Top Facts about Mario Kempes, the Argentine Hero

Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi who was born in  Bell Ville, Córdoba province in Argentina on 15 July 15, 1954, is an Argentine pundit, former football coach, and former player. He was Nicknamed the Matador and played as a striker. We will have a look at top facts about Mario Kempes.

One of the 

top facts about Mario Kempes

 is that he was the key player of the 

 that won the 1978 World Cup, being the top scorer and best player of the World Cup.

Also in the same year, he was as chosen as the best player in the world and simultaneously awarded as the best South American Footballer in the World by the Venezuelan newspaper El Mundo and as the best player in Europe by receiving the Gold Eleven.

Top Facts about Mario Kempes, the Argentine Hero

Mario Kempes is considered, along with Alfredo Di Stéfano,

, and Lionel Messi, as one of the great players in history born in Argentina and entered the Hall of Fame of Valencia CF, being chosen by the IFFHS as the 6th best Argentine player 20th century.

Mario Kempes currently works as a sportscaster for ESPN. Since 2012 Mario Kempes, along with fellow ESPN Fernando Palomo, is one of the narrators of the Latin American edition of the video game series FIFA from EA Sports.

Mario Kempes at a glance

• Name in home country:

  Mario Alberto Kempes

• Date of birth:

  15 July 1954

• Place of birth:

  Bell Ville, Córdoba, Argentina

• Age:

  67

• Height:

  1,82 m

• Citizenship:

  Argentina

• Position:

  Attack - Centre-Forward

• Foot:

  left

• Current club:

  Retired

• Retired:

  1 July 1996

Mario Kempes club career

Mario Kempes began to play football in the lower classes of Talleres de Bell Ville. While attending school, Mario worked in a carpentry shop. The owner of it had contacts within the Instituto Atlético Central Córdoba club, so he encouraged Mario to take a test there. At the age of 17, Mario went to the bus stop, got a ticket and after three hours of travel he arrived in Alta Córdoba.

There he met other young footballers who were also waiting to be assessed. The red-haired technician was Armando Rodríguez, who brought the group together and asked each one to identify themselves by name and origin.

Mario Kempes preferred to lie to get an opportunity. He scored two goals in the first 15 minutes and he joined the team. On 10 March 1972, he signed a contract with Instituto de Córdoba. 

One of the

top facts about Mario Kempes

is that he studied Economic Sciences at the National University of Córdoba although he left university after a short time.

With his arrival at the Instituto de Córdoba, the team became the champion of the Cordovan League after six years in Nacional 1973. There, Mario Kempes was one of the best strikers in the history of Cordoba football along with José Luis Saldaño, Osvaldo Ardiles, Alberto Beltrán and José Luis Ceballos. Mario Kempes was the scorer in all the competitions he played and scored goals against all the rivals. He scored a total of 78 goals in 81 games in the Cordovan League.

One of the top facts about Mario Kempes is that his debut in the First Division was against Newell's Old Boys de Rosario (0-1), on 5 October 1973. Four days later he scored his first goal in first against River Plate a few minutes after the match started. That game was played on a Friday night shown on television and allowed Mario to gain national significance. 

He finished the tournament in third place in the top scorers ranking. In 1973, he made debut with the senior national team in a match against Bolivia.

In 1974,  Mario Kempes joined

for 130 million pesos. The former football player Luis Indaco recommended the immediate hiring of the player. Mario Kempes arrived at the club with his high school partner, Saldaño, and quickly joined the group called La Perrada, made up of the Killer brothers , Pío Cabral , Miguel Ángel Cornero.

Coach Carlos Griguol made him play left winger of the attack. After a while it was proved that Mario Kempes was not only a scorer, but also a play maker, especially in counterattacks, in which Mario Kempes was the main player in attacks.

He made his debut on 22 February in the Metropolitan Tournament in a 1-1 draw against Gimnasia de La Plata. His first goal in Central was scored against Atlanta  on 3 March, in which Rosario Central won 2-1. 

Mario Kempes scored a total of 4 goals in 9 games for the tournament (his team was runner-up) and scored 3 goals in the Copa Libertadores where Rosario Central was eliminated in the first round. Mario did not play every game since he was called up to play in the World Cup that year.

