Cesar Luis Menotti, known as El Flaco ("the skinny one") (born November 5 1938 in Rosario) is an Argentine football (soccer) coach and former player.
Playing career
Menotti grew up in the Fisherton district of Rosario, and played for local clubs before a scout for Rosario Central picked him up. He played in the youth divisions while attending high school (he graduated as a chemical technician) and was signed by Central. He also played for the Argentine national football team and Pele's Santos FC. As a midfielder, he was recognized as an elegant yet sometimes ineffective player.
Early managerial career
After retiring from play, he became friends with coach Miguel Gitano Juarez, with whom he traveled to the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. Fascinated by the Brazilian style of play led by his pal Pele, he decided to become a coach himself.
His first significant success was achieving the 1973 Metropolitano title with Huracan, with a legendary attacking lineup: Rene Houseman, Miguel Brindisi, Roque Avallay, Carlos Babington, and Omar Larrosa, backed up by veteran midfielder Alfio Basile and left-back Jorge Carrascosa, known as el lobo ("the wolf"), who was the team captain.
After the fiasco of the 1974 FIFA World Cup, the Argentine Football Association top brass decided to offer Menotti the position of national coach. The political connections of Huracan strongman David Bracuto and union leader Paulino Niembro were critical in closing the deal.
National Coach
Preparations for the 1978 World Cup
Menotti was faced with an enormous challenge: Argentina had zero World Cup wins against Brazil's three, and was poised to host the 1978 FIFA World Cup. For many fans, it was "now or never". The political climate was deteriorating rapidly: in March 1976, a military coup was to depose President Isabel Martinez de Peron and install a fiercely repressive regime.
After a series of incidents in which Boca Juniors and River Plate denied their players to the national team in 1975, Menotti devised a scratch made up mostly from players out of Santa Fe and Cordoba provinces. Many players in that team made up the backbone of Menotti's team all the way to the 1982 FIFA World Cup: full-back Galvan, midfielders Ardiles, Gallego and Kempes, and centre-forward Luque. Other players from that team remained on the team with varying fortunes: goalkeeper Hugo Gatti, the Killer brothers (Daniel and Mario), Oviedo, and Daniel Valencia.
Menotti acknowledged the talent of Houseman and the rise of defensive powerhouse Daniel Passarella, even though both played in teams from Buenos Aires. Another source of top talent was the national team that won the 1975 Toulon youth championship, which included Boca's Alberto Tarantini and Jorge Valdano, who was transferred to Spanish side Alaves at a young age.
In the run-up to the 1978 World Cup, Menotti came under fire for favoring allegedly inferior players (e.g. improvised right-back Olguin over Vicente Pernia, and Valencia over Alonso and Bochini). At the goalkeeper position, Menotti eventually replaced Hugo Gatti with Ubaldo Fillol, who was less of a field player but gave more security under the goalposts. Menotti did call Alonso— up reluctantly, reputedly after suggestions from Admiral Lacoste, the navy officer who was CEO of the World Cup organization committee.
The 25-player team that trained for the 1978 World Cup needed trimming to the FIFA-regulated 22 names, so Menotti had to eject three players before the tournament. Those were Humberto Rafael Bravo, Victor Bottaniz and a 17-year-old prospect named Diego Armando Maradona.
1978 World Cup
Menotti's initial team was Fillol; Olguin, Galvan, Passarella, Tarantini; Ardiles, Gallego, Valencia; Houseman, Luque, Kempes. This team defeated Hungary and France without convincing critics, and then lost to Italy. Having achieved the second place in the qualifying round, Argentina was to play the second round in Rosario. Leopoldo Luque was recognized as the best player in the first round, but an arm injury and the death of his brother in a car accident took the edge off his game. Menotti benched Valencia and Houseman, moved Kempes to the midfield, and promoted Daniel Bertoni and Oscar Ortiz as the wings.
A convincing 2-0 victory over Poland in the second round was followed by a 0-0 draw against Brazil. The last day was scheduled so that Argentina would play Peru already knowing the result of the Brazil-Poland match. Since Brazil won 3-1, Argentina needed a four-goal spread to reach the final.
The match against Peru ended with a 6-0 Argentine victory. Allegations of bribery were made ever since, and some involved (both Peruvian and Argentine) have pointed out that Argentine officials did apply pressure on the Peruvians to give up the match.
The final against the Netherlands was arguably Argentina's best match in the competition. After dominating for most of the match (Kempes scored for 1-0 in the first half), Argentina retreated to defense and let the Dutch stage a comeback. A goal by Nanninga put the match 1-1; in the final minute of regulation time, the orange team was denied their first world cup by the width of a goalpost.
In additional time, Kempes and Bertoni scored for Argentina, who thus joined the exclusive club of football world champions. Argentines celebrated in the street, the military junta drew a political dividend, and Menotti became man of the hour.
