Mario Kempes

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Kempes was the focal point of Argentina's 1978 FIFA 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. He 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. Kempes was nicknamed El Toro and El Matador.

In Their Own Story

The stadium witnessed its most historic crowd on May 6, 2013, during the 9th round of the 2012–13 Torneo Argentino A. In a match that secured Talleres' promotion to Primera Nacional, 62,000 spectators packed the stands as they defeated San Jorge from Tucumán. Beyond football, the venue has hosted diverse sporting events, including Special Stages of the Rally Argentina in 2006 and 2007, and the 1982 World Boxing Association Super-Bantamweight title fight where Sergio Palma defeated Jorge Luján by unanimous decision after 15 rounds. The stadium's legacy continued with major finals, hosting Copa Argentina titles in 2015 and 2016, the 2015 Supercopa Argentina, and the Copa Sudamericana finals in both 2020 and 2022. It also staged the 2022 Copa de la Liga Profesional final between Boca Juniors and Tigre.

Reader's Guide

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 to sign him. At Mestalla he would go on to win the Copa del Rey, the European Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup as well as two consecutive Pichichis, 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. After leaving Valencia in 1984, Kempes spent two years at Hércules in nearby Alicante before spending six years at various Austrian 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. He currently works as a football analyst and commentator in Spanish for ESPN Deportes.

Did You Know?

• Kempes scored twice in the 1978 World Cup final against the Netherlands, including the game winner in extra time.
• He was the only foreign-based player on Argentina's 1978 World Cup squad.
• Kempes made his full-time managing debut in Albania, becoming the first foreign manager to sign a foreign player in Albanian football history.
• The stadium in Córdoba, Argentina, was named Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in 2010.