During the 1974 National Tournament, Kempes scored a total of 25 goals in 25 matches and became the best goal scorer. Once again his team finished second in the tournament. Rosario Central was consecrated Argentine Champion 74, thus obtaining the classification to play the 1975 Copa Libertadores. Kempes played both games and scored a goal; the second against Newell's Old Boys in the final 2-0 in favor of the auriazules. He formed a great forward with Ramón Bóveda and Roberto Cabral.

In the 1975 Metropolitan Championship Mario Kempes was his team's top scorer with 25 goals in 28 games. During the championship, he scored 4 goals in the games against Banfield in the 5-0 victory, against Ferro in the 5-1 victory, against Temperley in the 5-1 victory and against

in the 4-1 victory.

Rosario Central finished seventh in the Argentine championship and reached the semi-finals in the Copa Libertadores where Kempes scored 5 goals; one of them was against Newell's (1-0), on 11 April, in a tiebreaker that classified Rosario Central to the semi-finals round of the competition. 

Mario Kempes finished fifth with 13 goals in the Argentine league. In the match of the first week of the tournament against Newell's, Mario Kempes scored the three goals in the Rosario Central victory: one with his left leg, one with his right and the other with his head.

The next year, the Metropolitan Tournament of 1976 Rosario Central finished in the eighth place of the league. Mario Kempes last official match with Rosario Central was on 1 August against Newell's at the Gigante de Arroyito . He played a total of 123 games and scored 97 goals in his time with the scoundrel, making him the best goal scorer in the club's history.

The teams that conceded the most goals from him were 8 goals, Estudiantes de La Plata; 7 goals Newell's and Banfield; 6 goals, All Boys, Ferro Carril Oeste and Independiente; 5 goals Ingeniero. He scored four goals in a single game five times, and scored hat-tricks seven times.

Mario Kempes transfer to Spanish football was important. The sale of the player was decided by the Central partners. This was made for the amount of 500,000 dollars and was a record for Argentine football at the time. Thus, Rosario Central made use of its democratic custom. This procedure had been carried out similar to deciding the sales of Enrique "Chueco" García in the 1930s, Benjamín Santos in the 1940s, and Oscar Alberto Massei and in the 1950s.

In mid-1976 , Valencia CF of the Spanish First Division bought him for 30 million pesetas (300,000 dollars), where he showed his ease for scoring by winning the Pichichi Trophy for the top scorer in the Spanish Football League in two seasons ( 76-77 with 24 goals and 77-78 with 28 goals).

Mario Kempes won the Copa del Rey in 1979 by beating Real Madrid 2-0 in the final match, scoring two goals at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. In this tournament, Valencia eliminated the previous champion, FC Barcelona, ​​against whom they had lost in the first leg at the Camp Nou, 4-1, achieving a spectacular comeback in the second leg played at the Luis Casanova Stadium 4-0.

Mario Kempes also lifted UEFA Cup Winners' Cup on 14 May 1980 against Arsenal of England in the penalty shoot-out, in which, curiously, his failed to score his pnalty, but this did not in any way detract from his great performance throughout the competition, as he was the top scorer with 9 goals. 

In this tournament, Valencia also beaten he champion of the previous season, FC Barcelona in the quarterfinals. They won 0-1 in the first leg by Saura’s goal in Barcelona and in the ​​second leg they won 4-3 on the day of San José, the main festival of the Fallas in Valencia. 

Mario Kempes won the European Super Cup in December in the same year against in which they beaten Nottingham Forest 2-1 in Nottingham and 1-0 in Valencia, which was the best team in Europe at the time, being the champion of the European Cup in  two consecutive years (1979, against Malmöe, 1980, against Kevin Keegan's Hamburguer SV). 

One of the top facts about Mario Kempes was that he was never able to win the Spanish League, despite playing at Valencia from 1976 to 1981, with a great squad, in which players such as Bonhoff, Solsona, Carrete, Pereira, Tendillo, Saura, Felmán, stood out. Diarte, Botubot, Arias Castellanos, Manzanedo, Morena, Pablo, Subirats, Oscar Ruben Valdez, Cerveró played and Mario Kempes is considered the best player in the history of Valencia CF.

