22'' is a football simulation video game published by Electronic Arts. It is the 29th installment in the '' FIFA series'', and was released worldwide on 1 October 2021 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Windo ...

and

FIFA 23 ''FIFA 23'' is a football video game published by Electronic Arts. It is the 30th installment in the '' FIFA'' series that is developed by EA Sports, and the final installment under the ''FIFA'' banner, and released worldwide on 30 September 20 ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kempes goal''.

Honours

Valencia *

: 1978–79 *

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

: 1979–80 *

: 1980 River Plate * Primera División: 1981 Nacional Pelita Jaya *

Galatama Liga Sepak Bola Utama (English: ''Premier Football League''), commonly known by its acronym Galatama, was a semi professional football league in Indonesia, established in 1979 by the Indonesian Football Association, PSSI. Prior to the establishment ...

: 1993–94 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 ...

Individual * Argentine Primera División top scorers: 1974 Nacional, 1976 Metropolitan *

Pichichi Trophy In Spanish football, the Trofeo Pichichi is awarded by the sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno, the trophy has been awarded annually since the ...

: 1977, 1978 *

FIFA World Cup Golden Boot 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 *

FIFA World Cup Golden Ball 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 *

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 *

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...

: 1978 - Le nouveau palmarès (the new winners) * Onze d'Or: 1978 * Olimpia de Plata: 1978 *

: 1978 * UEFA Cup Winners' Cup top scorers: 1979–80 *

FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fo ...

: 2004 *South American Player of the Century: Ranking Nº 23: 2006 *

Golden Foot The Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. The award is only given to active players of at least 28 yea ...

: 2007, as football legend *

Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes The Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, formerly known as Estadio Córdoba, is a stadium in the Chateau Carreras neighborhood of Córdoba, Argentina. Owned by the Córdoba Province, the venue is used mostly for association football and rugby union mat ...

: 2010, The stadium in

Córdoba, Argentina Córdoba () is a city in central Argentina, in the foothills of the Punilla Valley, Sierras Chicas on the Primero River, Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province, Argentina, Córdoba Province a ...

was named after him. * AFA Team of All Time (published 2015)

References

External links