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 Pichichi Trophy twice with Valencia CF where he amassed 116 goals in 184 league games. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
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.
Club career
Kempes was born in
Bell 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 the Talleres reserves.
Kempes' career started at local club Instituto, where he played alongside Osvaldo Ardiles before quickly moving on to Rosario Central, where he established himself as a remarkable goalscorer, scoring 85 goals in 105 matches, prompting Valencia CF to sign him. 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 Pichichi Trophy, 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 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 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 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, he had failed to get on the score-sheet in West 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 the tournament.
After leaving Valencia in 1984, Kempes spent two years at Hércules in nearby Alicante before spending six years at various 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 in Indonesia, Chile and Albania during the 1990s.
International career
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 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.
[Argentina vs Poland – World Cup 1978 – full match – part 4/8 @YouTube] This resulted in a penalty kick that was promptly saved by
Ubaldo Fillol.
[ FIFA.com 1978 World Cup Match Report – Argentina – Poland] 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.
Style of play
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.
Managerial career
Kempes made his full-time managing debut in Albania. His brief spell with
KS Lushnja 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.
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
Club Blooming in 2000. Previously, he had worked as assistant coach for Uruguayan manager Héctor Núñez in
Valencia CF and as a player-manager of
Liga Indonesia champions Pelita Jaya.
Broadcasting career
He currently works as a football analyst and commentator in Spanish for
ESPN Deportes (
ESPN's Spanish-language version). With Fernando Palomo and Ciro Procuna, he provides the commentary in the Latin American version of the
FIFA franchise video games starting from
FIFA 13 up until
FIFA 23. He also serves as a commentator on the
EA Sports FC series, beginning with
EA Sports FC 24.
Career statistics
Club
| + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition |
|
|
| 11 |
| 33 |
| 1975 | 43 |
| 1976 | 21 |
|
| 24 |
| 1977–78 | 39 |
| 1978–79 | 21 |
| 1979–80 | 33 |
| 1980–81 | 11 |
|
| 16 |
| 1982 | 0 |
|
| 13 |
| 1983–84 | 11 |
|
| 1 |
| 1985–86 | 10 |
|
| 7 |
| 10 |
| 9 |
| 1989–90 | 15 |
|
| 5 |
| 1991–92 | 2 |
|
| 5 |
| 10 |
|
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and year |
|
| Argentina | 0 |
| 4 |
| 3 |
| 7 |
| 0 |
| 6 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
|
- Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kempes goal.
| + List of international goals scored by Mario Kempes |
|
| Exhibition game |
| Friendly |
| 3 | Friendly |
| 2–2 |
| 1975 Copa América |
| 6 | 1975 Copa América |
| 10–0 |
| Roca Cup 1976 |
| Friendly |
| 10 | 1978 FIFA World Cup |
| 2–0 |
| 12 | 1978 FIFA World Cup |
| 3–0 |
| 14 | 1978 FIFA World Cup |
| 2–1 |
Honours
Rosario Central
-
Primera División runner-up: 1974 Metropolitano, 1976 Argentine Primera Division Nacional
Valencia
-
Copa del Rey: 1978–79
-
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1979–80
-
UEFA Super Cup: 1980
River Plate
-
Primera División: 1981 Nacional
Pelita Jaya
Argentina
Individual
-
Argentine Primera División top scorers: 1974 Nacional, 1976 Metropolitan
-
Pichichi Trophy: 1977, 1978
-
FIFA World Cup Golden Boot: 1978
-
FIFA World Cup Golden Ball: 1978
-
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1978
-
Ballon d'Or: 1978 - Le nouveau palmarès (the new winners)
[Crépin, Timothé (2 December 2015). "Pelé devait être le recordman" (in French). France Football.]
-
Onze d'Or: 1978
-
Olimpia de Plata: 1978
-
South American Footballer of the Year: 1978
-
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup top scorers: 1979–80
-
FIFA 100: 2004
-
South American Player of the Century: Ranking Nº 23: 2006
[ South American – Player of the Century Retrieved on 3 January 2009]
-
Golden Foot: 2007, as football legend
-
Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes: 2010, The stadium in Córdoba, Argentina was named after him.
-
AFA Team of All Time (published 2015)
-
IFFHS Argentina All Times Dream Team (Team B): 2021
External links
