Kempes reveals why Argentina players still do not speak to him | OneFootball

Mario Kempes, Argentina’s 1978 World Cup hero, was among the dignitaries at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City as Argentina began their campaign with a 3-0 win over Algeria, Lionel Messi scoring all three. He has since explained why, he joked, none of the current squad speaks to him yet.

"I got so worked up that none of the players talks to me yet," he said with a smile, recalling the 1-2 defeat to Saudi Arabia that opened the 2022 World Cup. He told República Fútbol.

"After that first game with Saudi Arabia I got on the bus to the hotel, they called me from Córdoba and I said: 'You cannot play like that, you do not win a World Cup like that'."

"But good fortune, which every champion must have, came along, they picked themselves up little by little, they recovered with Mexico, little by little, until they reached the final and won it."

The former Valencia forward led Argentina to their first world title on home soil in 1978, a triumph that began the nation’s three-star legacy.

Source: Superdeporte