Between 1978 and 1982
In the final months of 1978, when Menotti's contract was due to expire, he played a game of brinkmanship with the Argentine Football Association, which ultimately agreed to his demanding terms, both financially and professionally. Menotti's team included assistant coaches Rogelio Poncini and Roberto Marcos Saporiti, as well as fitness trainer Ricardo Pizarotti and physician Ruben Oliva.
In 1979, Menotti flew to Japan to oversee the Saporiti-trained under-20 team that won the Youth World Championship. This title was the first ever for Maradona wearing the national colors.
On that year, Argentina and the Netherlands played a FIFA exhibition match in Zurich, which Argentina won on penalties.
In 1980, the team played in the Mundialito in Uruguay, failing to reach the final.
During the build-up to the 1982 FIFA World Cup, Menotti maintained the same defensive line as in 1978, but modified the attacking lineup to include new players, notably Maradona, Barbas, Ramon Diaz, and Jorge Valdano.
When it became clear that Argentina would play the inaugural match against Belgium, Menotti went on record extolling the virtues of the rival, and the head game of its centre-forward Jan Ceulemans. Many felt Menotti was worrying too much about the rival.
In the final weeks before the competition, the country was absorbed by the Malvinas/Falklands War. Argentina capitulated on the very day the World Cup competition was to start.
World Cup 1982
The gloomy atmosphere in Argentina was only made worse by the defeat to Belgium in the opening match. The team started with Fillol; Olguin, Galvan, Passarella, Tarantini; Ardiles, Gallego, Maradona; Bertoni, Diaz, and Kempes.
Argentina went on to defeat Hungary and El Salvador, and was poised to meet Italy and Brazil in Group 3 of the second round.
Argentina dominated Italy in the first half, but the Italians, with Paolo Rossi in top form, scored and ultimately won the match. The game against Brazil was a debacle: Argentina never found its rhythm, Maradona was sent off, and the team lost 3-1 and was eliminated from the competition.
In the 1982 World Cup, Menotti deployed the same defenders as in 1978; they were vulnerable and slow, especially the Olguin-Galvan tandem on the right. In the offensive positions, Maradona and Valdano played together with players resisted by many, notably Juan Barbas and an out-of-shape Mario Kempes.
Following that performance, it was obvious that it was time for a replacement. The names of Carlos Griguol, Omar Pastoriza, and Carlos Bilardo were floated; Bilardo was finally selected by the Association. The performance of Estudiantes in the 1982 Metropolitano tournament was the determining factor in the decision.
Later career
Following the 1982 World Cup, Menotti was hired by FC Barcelona to coach the team, which had added Maradona to its roster. But Maradona was injured by Andoni Goikoetxea and then was sick with hepatitis, and Barcelona did not obtain the league title. Following a meager harvest which included only one Copa del Rey, Menotti and Barcelona parted ways in 1984.
Ever since, Menotti has alternated between coaching jobs and teaching and lecturing stints. During the 1980s, he held the post of coach at both Boca Juniors and River Plate, and achieved second place with both. On both occasions, his main tactical contribution was making defenders play the achique ("shrinking"), his version of the off-side trap. Through all those years, Menotti stuck to zone defense—in a world of man-to-man ("marking") defense.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Menotti staged a series of comebacks with mixed results, including a 15-month stint with the Mexican national team. His best harvest in Argentina was second place with Independiente in 1996; that team would achieve the 1997 championship, after Menotti left in mid-season for what would be a brief stint with Italian side Sampdoria. In 2003 he led Rosario Central to an impressive start, but the inexperienced team snapped under pressure. In 2005, Menotti once again coached Independiente, which did not pose a challenge to the title; he quit in mid-season amid fan resistance and political infighting.
Menotti has recently been working in Mexico, he took charge of CF Puebla in 2006 and is currently managing Tecos.
Personality, Controversy, and Influence
Menotti always displayed a rebellious streak and cultivated an image of coolness. He wore long hair into his fifties, dressed casually, and used to drop references to cultural icons in his conversation, from writer Ernesto Sabato to singer Joan Manuel Serrat. He was opinionated on politics, projecting a left-wing image that contrasted with his holding a very visible post during the military regime.
In 1982, a Spanish magazine published an interview in which Menotti sounded extremely critical of the military process. In a public relations coup, then-President Leopoldo Galtieri visited the training camp and hugged Menotti in front of the cameras.
In the years 1983-1986, Menotti was an outspoken critic of his successor as national coach, Carlos Bilardo, and many in the media (especially Buenos Aires daily Clarin) fanned the flames of controversy, even though Bilardo himself did not return fire. Many of the arguments used were irrelevant to the matter at hand (e.g. the musical tastes of each) or proved wrong by the passage of time.
Among the football figures who claim to be Menotti's followers, a special place is held by Jorge Valdano, who was coach of Real Madrid in 1994-1995 and then its general manager during the glory days of 1998-2002.
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