44 years since Kempes and Maradona’s first meeting in Spain | OneFootball

It is 44 years since Kempes and Maradona first faced each other in Spain. The meeting came on Valencia’s 1982/83 home opener against Barcelona at Mestalla, with Kempes back before his own fans.

As CiberChe notes, the pair had first crossed paths on 10 April 1981 in Boca Juniors v River Plate.

Valencia had finished fifth the previous season and began with fanfare, Kempes returning and Barcelona fielding the newly signed Maradona.

Miljan Miljanić’s side won 2-1 after trailing to Maradona’s 20th-minute strike. Tendillo levelled on 47 minutes, and Idígoras grabbed a late winner.

That season Valencia reached the quarter-finals, losing 1-2 and 3-1 to Anderlecht, who went on to lift the trophy.

La Liga proved arduous, with long spells in the relegation places before safety was clinched on the final day. A 1-0 win over Real Madrid, sealed by Miguel Tendillo, kept them up. In the Copa del Rey, they fell to Espanyol in the last 16.

Source: Superdeporte

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”