The Other Side of César Luis Menotti
César Luis Menotti, one of the legends of Argentine football, passed away this Sunday at the age of 85. A star who shone on the sidelines, carrying with him a successful style that many tried to emulate. However, on the field, he was a player who stood out above the rest.
"Football is a cultural fact," César Luis Menotti described his first experience playing football, where he earned "good money" for his extraordinary performance in the Carcarañense League. While Central and Newell's tried to recruit him, his father protected him:
"My old man kicked them out. He said football was for playing among friends, he was very strict about studying. He checked everything," he stated in an interview with El Gráfico.
Finally, he agreed to a trial with Rosario Central, where he debuted and stood out as the great player he was.
"I scored both goals and we won. They called me to play for the Reserve against the First team on Wednesday, already on the field. And I scored two goals again, one of them #$%#$%: a throw-in, I'll never forget it, I feigned stopping it, let it go by and volleyed it... It caused a stir," he pointed out.
Menotti was a champion with Boca as a player in the 1964-1965 season, a season where he shared the squad with the idol of the "Xeneize Club," Antonio Rattín. However, despite his tremendous footballing success, where he even played for Pelé's Santos, he was always remembered for being "crazy about football."
"Beyond having fun, I learned a lot and continued learning all my life. I'm a crazy person who always saw things in footballers that they didn't even see themselves. I stole dribbles, argued. I always liked to play everything. And play well," he recalled.
Years later, he would cement his legacy as the coaching legend he is, after debuting as a manager at Newell's, where he had a brief stint until 1971 when he arrived at Huracán and led the team to win the Metropolitano 1973 with a historic team that is still fondly remembered to this day. Later on, he would move to Barcelona to coach Maradona and managed to win the Copa del Rey, the Copa de la Liga, and the Supercopa Española.
The pinnacle of Menotti's coaching career was when he led the Argentine national team to win the 1978 FIFA World Cup, the first in history for the "Albiceleste". A year later, he achieved victory in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Japan, with Maradona as the standout player.
