Hispanic Heritage Month: Osvaldo Ardiles, an unthinkable hero in England

Argentine soccer fever took over England in the wake of the Albiceleste 1978 World Cup victory, when Tottenham Hotspurs signed two of the main stars of that national team: Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa.

The two were an instant hit for the Spurs, but only one remained a club glory through the years, and that was Ardiles.

Nicknamed “The Python” by his older brother, given his unique ability to dribble past defenders with snake-like precision, Ardiles became one of the standouts of Argentine soccer from early on in his career.

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A few seasons with Belgrano, a team from Cordoba, were enough for the prestigious publication El Grafico to name him the best player competing outside of the big Buenos Aires clubs.

It was a matter of time until one of the those bigger clubs would take him on, and it was the mythical Huracan, in 1975, that decided to incorporate him into the brilliant attacking squad they formed in the 70s.

It’s fair to say Ardiles was, alongside Kempes, the biggest star of the Argentine squad that lifted the 1978 World Cup, and after their victory over the Netherlands, Ardiles had no shortage of offers to make the trek to European soccer.

Surprisingly, Ardiles decided not to go to Spain, Italy or France, the usual destinations of South Americans moving to the Old Continent. Instead, he arrived in cloudy London, alongside Ricky Villa, ready to become a legend.

With the Spurs Ardiles would go on to win two FA Cups, and become a cult classic for the fans. In his ten years in the team he was one of the most revered players to have gone through English soccer, so much so that he has remained in the country until today, where he has developed a soccer academy named Ossie Ardiles Soccer School.

During his time at Spurs, Ardiles, alongside Glenn Hoddle and countryman Villa, became one of the most exciting teams in England, bridging the gap between the physical style bred in the country for many decades, and the electric skill-based style brought over by the Argentine duo from South America.

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But Ardiles wasn’t just a hit on the pitch. His amiable character and unchanging Spanish accent made him a cultural hero for fans far outside of White Hart Lane. The musical duo Chas and Dave immortalized the Argentine playmaker with the hit song “Ossie’s Dream” after the 1981 FA Cup victory, and also in 1981 Ardiles became a part of Pele and Stallone’s renegade football team in the film “Victory”, co-starring Michael Caine and Bobby Moore.

During the Falkland War, Ricardo Villa left England but Ardiles asked only to be loaned out during the struggle in order to be able to come back after the war was over. He spent an unfruitful season in Paris, suiting up for PSG just for 14 games, with his mind clearly on the news that were coming from his home country.

Once peace was restored, Ardiles returned to White Hart Lane and played there until 1988. Small stints in Scotland and at the NASL, with the famed Ft. Lauderdale strikers of Ray Hudson, Nene Cubillas and Gerd Muller, were the final steps of an incredible soccer career that found an unthinkable Latino hero taking over the throne in English soccer, at potentially the most inconvenient time in history.

England changed Ardiles forever, enough to make him call the country his home for the better part of the rest of his life, but undoubtedly “The Python” also changed England, and for the first time ever a soccer player made everyone in the island want to learn how to speak Spanish.