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Esquire — June 2018 89not in protest, but because that year he and
his wife had been tied up at gunpoint in front
of their children at their Barcelona apartment
during a kidnap atempt: “It was the moment
to leave football and I couldn’t play in the
World Cup ater this.”
he political mood in Europe at the time
was certainly at odds with General Videla’s.
he army had taken control of Argentina in
spring 1976 after two years of major unrest
bordering on civil war, as right-wing paramil-
itaries and communist guerrillas entered the
power vacuum let behind ater the death of
Argentina’s president Juan Perón. he major-
iy of people welcomed the return of order in
the face of such violence.
The clean-up of “state enemies” began
immediately. But it didn’t stop there. Men and
women who did not conform to the regime’s
ideals were “disappearing” in increasingly
large numbers. And relatives were advised
not to cause a stir. People could be taken of
the street, from their home or arrested on the
bus in broad daylight. “hey must have done
something”, was the unspoken consensus.
But Fifa remained unmoved. Ultimately,
the human rights stance was overlooked in
favour of preserving the political status quo.
By June 1978, the junta was at its strongest
and it now had a World Cup to distract aten-
tion domestically and project an alternative
message internationally.
Videla, like many world leaders, had litle
interest in football. But he saw an opportu-
niy, and he was prepared to spend huge sums
on infrastructure to get it right. In 1976, the
chairman of Argentina’s World Cup organ-
ising committee, General Omar Actis, was
assassinated while travelling to his first press
conference, where he was expected to criti-
cise publicly the rapidly escalating sums being
spent on hosting the tournament.on the pitch, there was much work for
the Argentinian team to do if they were to
achieve anything resembling success. In this
context of control and paranoia, it seems odd
that a young, intellectual let-winger, a former
communist no less, was in charge. he rakish,
chain-smoking 39-year-old was the embodi-
ment of everything the junta opposed. César
Luis Menoti, nicknamed “El Flaco”, “the thin
one” (yes, most Argentinian footballers seem
to have a nickname) was a tactician and foot-
ball philosopher, who even talked overtly
in terms of replacing what he saw as “right-
wing” football — the turgid, physical and
cynical anti-fútbol on show for most of the
Seventies — with a more natural, free-flow-
ing syle.
His Huracán side won the 1973 Argentine
Primera División with flicks, flair and atack-
ing purpose, while Menoti was also prone toTop: schoolchildren form a ‘World Cup’ at the tournament’s opening ceremony in the El Monumental Stadium
Left: Argentina coach César Luis Menotti’s own politics were at odds with the junta’s
Above right: Jorge Rafaél Videla, Argentina’s dictator, centre, watches Scotland play Peru in Cordoba, 3 June 1978 →Action Plus | Gety