Photo caption, César Luis Menotti managed to lead Argentina to win its first World Cup in 1978. Article information
- Author, Editorial
- Scroll, BBC News World
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5 mayo 2024
César Luis Menotti, the coach who led Argentina to win the first soccer world championship in 1978, died this Sunday at the age of 85 in Buenos Aires.
The news was announced by the Argentine Football Association, AFA, on its X account:
“The Argentine Football Association regrets to report with great sadness the death of César Luis Menotti, current Director of National Teams and former World Champion coach of @Argentina. Goodbye, dear Flaco!”, the message reads.
Menotti served in recent years as the AFA national team director, after having had a successful career as a player and coach.
As a player he was part of Rosario Central and other South American teams, but it was his work as a coach that made him known globally.
His first achievement as a coach was with Huracán, a team he led to its first professional title in 1973.
For this reason he was given the technical direction of the Argentine national team.
His appointment would change the situation of a team that, despite having outstanding players, never seemed to live up to its potential when it came to winning tournaments.
In the 1978 World Cup, held precisely on Argentine soil, Menotti led the local team to win its first world title.
A triumph that put an end to decades of failures.
Offensive style
image copyrightEPA
Caption, In 1983, Menotti managed FC Barcelona, where Diego Armando Maradona was then playing.
In the 1982 World Cup he again led Argentina, but the team was eliminated in the second round, despite already having a young Diego Maradona in its ranks.
Then, Menotti left the albiceleste that was under the direction of Carlos Bilardo, who with a style of play focused on results – completely contrary to Menotti’s – led the team to win the World Cup in 1986 and finish runners-up in 1990.
Menotti’s commitment to attacking football made him a kind of icon for the romantics of that sport and generated a polarization of styles and a fierce rivalry between “Menottismo” and “Bilardismo.”
But Flaco not only bet on the attack on the field, but also off it, which is why he made many enemies due to his frontal and direct statements.
His decisions did not escape controversy either, and these include the criticism he received for having coached the Argentine team during the period in which that country was governed by a military regime (1976-1983) noted for numerous abuses and violations of rights. humans.
After his time with the Albiceleste team, Menotti managed top teams such as Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid, Boca Juniors and River Plate.
However, he was questioned for the few successes he achieved at the head of these clubs.
Menotti used to argue that long processes were required to obtain good results, but the patience of club managers was usually shorter than his.
Thus, when they began to criticize his poor performance, he defended himself by saying that it was not possible to achieve success in such a short time and ended up leaving.
Caption, In 2019, Menotti took over as director of AFA national teams.
He had a love-hate relationship with Maradona, whom he made debut in Argentina’s adult team at age 17 in 1977, but whom he excluded from the team that won the World Cup in 1978.
Maradona never forgave him, despite which, when asked who was the best coach he had worked with, he always mentioned Menotti.
Maradona, like Mario Kempes and Osvaldo Ardiles – two key players on the Argentina team in the 1978 and 1982 World Cups – was a faithful representative of the offensive style of play that Menotti promoted.
El Flaco closed his career as a coach in Mexican soccer, after spending time in Puebla and Tecos between 2006 and 2007.
In recent years, Menotti had dedicated himself to being the AFA national team director, where he was part of the team that won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
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