After initially making a name for himself in Argentina, Kempes soon moved to Spain and showed his class immediately, topping La Liga’s scoring charts in his first two seasons in Spanish football. 
Tall, rangy and almost impossible to dispossess, The man the Argentinian fans called ‘The Matador’ featured in three World Cup tournaments, 1974, 1978 and 1982. He failed to make an impression in 74 and 86, but in 1978, Kempes was the King.
In ’78, Kempes was the tournament’s top scorer, netting six times, including two goals in the final against Holland. His international career ended with 18 World Cup appearances, just three behind the record at the time. Just as Diego Maradona was the hero of Argentina in 1986, so Mario Kempes was the top dog in 1978, when he stood alone as the World’s premier striker.