Cesar Luis Menotti, who led Argentina to its first World Cup in 1978, dies aged 85

The World Cup winning coach César Luis Menotti, who led Argentina to the title in 1978, has died at the age of 85, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) said on Sunday.

Born in Rosario to Italian-Argentine parents in 1938, Menotti, who played for Rosario Central, Boca Juniors and Brazil's Santos, began his coaching career at Newell’s Old Boys and won the Argentine championship with Huracán in 1973 - before taking over as head coach of the Argentine national team in 1974.

“The Argentine Football Association regrets to announce with great sadness the death of César Luis Menotti, current director of the national teams and former World Cup winning coach of Argentina. Farewell, Flaco querido ('dear Slim'),” the governing body said in a statement.

Menotti, who left the national side after the 1982 World Cup, went on to coach Barcelona, where he guided the side to Copa del Rey success in 1983.

He retired from coaching in 2007, and mostly maintained a low profile despite his well-known left-wing views - a skill which helped him navigate the country's fascist last dictatorship during the late 1970s.

At: https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/05/world-cup-winning-argentina-coach-cesar-luis-menotti-dies-aged-85

Famed Argentine football coach César Luis Menotti holds the iconic World Cup after leading the national team to victory in 1978.

Menotti's death is being mourned across Argentina's highly-polarized political and social spectrum - adding sorrow to what has already been the most difficult economic year since at least the 2001-02 collapse.