Mario Kempes returned to Argentina in March 1981 and moved to River Plate for 300 million pesetas. With the club, he won the 1981 National Championship, where Kempes scored a decisive goal in the final match, played against Ferro Carril Oeste.

As the Argentine club could not comply with all the payments and only pay 130 million pesetas, he returned to 

for the 82-83 season where he remained until 83-84. His last game was against Real Murcia. Mario Kempes scored a goal in the 37th minute in that match.

One of the top facts about Mario Kempes is that he moved to 

 playing 2 seasons, in which his great goals served to remain in the highest league of Spanish football, and thus began his Tour around low-level Central European teams such as First Vienna FC, Sankt Polten and Krems.

In 1995, Mario Kempes signed for Arturo Fernández Vial, a Chilean football second division team following a request from his friend Pedro Lucio Oliveira, who was the club's coach.

Mario Kempes scored 5 goals in just 11 games and became one of the best players of the club despite the fact that he was old as football player.

Mario Kempes last club was Pelita Jaya of Indonesia in 1996, where he served as technical director.

Mario Kempes career at national team

One of the top facts about Mario Kempes is that he has been  a member of the Argentine football team from 1973 to 1982. He played in  43 matches and scored 20 goals.

His first international experience was with the youth team. He  played in the Cannes Youth Tournament in 1973. Mario Kempes played 3 games and scored 4 goals: one against Benfica , another against Brazil, and two against Standard Lieja .

On 23 September 1973 he made his debut in the senior team, against Bolivia for the qualifying rounds for the  1974 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Argentine coach Enrique Sívori set up a squad that travelled to Bolivian territory several days before, with the aim of acclimatizing to the altitude. 

As they were isolated, the Argentine players decided to attract the attention of the press by taking photos disguised with sheets and hoods, for which they were nicknamed the Phantom Selection. The preparation paid off and Argentina won 1-0 with a goal from Fornari; Kempes also met there Aldo Pedro Poy , who would be important for his subsequent arrival at Rosario Central.

During 1974 he played in friendly matches for the Argentine national team before te FIFA World Cup; he scored his first goal against Romania in Buenos Aires, scored the winning goal in the Parc des Princes against France, and two goals in the draw against England at the legendary Wembley Stadium. In the 1974 FIFA World Cup he played in the six games that Argentina played, but he was not able to score any goal.

The following year he played the Copa América, converting 3 goals in four games; Argentina could not overcome Brazil and the hope of the title was truncated.

In 1976 he won the Lipton and Newton cups against Uruguay, and the Felix Bogado cup against Paraguay.

Once transferred from Rosario Central to Valencia in Spain, Mario Kempes returned to wear the albiceleste jersey officially for the World Cup in 1978. He was the only football player in the Argentine squad who played abroad. 

The Argentine Coach Cesar Menotti asked him to play a few meters behind on the box, but with total freedom to move on the attack front. Thus, he also recognized the value of Mario Kempes as a playmaker, in addition to that of a scorer. 

During the first stage he had difficulties to play his own style of playing football game, as did his team, which caused them to stand in the second place of their group. Thus, Argentina had to play the second group stage in Rosario. 

There, the team and Mario Kempes in particular would receive great support that helped to release football potential. In the game against Poland, Mario Kempes scored the two winning goals, as well as avoiding one on his own goal; but he did it with his hand, and the penalty was saved by Ubaldo Fillol. 

After the draw against Brazil, Argentina needed to beat Peru; He did it by defeating the Inca team 6-0, and Mario Kempes scored two goals. So, Argentina reached to the final match.

The final match of the 1978 FIFA World Cup was held at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires; Argentina took the lead with a goal from Mario Kempes, who, after a pass from Luque, scored the goal while he faced two Dutch defenders and the goalkeeper. 

The Netherlands scored the equaliser and the match went into extra-time. Then Mario Kempes finished showing why he was the best player in the Cup, and with a great play, he scored the second goal for Argentina to lead 2-1. 

