Alberto César Tarantini (born 3 December 1955) is an Argentine former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender. He won the

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It wa ...

with the Argentina national football team. He played as a defensive Defender (association football)#Full-back, left back early in his career, and later as a Defender (association football)#Wing-back, wing back.

Career

Born at Ezeiza, Buenos Aires, Ezeiza, Tarantini rose through the Boca Juniors youth divisions in the early 1970s, and was noted for his afro hairdo and his large front teeth, which earned him the nickname ''conejo'' ("rabbit"). In 1977 Copa Libertadores, 1977 with Boca Juniors he won his first international club Association football, football competition, the Copa Libertadores, when after the goalless draw Boca Juniors, Boca defeated Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, Cruzeiro 5–4 on Penalty shoot-out (association football), penalties. The match was held at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay on 14 September 1977. Tarantini was part of the Argentina national under-23 football team, Argentina under-23 team that won the 1975 Toulon Tournament, together with Jorge Valdano, Américo Gallego, and others, with César Menotti as coach. He became the left-back of the Argentina national football team after Jorge Carrascosa left the team (the book ''El DT del Proceso'' by Gasparini and Ponsico claims that ''the wolf'' Carrascosa declined to play for the dictatorship). He was also, at 22, the youngest player of that team. A few months before the

, he had a contractual dispute with Boca that left him clubless, as Boca management pressured all Argentine clubs into denying him a new contract. After his performances during the World Cup (he scored a goal in the 6–0 victory against Peru national football team, Peru, and played in the final against The Netherlands) he was signed by Birmingham City F.C., Birmingham City for £295,000. His spell in England was overshadowed by poor discipline, with Tarantini flattening Manchester United F.C., Manchester United defender Brian Greenhoff, and ending his 23-game spell in Birmingham by wading into the crowd to punch a heckler. After his return to Argentina he played for Talleres de Córdoba, Club Atlético River Plate, River Plate, and European teams SC Bastia, Toulouse FC, Toulouse and FC St. Gallen. In 1982 Tarantini was voted into the Top Ten of the South America Player of the Year awards. Tarantini also played in the 1982 FIFA World Cup for Argentina.

Personal life

Tarantini was married to fashion model Patricia ''Pata'' Villanueva. His brother George Tarantini was a former college soccer coach.

Honours

Club

Boca Juniors *Primera Division Argentina: 1976 Argentine Primera División, Nacional 1976, 1976 Argentine Primera División, Metropolitano 1976 *Copa Libertadores: 1977 Copa Libertadores, 1977 River Plate *Primera Division Argentina: 1980 Argentine Primera División, Metropolitano 1980, 1981 Argentine Primera División, Nacional 1981

International

Argentina Youth *Maurice Revello Tournament, Toulon Tournament: 1975 Argentina *FIFA World Cup: 1978 FIFA World Cup, 1978

Individual

*FIFA World Cup awards#All-Star Team, FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1978 *Argentine Football Association, AFA Team of All Time (published 2015) * World Soccer (magazine), World Soccer World XI: 1978 * International Federation of Football History & Statistics, IFFHS Argentina All Times Dream Team (Team B): 2021

References

External links

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Tarantini at Sporting Heroes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarantini, Alberto 1955 births Living people Footballers from Ezeiza, Buenos Aires Men's association football fullbacks Argentine men's footballers Boca Juniors footballers Talleres de Córdoba footballers Club Atlético River Plate footballers English Football League players Birmingham City F.C. players SC Bastia players Toulouse FC players FC St. Gallen players Ligue 1 players 1978 FIFA World Cup players 1982 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players Copa Libertadores–winning players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Argentine expatriate sportspeople in France Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England Argentina men's international footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine Primera División players Argentine sportspeople of Italian descent 20th-century Argentine sportsmen