He’s Still as Sharp as a Knife
It was, said Chivas USA Coach Thomas Rongen, “a dagger in the heart.”
Two daggers, in fact.
Rongen was not talking about the goal and assist that Cobi Jones contributed Saturday night to lead the Galaxy to an emphatic 3-1 victory over Chivas in front of a sellout crowd at the Home Depot Center.
Jones, despite his performance, was not the best player in the stadium. Nor was Landon Donovan. Nor was Ramon Ramirez. Nor was Guillermo “Pando” Ramirez.
The most famous and successful soccer player at the Home Depot Center on Saturday night was not even on the field.
These days, Mario Kempes, 50, is more likely to be found on the air than on the grass. Instead, he is in a television booth, providing color commentary or game analysis for ESPN Deportes.
When you win a World Cup, as Kempes did with Argentina in 1978, your opinions have added weight. Add a few years, if not a few gray hairs, and people actually listen.
Twenty-seven years ago, it was Kempes’ feet that did all the talking, or rather, his deadly left foot. He scored a tournament-high six goals in the ’78 World Cup, including two in a memorable final in Buenos Aires as Argentina defeated the Netherlands, 3-1, in overtime.
That match was shown live on closed circuit TV at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Jones couldn’t be there. He had turned 8 only a few weeks before and was just learning how to run, dribble and shoot in Westlake Village. Playing in a World Cup was still 16 years in his future.
Donovan wasn’t there, either. He hadn’t yet been born. His first World Cup would not come for another 24 years.
But on Saturday night, the paths of all three crossed at the Home Depot Center, the 1978 World Cup winner providing pre-game commentary on the 2002 World Cup quarterfinalists.
Their paths also intersected those of the Dutch-born Rongen. He knows exactly where he was when Kempes scored the two goals that ended Holland’s hopes in the World Cup final.
“I don’t know him,” Rongen said of Kempes, “but I know that he was a dagger in the heart.
“I was at home in Amsterdam. Of course I was watching it. In agony. Especially when [Rob] Rensenbrink hit the post at 1-1.”
Kempes does not see much of Major League Soccer. Saturday night’s game was a rarity.
Instead, Kempes’ ESPN Deportes job keeps him busy following the Spanish league (where he once starred for Valencia), the European Champions League and the Argentine national team.
He does notice, however, that the game has changed since his day, and MLS could do well to listen to his observations.
“It’s true that the game is much faster and the fitness levels may be higher, but people also need to remember that there are many players today who could not play in the ‘70s or ‘80s,” Kempes said in an ESPNsoccernet.com interview last week.
“The game was different then, when I used to play. The ball ran more than the players and to some extent there was greater technical skill. Today, too many players rely on athleticism and simply running up and down the field.”
Running up and down is what characterizes all too many MLS games, just as athleticism and not much else characterizes too many MLS players. But the league in general and the Galaxy in particular is trying to change that.
“I think the American soccer fan likes offensive soccer,” said Galaxy Coach Steve Sampson, “and I think most of the clubs in this country are trying to provide that for them.”
Chivas USA, however, is struggling to find its feet in the league; the gap in technical skill between the new team and the established teams is proving difficult to overcome. After Saturday’s loss had dropped his team to 0-3-1, Rongen was grasping for answers.
“We came out with a lot of energy but we just didn’t execute very well, especially defensively,” he said, “and that cost us dearly.
“In the second half we showed some grit and some pride, fighting back to 3-1, but we just didn’t have enough in the tank.”
It was a measure of the gap between the teams that Sampson said his players were “disappointed” by the 3-1 victory and felt they had underperformed in the second half.
“We have to do a much better job of managing” the game, Sampson said. “I think the guys got caught up in trying to entertain the people in the stands. They were going for goal after goal after goal. What we should have done is knock the ball around a bit more and kill the game.”
