He was 1.93 tall, he was a basketball player on a soccer field. A five with good handling that hit the ball with a cannon. It arose in the club of which he and his family were fans: Rosario Central. He went to Racing, to Boca, he went to the United States to the New York Generals and for a great performance there against Santos he was hired by Santos himself. There he passed the ball to Pelé and Coutinho, no less. But he was already bitten by the directing bug and he retired young. And, to begin with, the coach transcended the footballer.
At only 32 years old he was given Huracán. It was in April 1971. It would be a historic decision for Argentine soccer. Like the ovenbird, he built the nest until it was beautiful. Brindisi and Babington came from the lower ranks, Houseman was signed for two pesos by Defensores de Belgrano, others arrived free… This is how every fan’s dream called “Hurricane of ’73” was put together, a chamber orchestra, a harmonious team that played leather in a heavenly way. Already in the first game of the championship he beat Argentinos Juniors 6 to 1. He scored five, four against several others… But the numbers were irrelevant: what was fascinating was the game. Central, in Rosario, was winning 5 to 0 and the spectacle and superiority was such that the Centralist fans stood up and began to applaud. Nobody else achieved that.
That masterpiece elevated the young César Luis Menotti to the highest consideration and the following year he was named technical director of the National Team. Argentina had always been an important football, a hotbed of the world, but never reflected in a large tournament. Menotti set conditions to assume: that the national team, a devalued, disorganized entity, was a total priority. The footballers refused to wear the Albiceleste, the clubs did not let them go, the national team met a few days before each tournament and added failure after failure. Total improvisation. Menotti changed the history of blue and white football through one word: commitment. He committed the players, the leaders, the journalism, the country. And from there, the country of Di Stéfano, Maradona and Messi went to five world finals, won three, was crowned youth world champion 6 times, won 2 Olympic Games, 3 Copa América, topped the World Ranking of the FIFA. He consumed all the potential that the country had shown since the beginning of the twentieth century. From that moment on, the players fell in love with the team and come swimming from Europe if necessary. He generated a mystique that remains fifty years later.
César Luis Menotti
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Of course, for this you need to persuade the actor. It was never a problem, Menotti’s fantastic verb entered the players easily, he had a notable power of conviction. “Menotti convinced by seduction, Bilardo by insistence,” described Jorge Valdano. Faryd Mondragón, the great Colombian goalkeeper who coincided with him at Independiente, corroborates: “We had a defender with tremendous determination and strength, although not as technical, Arzeno. Menotti convinced him to come out playing and the Pole began to play the ball at his foot, he was a pleasure. Watching the team play from behind was a delight.”
Faryd told another tasty anecdote. “We were going to play a fundamental classic against Boca in La Bombonera, which was the only confrontation between Menotti and Bilardo. Independiente won 1 to 0. On Saturday night, it was half past nine, I came down from my room and as I passed by the cafeteria I saw Menotti at a table having coffee with his collaborators. He tells me: “Come on Faryd, sit down. Have a whiskey.’ Professor, a whiskey…?, I responded. ‘Have a whiskey, nothing happens, it will help you sleep better.’ That’s how it was, it gave you confidence, it relaxed all situations. I never saw him angry, although he made strong decisions.”
One of those decisions, perhaps the most discussed of his life, was to leave Maradona out of the ’78 World Cup. Even at 17 years old, Diego was already the best Argentine player along with Bochini. And he had already made his debut in the National
Team. But when giving the final list, three of the 25 names had to be taken. And one of them was Maradona. Interviewed that same night, Maradona was as if stunned, shocked, he couldn’t get over his astonishment. “If they catch him, my family will kill him, they want to hit him,” he said on the 10th. He also marginalized Bochini. Then, Argentina was world champion and the title covered up the coach’s decision. But he would have given it the shine that the National Team needed. Argentina won that World Cup with good looks, with the courage of Passarella, Kempes, Fillol, Luque, Tarantini, not with the football that the Rosario coach proposed. What never happened before: the local team had the group of death: the France of Platini, Lacombe, Genghini, Trésor, Bossis, Battiston, the Italy of Bettega, Causio, Paolo Rossi, Scirea, Gentile, Paolo Conti, Tardelli, Cabrini , the last great Hungary, the Poland of Lato, Szarmach, Boniek, Zmuda, Tomaszewski… And then Brazil, a Peru with Cubillas, Sotil, Percy Rojas, Velásquez, Muñante, Chumpitaz… All difficult. Good play was not enough, we had to resort to determination.
Diego Maradona and César Luis Menotti
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He was a controversial individual, who generated unconditional love and visceral hatred. But he felt comfortable in that sea of controversy, he was not intimidated by it. His almost irrational confrontation with Carlos Bilardo opened a crack in football, not only Argentine but also Latin American. Playing well or winning as it were, which both embodied, divided the public, the football environment and, above all, journalism. One was a menottista or a bilardista. And that generated strong personal resentment, even enmity. The dichotomy lasted for decades.
Bilardo declared as soon as he took over to replace Menotti: “In the 78 World Cup there were no Alonso, Bochini or Maradona, players who respond to that idiosyncrasy (that of the talented). The World Cup was won with (more seasoned footballers, such as) Luque, Passarella, Gallego and Kempes.” Menotti, who could be anything but stupid: responded, always through the media. He took advantage of a defeat by Argentina U-23 led by Bilardo against Valladolid of Spain and returned the ball: “You can’t play a game the next day after getting off the plane after a trip to Europe. “On this team there were guys who were highly valued and lost prestige.” Bilardo became angry: “I read the newspaper and I went crazy, I had to take two Lexotanil, but nothing worked for me. “He was poisoned,” he acknowledged. And the next day he responded at a press conference: “When I took over the national team the only thing I found was a chair and a desk. There was no player folder, there was no calendar, there were no contacts, nothing. This country needs less talking and more work. “We are tired of verse.” It was the beginning of a true dialectical and style war.
He played with Pelé at Santos, he was a close friend of Cr
uyff, he coached Maradona and, in his last stage as director of national teams, he shared the AFA grounds with Messi. At 85, Flaco Menotti, a world soccer figure, left.
Last tango…
Jorge Barraza
For TIME
@JorgeBarrazaOK
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