The person who introduced Argentine football to the world: Who is Mario Kempes?

He was born in 1954. He started playing football in Argentina's Rosario club. His European journey began in 1976; Kempes, who was transferred to Spain's Valencia club, made history as Argentina's top scorer with 6 goals in the 1978 World Cup, which was held in Argentina and rumors of match-fixing are still being voiced today. After returning from the World Cup, he came to Valencia and became the top scorer in the Spanish League for two years.

Who is Mario Kempes?

Mario Alberto Kempes (born 15 July 1954, Bell Ville) is a former Argentine football player. Playing in the forward position, Kempes was one of the most important stars of the 1978 FIFA World Cup, which was held in Argentina and won the cup by Argentina. He also won the title of the cup's top scorer with 6 goals in this tournament, which is still under debate.

Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi (born 15 July 1954) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker or attacking midfielder. A prolific goalscorer, he finished as La Liga's top goalscorer twice with Valencia where he amassed 116 goals in 184 league games. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

He was the only player in the Argentine squad who played for a foreign team. In 1978, he was given the South American Footballer of the Year award by the Venezuela-based South American newspaper "El Mundo". He was also included in the FIFA list of the 125 most successful players in the history of world football, selected by Pelé at the request of FIFA in 2004.

Although Mario Kempes played in the 1974 FIFA World Cup, he made his name known after he was transferred to the Spanish team Valencia. He became Spain's top scorer in his first two seasons at Valencia and later became a household name with two goals in the 1978 FIFA World Cup final. He also played in the 1982 FIFA World Cup. He won 51 national matches with the Argentina jersey.

Kempes is also among the legendary players of River Plate and Valencia clubs. He succeeded in scoring 95 goals in 143 matches with Valencia CF. He left football in 1996. After quitting active football, he started working as a coach. His first experience was with the Albanian team KS Lushnja. However, his contract was canceled in a short time. He later coached teams in Bolivia and Uruguay.

Some of his achievements:

FIFA World Cup (1978)

World Cup Top Scorer (1978, 6 goals)

UEFA Super Cup - 1980 Valencia

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup - 1980 Valencia

Copa del Rey - 1979 Valencia

Nacional Argentina - 1981 River Plate

Footballer of the Year in Argentina - 1978

South American Footballer of the Year (award for "El Mundo") - 1978

La Liga Goal Kingdoms

1976 - 1977 (24 goals)

1977 - 1978 (28 goals)

A memory from the early years

March 5, 1972... The young man, who was sitting alone in his house in Bell Ville because his family was visiting relatives, was startled when the phone rang. He stood up and picked up the receiver. The voice on the other end of the line belonged to the secretary of the Instituto Atletico Central Cordoba club. He said that they would try him in the friendly match they would play five days later and hung up the phone. The carpenter he worked for was friends with the president of the Instituto. He was probably the one who did this favor...

The 17-year-old young artillery candidate bought his ticket and reached Cordoba with a three-hour bus ride. Coach Armando Rodriguez asked the young players he had gathered around him to introduce themselves. When it was his turn, his insecurity remained. A lie came out of his mouth:

— I'm Carlos Aguilera from Bell Ville.

Coach Rodriguez raised his head when he heard the name of the neighborhood:

— Do you know someone named Kempes? He lived there and was very nice. They call it a phenomenon.

- No sir, I don't know...

Mario Kempes' professional football adventure started with this little lie, the name Carlos Aguilera.