Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmaɾjo alˈβeɾto ˈkempes ˈtʃjoði], Italian: [ˈkjɔːdi]; born 15 July 1954) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker or attacking midfielder.

[3][4][5] 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.

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.

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.

Before the 1978 World Cup, Kempes was the only foreign-based player on the list of coach César Luis Menotti's Argentina national team.

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.

Previously, he had worked as assistant coach for Uruguayan manager Héctor Núñez in Valencia and as a player-manager of Indonesian League champions Pelita Jaya.

Rosario Central Valencia River Plate Pelita Jaya Argentina Individual "Research: Soccer Net USA".