Argentine football personalities said goodbye this Tuesday to the 1978 world champion coach, César Menotti, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 85.
Highlights of the three World Cups won by Argentina attended the wake at the headquarters of the Argentine Football Federation (AFA), in Ezeiza (southern outskirts) such as Lionel Scaloni, champion coach in 2022; Héctor Enrique, midfielder who became famous in 1986 alongside Diego Maradona; and Daniel Passarella, captain of the team led by Menotti in 1978.
They were also accompanied by family members and other Argentine football leaders, such as Ubaldo ‘Pato’ Fillol, goalkeeper of the 1978 team, and Pablo Aimar, former player and member of Scaloni’s technical committee at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The coffin was carried, among others, by the president of the AFA, Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia, to the Futsal stadium of the housing complex named after another world champion, Lionel Andrés Messi, where he was laid to rest until 5pm (Brasília time) .
‘El Flaco’ Menotti, born in the Argentine city of Rosario, died on Sunday at the age of 85. In addition to leading Argentina to glory in 1978, he managed fifteen teams in five countries and since 2019 has served as director of national teams for the AFA Association.
The body of the former coach of Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid in Spain and Boca and River in Argentina, among other teams, will be cremated in the Recoleta cemetery, close to the center of Buenos Aires, said his son César Mario, although the date is not yet known. has been confirmed.
Local and international football received with pain the news of the death of a great supporter of romantic football, who always maintained a philosophy based on offensive play and touch of the ball: “The goal must be a pass to the net”, was one of his famous phrases.
One of his tactical heirs was former player and current Manchester City coach Josep Guardiola, who said: “He was the greatest seducer of Argentine football.”
Messi, who achieved part of his glory under Guardiola at Barcelona, also said goodbye to Menotti on his Instagram account: “One of the great references of our football has left us.”
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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