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, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

er who played as a striker or

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. A prolific goalscorer, he finished as

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

's top goalscorer twice with

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

where he amassed 116 goals in 184 league games. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. At international level, Kempes was the focal point of Argentina's 1978 World Cup win where he scored twice in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

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 association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, righ ...

in 1962 and

Paolo Rossi Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He led Italy national football team, Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup t ...

in 1982. Kempes won South American Footballer of the Year, Onze d'Or European footballer of the Year and World Cup Golden Ball in 1978. In 2004, he was named as one of the Top 125 greatest living footballers as part of

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

'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 about 200 km southeast of Córdoba, Argentina, Córdoba, the capital of Córdoba Province, Argentina, Córdoba Province of Argentina. It lies at the junction of National Route 9 (Argentina), National Route 9, National Rou ...

, 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 before quickly moving on to Rosario Central, where he established himself as a remarkable goalscorer, scoring 85 goals in 105 matches, prompting

to sign him. At Mestalla he would go on to win the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

, the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

and the

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, 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 offic ...

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 to each side of the goal and in front of it. If any part of the ball is ove ...

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, television, and theatre Film * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The D ...

found difficulty 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 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 was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in 1974, at the age of 19, 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 concen ...

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

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

before spending six years at various

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

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 Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

during the 1990s.

International career

During his club career he won 43 caps for

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and scored 20 times. He represented his country in three World Cups in 1974,

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 ...

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 Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

, 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 Goa ...

. 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 (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

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. In 1999, Kempes moved to Bolivia and managed The Strongest, before taking charge of Blooming 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.

Broadcasting career

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

ESPN Deportes ESPN Deportes (, ) 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 (which owns the ...

(

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

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

'' franchise video games starting from '' FIFA 13'' up until '' FIFA 23''. He also serves as a commentator on the ''

EA Sports FC ''EA Sports FC'' is a football video game franchise developed by EA Vancouver and EA Romania and published by EA Sports. It serves as the direct successor to their former ''FIFA'' series, which was discontinued following the termination of EA ...

'' series, beginning with '' EA Sports FC 24''.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Rosario Central * Primera División runner-up: 1974 Metropolitano, 1976 Argentine Primera Division Nacional Valencia *

: 1978–79 *

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

: 1979–80 *

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

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 establishme ...

: 1993–94 Argentina *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

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

Pichichi Trophy In Spanish Association football, football, the Pichichi Trophy () is awarded by the sports newspaper ''Marca (newspaper), Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Pichichi (footballer), Rafael ...

: 1977, 1978 * FIFA World Cup Golden Boot: 1978 * FIFA World Cup Golden Ball: 1978 * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1978 *

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...

: 1978 - Le nouveau palmarès (the new winners) *

Onze d'Or The ''Onze d'Or'' (alternative name: ''Onze Mondial'' European Footballer of the Year) is an association football award given by French magazine '' Onze Mondial'' since 1976. The award honors the best player in Europe, with any player in a Euro ...

: 1978 * Olimpia de Plata: 1978 * South American Footballer of the Year: 1978 * UEFA Cup Winners' Cup top scorers: 1979–80 *

FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list compiled by Brazilian professional footballer Pelé featuring his choices of the "greatest living footballers" at the time of its release. The list was unveiled on 4 March 2004 during a gala ceremony at the Natural Histor ...

: 2004 *South American Player of the Century: Ranking Nº 23: 2006 * Golden Foot: 2007, as football legend * Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes: 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 an ...

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

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