Argentina was dominant in the game and Mario Kempes teammate Daniel Bertoni took the opportunity to take the ball and score the third goal in the game.

Kempes was crowned the top scorer in the 1978 World Cup with six goals. After Guillermo Stábile, he was the second and last Argentine player to achieve this success.

After winning the World Cup, Mario Kempes returned to play for the Argentine national team in 1981. In those years, playing abroad limited the participation of Argentine football players in the national team.

Mario Kempes played in some of the friendly matches prior to the 1982 FIFA World Cup. He played more dedicated to the creation of the game and without so much responsibility for scoring goals. The experience in the FIFA World Cup was not so good for Argentina, being eliminated in the second group stage. The match on 2 against Brazil was the last with the Albiceleste jersey for Mario Kempes.

After that year, the "Matador" gave his number 10 shirt to the rising Diego Maradona, who described Mario Kempes as the "great promoter of Argentine football" in his autobiography. The Cordovan player is not only remembered for his goals, but also for his fair play: in his entire career in the Argentine national team he never received a red card.

Mario Kempes after retirement

One of the top facts about Mario Kempes is that after his retirement he spent his time coaching different teams. In general, he had short spells at some of the clubs in various countries. In Indonesia, he directed Pelita Jaya as well as playing as a footballer. In 1997 Mario Kempes trained KS Lushnja from Albania - from where he left after the financial bankruptcy of the country.

At present, Mario Kempes works as a commentator for football matches for ESPN in its Latin American version. 

In 2012 it was announced that, along with his co-worker Fernando Palomo , Mario Kempes would be the Latin American commentator for the FIFA 13 video game. He is also a commentator for FIFA 14 , FIFA 15 , FIFA 16 , FIFA 17 , FIFA 18 , FIFA 19 , FIFA 20 and FIFA 21 .

Mario Kempes style

Mario Kempes was a centre-forward that was known for his powerful left foot, ease of scoring, speed, courage and skill. He was always a second ahead in time than the rest of the players. His reaction capacity was incredible, which, accompanied by excellent physical conditions and an enviable shot, made him a very complete striker. He also had a deadly headers.

Diego Maradona said about him, “Mario is a phenomenon as a guy and as a player. We are all very grateful to him for the 1978 World Cup. He deserves a tribute from Argentina. I love him."

Mario Kempes personal life

Mario Kempes was the champion of Argentina in 1978 as he lifted the World Cup and became the best goal scorer of the tournament. In the same year he married María Vicenta Moll, a Valencian with whom he had his first three children. The matador separated from her in 1995 after 17 years relationship. His children from his first relationship are Magali, Arianne and Mario.

Mario Kempes married his second wife, the Venezuelan Julia after a while. He has a daughter, Natasha from Julia.

One of the

top facts about Mario Kempes

is that on 30 September, the former Argentine player underwent a successful heart operation due to an arterial obstruction.

Mario Kempes biography has been published in the book "El Matador", written by journalist Federico Chaine with a foreword by coach César Luis Menotti, and edited by Homo Sapiens Ediciones.

Mario Kempes quotes

"Neither my goals nor the final itself, what I will always remember is the joy on people's faces." - Mario Kempes in 1978.

Mario Kempes achievements

Valencia

• Copa del Rey in 1978–79

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1979–80

• UEFA Super Cup in 1980

River Plate

• Primera División in 1981

Pelita Jaya

• Galatama in 1993–94

Argentina

• FIFA World Cup in 1978

Individual

• Argentine Primera División top scorers in 1974 Nacional, 1976 Metropolitan

• Pichichi Trophy in 1977, 1978

• FIFA World Cup Golden Boot in 1978

• FIFA World Cup Golden Ball in 1978

• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team in 1978

• Ballon d'Or in 1978

• Onze d'Or in 1978

• Olimpia de Plata in 1978

• South American Footballer of the Year in 1978

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup top scorers in 1979–80

• FIFA 100 in 2004

• South American Player of the Century: Ranking No. 23 in 2006

• Golden Foot in 2007, as football legend

• AFA Team of All Time

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