Peru, Argentina, and the World Cup result that was too good to believe

IT was the tournament that launched a million footballing passions on this side of the world, as Mario Kempes, Daniel Passarella and Leopoldo Luque stole our hearts en route to their first World Cup triumph in 1978.

Tickertape poured from the stands in Buenos Aires as chain-smoking Cesar Menotti’s side overcame every obstacle before seeing off Holland in extra-time in the final.

One of their biggest tasks was defeating Peru by four goals in a key group game. Argentina won 6-0 on a night that few who watched could ever forget.

But long-lasting suspicions about the validity of the result have resurfaced: Peru, it is claimed, agreed to throw the game to help the hosts progress at the expense of Brazil.

Former Peruvian senator Genaro Ledesma has confirmed the shock result was agreed before the match by the dictatorships of the two countries.

Mr Ledesma, 80, made the accusations to Buenos Aires judge Noberto Oyarbide, who last week issued an order of arrest against former Peruvian military president Francisco Bermudez.

Bermudez is accused of illegally sending 13 Peruvians to Argentina as part of the so-called Condor Plan, under which Latin American regimes in the 1970s co-operated to repress political dissidents.

Once inside Argentina, the prisoners were tortured by the military regime and forced to sign false confessions.

Mr Ledesma, an opposition leader at the time, claims Argentinean dictator Jorge Videla only accepted the political prisoners on condition that Peru deliberately lost the World Cup match — and by enough goals to ensure Argentina progressed to the final.

“Videla needed to win the World Cup to cleanse Argentina’s bad image around the world,” Mr Ledesma told the court. “So he only accepted the group if Peru allowed the Argentine national team to triumph.”

Group B in the second round of the tournament was made up of Argentina, Brazil, Poland and Peru. After Brazil beat Peru 3-0 and Poland 3-1, Argentina had to beat Peru by at least four goals.

They did so with a suspicious degree of ease, leading to persistent speculation that Peru might have been bribed.

Argentina caused controversy by delaying their games until the result of other games in Group B were known, so they knew exactly what they needed to do before every match.

Without their 1978 World Cup victory, Argentina would have won the tournament once — the same as England, France and Spain.

Years after, Argentine striker Leopoldo Luque said: “With what I know now, I can’t say I’m proud of my victory. But I didn’t realise; most of us didn’t. We just played football.”