Mario Kempes

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Kempes.
Mario Alberto Kempes

Kempes in 2006
Personal information
Full name Mario Alberto Kempes
Date of birth (1954-07-15) 15 July 1954
Place of birth Bell Ville, Argentina
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Striker
Youth career
Instituto
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1970–1973 Instituto 13 (11)
1974–1976 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)
1992–1993 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

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Mario Alberto Kempes (born 15 July 1954 in Bell Ville, Córdoba) is a retired Argentine footballer who played as a striker. His father, Mario, also a footballer, inspired him to play from a young age. 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.

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 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

Kempes was nicknamed El Toro and El Matador. During his first stint with Valencia, he won two consecutive Pichichis, scoring 24 and 28 goals in 1976–77 and 1977–78. 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 notorious goalscorer, which prompted a move to Valencia, where he would go on to win the Copa del Rey, the European Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. 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 his goal at the 1978 FIFA World Cup final match v. Netherlands.

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. Two of these goals were 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. More notoriously in the 1978 cup, Kempes 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]

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 videogames FIFA 13, FIFA 14, FIFA 15 and FIFA 16

Career statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Argentina League Cup League Cup South America Total
1973InstitutoPrimera División1311
1974CentralPrimera División3629
19754935
19762221
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
1976–77ValenciaLa Liga342400----3424
1977–7834281211----4639
1978–793012103--634618
1979–80322222--994333
1980–8112910--521811
Argentina League Cup League Cup South America Total
1981River PlatePrimera División2915
198200
Spain League Copa del Rey Copa de la Liga Europe Total
1982–83ValenciaLa Liga27131020803813
1983–841584320--1911
1984–85HérculesLa Liga17120
1985–8621921
Austria League Austrian Cup League Cup Europe Total
1986–87First ViennaBundesliga207
1987–88Sankt PöltenFirst League3210
1988–89Bundesliga299
1989–903515
1990–91KremserBundesliga215
1991–92182
Chile League Copa Chile League Cup South America Total
1995Fernández VialPrimera B115
Indonesia League Piala Indonesia League Cup Asia Total
1995–96Pelita JayaLiga Indonesia15101510
Total Argentina 149111
Spain 222126
Austria 15548
Chile 115
Indonesia 15101510
Career total 552300

International

[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.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 22 April 1974 Estadio José Amalfitani, Buenos Aires  Romania 2–1 2–1 Friendly
2. 18 May 1974 Parc des Princes, Paris  France 1–0 1–0 Friendly
3. 22 May 1974 Wembley Stadium, London  England 1–2 2–2 Friendly
4. 2–2
5. 3 August 1975 Estadio Olímpico, Caracas  Venezuela 2–1 5–1 1975 Copa América
6. 10 August 1975 Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario  Venezuela 5–0 11–0 1975 Copa América
7. 10–0
8. 27 February 1976 Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires  Brazil 2–1 2–1 Roca Cup 1976
9. 20 March 1976 Central Lenin Stadium, Kiev  Soviet Union 1–0 1–0 Friendly
10. 14 June 1978 Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario  Poland 1–0 2–0 1978 World Cup
11. 2–0
12. 21 June 1978 Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario  Peru 1–0 6–0 1978 World Cup
13. 3–0
14. 25 June 1978 Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires  Netherlands 1–0 3–1 1978 World Cup Final
15. 2–1

Honours

Club

Valencia
River Plate

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 at National-Football-Teams.com
  5. ↑ "FIFA World Cup Golden Ball Awards". RSSSF. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  6. ↑ South American – Player of the Century Retrieved on 3 January 2009
  7. ↑ "Golden Foot Award". Goldenfoot.com. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  8. ↑ /
  9. ↑ /

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

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