Alberto César Tarantini (born 3 December 1955) is an Argentine former professional footballer 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 quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by t ...

with the

Argentina national football team The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina. Nicknamed ''La Albiceleste'' ('The White and S ...

. He played as a defensive

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

early in his career, and later as a wing back.

Career

Born at Ezeiza, Tarantini rose through the

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

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 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

with

he won his first international club

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

competition and one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world and the most prestigious club competition in Latin American

–

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

, when after the goalless draw Boca defeated Cruzeiro 5–4 on

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

. The match was held at the Estadio Centenario in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Uruguay on 14 September 1977. Tarantini was part of the 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

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, and played in the final against The Netherlands) he was signed by Birmingham City for £295,000. His spell in England was overshadowed by poor discipline, with Tarantini flattening

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

defender

Brian Greenhoff Brian Greenhoff (28 April 1953 – 22 May 2013) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Manchester United, Leeds United and Rochdale. He was capped 18 times for England. Career Manchester United Greenhoff was born ...

, 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, River Plate, and European teams SC Bastia, 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 The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national foo ...

for Argentina, retiring from the national team immediately thereafter.

Personal life

Tarantini was married to fashion model Patricia ''Pata'' Villanueva. His brother

George Tarantini George Tarantini was an Argentine retired men's soccer head coach at North Carolina State University. He served as head coach from 1986 to 2010 and posted a 221–190–41 record. Tarantini earned Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year hon ...

is a former college soccer coach.

Honours

Club

Boca Juniors * Primera Division Argentina: Nacional 1976, Metropolitano 1976 *

River Plate * Primera Division Argentina: Metropolitano 1980, Nacional 1981

International

Argentina Youth * Toulon Tournament: 1975 Argentina * FIFA World Cup:

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

Individual

* FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1978 * AFA Team of All Time (published 2015) * World Soccer World XI: 1978 * IFFHS Argentina All Times Dream Team (Team B): 2021

References

External links

* *
Tarantini at Sporting Heroes
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarantini, Alberto 1955 births Living people People 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 FIFA World Cup-winning players 1978 FIFA World Cup players 1982 FIFA World Cup 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 people of Italian descent Footballers from Buenos Aires Province