The inventor of "left" football, César Luis Menotti, has died, age 85. His football was one that didn't have a results fetish, it existed in order to give pleasure, enjoyment, and even intellectual fascination, too. This high moral standard didn't make him refuse the opportunitiy to coach the Argentine national team in the 1978 World Championship, at home, under a brutal right-wing dicatatorship, and even less did it lead him to refuse the offer of winning 6 - 0 against Peru in that tournament when they needed a win with at least four goals difference for a spot in the Final. But he was certainly an inspiring figure. Even from the hypercapitalist current generation of players, "El Flaco" (the skinny one) receives admiration and eulogies, even though fútbol izquierdo today seems like a very, very dim and distant memory.
He is also the discoverer of one Diego Armando Maradona. Maradona debuted with the men's national team in 1977 but wasn't nominated for the 1978 championship. His star rose in 1979 when he led the Argentine youth national team to a glorious win of the Youth World Championship.
