Long hair and a messy spot that turned white over the years, an important plant and an inseparable cigarette between his fingers. César Luis Menotti in his purest form and always willing to reason, to spin the ball, to find a way to play and win, to philosophize about football. Because Menotti, who died this Sunday at the age of 85, was above all the most followed sports philosopher in the world. A creator of concepts, a walking school.
Yes, he was world champion with Argentina in a time as turbulent as 1978 in his homeland and with the military murdering many compatriots four steps from the River Monument. Yes, he coached Diego Armando Maradona, especially in afternoon sessions, at Barça, where he arrived urgently to replace Udo Lattek. He did not finish triumphing at the Camp Nou but he left his mark and indelible images like a shirtless man sitting on a ball. Yes, his career was eternal and he was still the director of the Argentine national teams.
But beyond the achievements, the titles and the numbers on his resume, what was important in Menotti was his taste for football, the verb, the magic of his conversation. When a hot topic arose that affected this sport or when Barça was experiencing a time of glory, there was never any hesitation in seeking Menotti’s authoritative voice to analyze the moment, to draw the water clear. With few characters there was this unanimity when it came to considering him a hero. With Johan Cruyff, of course, and more in Barcelona. With Arrigo Sacchi, too, for innovating with the great Milan of the Dutch. And with Menotti.
The coach who led Argentina to the title in 1978, under the dictatorship of General Videla, and with Daniel Passarella as captain and Mario Alberto Kempes as matador, always marked his personality. He did not take a very young Maradona to that World Cup but then, as it could not be otherwise, he gave him the leadership of the albiceleste first in the 1979 Youth World Cup and then in the tournament that was held in Spain in 1982. He could not repeat success and then he would land in Barcelona.
It was not his only destiny in Spanish football. He would also coach Atlético de Madrid. From having Josep Lluís Núñez as president, he now had Jesús Gil y Gil in the box. What times Menotti lived through.
But it was already taught because Argentine soccer has never been easy. In his country he was the coach of the two great antagonists, Boca Júniors in a couple of stages and River Plate. Although one of the issues that marked him was experienced during his time as a footballer, as a midfielder. He was Pelé’s teammate at Santos.
That is, he played with Pelé, coached Maradona and worked with Messi from his different functions within the Argentine Federation. At the same time he was a recognized admirer of Cruyff and Guardiola’s football.
Because that was Menotti’s school, the opposite of that of Carlos Salvador Bilardo, the coach who led Argentina to its second World Cup in Mexico 1986. If Bilardo was the miscreant, the rip-and-tear football and even the trap, Menotti It represented the touch and the pause ad nauseam. In his bag there are not endless titles but there is wisdom. Menottistas against bilardistas. Two styles of football. Two ways to face life.
Away from executive functions but always willing to give advice, in Argentina he is also seen as a key character in the birth of the current Albiceleste project, which resulted in the title in Qatar with Lionel Scaloni on the bench and Messi in charge on the field.
Until the last moment he was connected to the ball, the umbilical cord of his existence. He had been hospitalized for severe anemia and could not overcome this match. His body goes out, but his voice, in football, will always be heard.
