Mario Kempes

Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmaɾjo alˈβeɾto ˈkempes ˈtʃjoði]; born 15 July 1954) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. His father, Mario, also a footballer, inspired him to play from a young age. He is also widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. At the age of seven he began playing with a junior team and at fourteen, he joined the Talleres reserves. A prolific goalscorer, at club level he is best known for playing for Valencia, finishing as La Liga's top goalscorer twice, and amassing 116 goals in 184 league games for the club.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Kempes and the second or maternal family name is Chiodi.
Mario Alberto Kempes
Kempes playing for Valencia, circa 1982-84
Personal information
Full name Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi
Date of birth (1954-07-15) 15 July 1954
Place of birth Bell Ville, Argentina
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1961–1968 ?
1968–? Talleres
?–1970 Instituto
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1970–1973 Instituto 13 (11)
1973–1976 Rosario Central 107 (85)
1976–1981 Valencia 142 (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 Fernández Vial 11 (5)
1993–1994 Pelita Jaya 18 (12)
Total 555 (300)
National team
1973–1982 Argentina 43 (20)
Teams managed
1995–1996 Pelita Jaya
1996 Lushnja
1997–1998 Mineros de Guayana
1999 The Strongest
2000 Blooming
2000–2001 Independiente Petrolero
2001–2002 S.S.D. Casarano Calcio
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

At international level, Kempes was the focal point of Argentina's 1978 World Cup win where he scored twice in the final, 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 in 1962, and Paolo Rossi 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's 100th anniversary celebration.[1]

Club career
Mario Kempes during his period in River Plate, 1981

Kempes was nicknamed El Toro and El Matador. He was born in Bell Ville, Córdoba. His career started at local club Instituto, where he played alongside Osvaldo Ardiles before quickly moving on to Rosario Central, where he scored 85 goals in 105 matches and established himself as a remarkable goalscorer, which prompted a move to Valencia CF. At Mestalla he would go on to win the Copa del Rey, the European Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup as well as two consecutive Pichichis, scoring 24 and 28 goals in 1976–77 and 1977–78 seasons. Famous as a hard-working forward, he used to strike from outside the penalty area with his surging runs towards goal and was not the traditional center-forward operating solely inside the box. Many defenders 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 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 the top scorer in La Liga 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, 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 goal scorers in the tournament.

International career
Kempes celebrating one of his 2 goals at the 1978 FIFA World Cup final match v. Netherlands in Buenos Aires

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 in three braces: The first two in Argentina's first semifinal group stage match against Poland, another two against Peru, and the last two of these goals 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.[2] This resulted in a penalty kick that was promptly saved by Ubaldo Fillol.[3] 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 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 for the first time 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 worked as assistant coach for Uruguayan manager Héctor Núñez in Valencia, and as a player-manager of Indonesian League champions Pelita Jaya.

Commentary career

He currently works as a football analyst and commentator in Spanish for ESPN Deportes (ESPN's Spanish-language version). Moreover, he as well as Fernando Palomo and Ciro Procuna provide the commentary in the Latin American version of the FIFA franchise videogames FIFA 13, FIFA 14, FIFA 15, FIFA 16, FIFA 17, FIFA 18, FIFA 19 and FIFA 20.

Career statistics

Club
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Instituto1973Primera División13111311
Central1974Primera División36293629
197549354935
197622212221
Total 1078510785
Valencia1976–77La Liga342400----3424
1977–7834281211----4639
1978–79301210363--4618
1979–8032222299--4333
1980–811291052--1811
Total 1429525162014187125
River Plate1981Primera División29152915
19820000
Total 29152915
Valencia1982–83La Liga27131080203813
1983–841584300202111
Total 42215380405924
Hércules1984–85La Liga17120191
1985–86219212310
Total 3810414211
First Vienna1986–87Austrian Bundesliga207207
Sankt Pölten1987–88First League32103210
1988–89Austrian Bundesliga299299
1989–9035153515
Total 96349634
Kremser SC1990–91Austrian Bundesliga215215
1991–92182182
Total 397397
Fernández Vial1995Primera B115115
Pelita Jaya1996Liga Indonesia15101510
Career total 5523003420618334

International
Source:[4]
Argentina national team
YearAppsGoals
197310
1974104
197543
197697
197700
197876
197900
198000
198130
198290
Total4320

International goals
Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.22 April 1974José Amalfitani Stadium, Buenos Aires Romania2–12–1Friendly
2.18 May 1974Parc des Princes, Paris France1–01–0Friendly
3. 22 May 1974Wembley Stadium, London England1–22–2Friendly
4.2–2
5.3 August 1975Estadio Olímpico, Caracas Venezuela2–15–11975 Copa América
6. 10 August 1975Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario Venezuela5–011–01975 Copa América
7.10–0
8.27 February 1976Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires Brazil2–12–1Roca Cup 1976
9.20 March 1976Central Stadium, Kiev Soviet Union1–01–0Friendly
10. 14 June 1978Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario Poland1–02–01978 World Cup
11.2–0
12. 21 June 1978Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario Peru1–06–01978 World Cup
13.3–0
14. 25 June 1978Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires Netherlands1–03–11978 World Cup Final
15.2–1

Honours

Club

Valencia

River Plate

Pelita Jaya

International

Argentina

Individual

References
  1. "Pele's list of the greatest". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  2. Argentina vs Poland – World Cup 1978 – full match – part 4/8 @YouTube
  3. FIFA.com 1978 World Cup Match Report – Argentina – Poland
  4. "Mario Kempes". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  5. "Indonesia – List of (Semi-)Professional Champions". Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  6. "FIFA World Cup Golden Ball Awards". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  7. Crépin, Timothé (2 December 2015). "Pelé devait être le recordman" (in French). France Football.
  8. South American – Player of the Century Retrieved on 3 January 2009
  9. "Golden Foot Award". Goldenfoot.com. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  10. "La Selección de Todos los Tiempos" [The Team of All Time] (in Spanish). Argentine Football Association. 4 January 2016. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.

"Research: Soccer Net USA". Soccer Net USA. Archived from the original on 16 November 2006. Retrieved 25 November 2006.

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