At international level, Kempes was the focal point of Argentina's1978 World Cup win where he scored twice in thefinal and received theGolden Boot as top goalscorer. He also won theGolden 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 withGarrincha in 1962 andPaolo Rossi in 1982.
Mario Kempes during his period inRiver Plate, 1981
Kempes was born inBell Ville,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 theTalleres reserves.
Kempes' career started at local clubInstituto, where he played alongsideOsvaldo Ardiles before quickly moving on toRosario Central, where he established himself as a remarkable goalscorer, scoring 85 goals in 105 matches, promptingValencia to sign him. AtMestalla he would go on to win theCopa del Rey, theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup and theUEFA Super Cup as well as two consecutivePichichis, 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 thepenalty area with his surging runs towards goal and was not the traditional center-forward operating solely inside the box. Manydefenders found difficulty handling his attacking style.
Before the1978 World Cup, Kempes was the only foreign-based player on the list of coachCésar 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 inLa 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, he had failed to get on the score-sheet inWest Germany 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 thetournament.
After leaving Valencia in 1984, Kempes spent two years atHércules in nearbyAlicante before spending six years at variousAustrian 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 inIndonesia,Chile andAlbania during the 1990s.
Kempes celebrating one of his two goals at the1978 FIFA World Cup final against Netherlands in Buenos Aires
During his club career he won 43 caps forArgentina and scored 20 times. He represented his country in threeWorld Cups in1974,1978 and1982, winning the competition in 1978. He was theleading 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.[7] This resulted in a penalty kick that was promptly saved byUbaldo Fillol.[8] His goals in the 1978 World Cup Final were his last for Argentina at the age of just 23.
In 1978, he was namedSouth American Football Player of the Year ("El Mundo," Caracas, Venezuela). He was named byPelé as one of thetop 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.
He was a box number 9 who stood out for his powerful left foot, goal-scoring prowess, speed, courage, and skill. He was always a second ahead of the rest of the players, his reaction time was incredible, which, combined with excellent physical condition and an enviable shot, made him a very complete striker. He also possessed a lethal header.[9][10][11]
Kempes made his full-time managing debut in Albania. His brief spell withLushnja 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.[1] The following year, he landed a job with Venezuelan sideMineros de Guayana. In 1999, Kempes moved to Bolivia and managedThe Strongest, before taking charge ofBlooming in 2000. Previously, he had worked as assistant coach for Uruguayan managerHéctor Núñez inValencia and as a player-manager ofIndonesian League championsPelita Jaya.
He currently works as a football analyst and commentator in Spanish forESPN Deportes (ESPN's Spanish-language version). With Fernando Palomo and Ciro Procuna, he provides the commentary in the Latin American version of theFIFA franchise video games starting fromFIFA 13 up untilFIFA 23. He also serves as a commentator on theEA Sports FC series, beginning withEA Sports FC 24.
^ab"One's Kompany: just where have all the player-managers gone?".FourFourTwo. 22 May 2019. Retrieved1 November 2023.Mario Kempes - Pelita Jaya and KS Lushnja (1996) | In his early forties, Kempes chanced his arm as player-manager of Albanian side KS Lushnja. His time in the Balkans was short-lived before he endured a similar fate in Indonesia with Pelita Jaya
^Warrington, Mark WhiteContributions from Declan; Haugstad, Thore; Yokhin, Michael; Stafford-Bloor, Seb; Spurling, Jon; Murray, Andrew; Hess, Alex; Alves, Marcus; published, Alex Reid (5 September 2023)."Ranked! The 100 best football players of all time".fourfourtwo.com. Retrieved18 May 2024.
^"La Selección de Todos los Tiempos" [The Team of All Time] (in Spanish). Argentine Football Association. 4 January 2016. Archived fromthe original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved29 January 2018.
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