Mario Alberto Kempes, figure of Argentina’s world title in 1978, ruled out any comparison between his performance and that of Diego Maradona in 1986 and Lionel Messi in 2022. For the former forward, both belong to a different category within the history of football.
“I don’t think so, because there was no one to play alongside those two monsters”said Kempes when asked if his performance in the 1978 World Cup could be compared to that of the other two great Argentine legends.
El Matador explained that the main difference lies in the capacity for anticipation that Maradona and Messi had on the field. According to him, both of them understood the game several seconds before the rest of the soccer players, which allowed them to constantly make differences.
Kempes also recalled his experience sharing the field with Maradona and highlighted the soccer intelligence of the world champion in Mexico 1986. “That’s why they are those phenomena that football gives and thank God we had them on our side”he expressed.
Although he avoided comparing himself to Maradona and Messi, Kempes claimed the value of his contribution to the 1978 title. The former forward recalled that he was decisive in the final phase of the tournament and stressed that no achievement is achieved only through individuality.
“The phenomena win you games, the group wins you championships”stated Kempes when highlighting the importance of collective work in Argentina’s world titles.
El Matador also analyzed the National Team’s present and was satisfied with the debut against Algeria. In addition, he praised the level of Messi, who scored a hat-trick and was applauded when leaving the field.
Kempes highlighted that Messi maintains his competitive spirit intact at 39 years old and considered it key to have won the first game, regardless of the form, due to the difficulty that the debut historically represents for the big teams.