<p>Takahashi has been quoted in multiple interviews as saying that it was Kempes and, more broadly, the 1978 World Cup as a whole that inspired him to create <em>Captain Tsubasa</em>.</p>
<p>From <a href="https://elcomercio.pe/mundo/actualidad/supercampeones-yoichi-takahashi-oliver-hospital-leyenda-real-noticia-460340-noticia/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this interview</a> with Peruvian newspaper <em>El Comercio</em> (translated from Spanish):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I was born in Japan 57 years ago. In 1978 Kempes dazzled me. It was then that I decided to draw a story to make football known in my country. In 1981 I started the manga “Captain Tsubasa”. The first version of the animated series emerged two years later.</p>
<p>[...]</p>
<p>The first time I saw a soccer match was at the Argentina 78 World Cup. I saw the emotion and fever that each match aroused. Soccer is a sport that generates passions, unleashes feelings and is the most popular in the world. But in Japan it wasn't. So I started drawing for that reason, to spread it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>From <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180621145012/https://en.as.com/en/2016/12/17/football/1481991686_215388.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this interview</a> with Spanish newspaper <em>AS</em>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Q: What inspired you to create <em>Captain Tsubasa</em> (titled <em>Oliver y Benji</em> in Spain)?</strong></p>
<p>A: When I was 18, I watched the [1978] World Cup finals in Argentina and was totally fascinated by it, I loved the football that was played there. In Japan, it was almost completely unknown. I wanted to make it popular and so I started producing drawings…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Any stories about Maradona being the inspiration behind <em>Captain Tsubasa</em> appear to be false.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-06-23T19:08:08.583Z
2024-06-23T19:08:08.583Z
F1Krazy
<p>Formerly, I've read stories that it was Maradona in the 1979 Youth World Cup, which inspired Yōichi Takahashi to create Captain Tsubasa. But recently, a TikTok video appeared stating that it was Mario Kempes in the 1978 World Cup who did, that Yōichi Takahashi wondered who that player was and how it was possible he played football so well, and that he wanted to convey that passion for football to japaneses.</p>
<p>Which football player inspired the creation of Captain Tsubasa?</p>

<captain-tsubasa>
Which football player inspired the creation of Captain Tsubasa?
# Which football player inspired the creation of Captain Tsubasa?
Posted by: username_0 on 2024-06-23
Formerly, I've read stories that it was Maradona in the 1979 Youth World Cup, which inspired Yōichi Takahashi to create Captain Tsubasa. But recently, a TikTok video appeared stating that it was Mario Kempes in the 1978 World Cup who did, that Yōichi Takahashi wondered who that player was and how it was possible he played football so well, and that he wanted to convey that passion for football to japaneses.

Which football player inspired the creation of Captain Tsubasa?
**Tags:** captain-tsubasa
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## 1 answers
### Answer by username_1 on 2024-06-23. Score: 1 | Accepted answer
Takahashi has been quoted in multiple interviews as saying that it was Kempes and, more broadly, the 1978 World Cup as a whole that inspired him to create *Captain Tsubasa*.

From [this interview](https://elcomercio.pe/mundo/actualidad/supercampeones-yoichi-takahashi-oliver-hospital-leyenda-real-noticia-460340-noticia/) with Peruvian newspaper *El Comercio* (translated from Spanish):

> I was born in Japan 57 years ago. In 1978 Kempes dazzled me. It was then that I decided to draw a story to make football known in my country. In 1981 I started the manga “Captain Tsubasa”. The first version of the animated series emerged two years later.
>
> [...]
>
> The first time I saw a soccer match was at the Argentina 78 World Cup. I saw the emotion and fever that each match aroused. Soccer is a sport that generates passions, unleashes feelings and is the most popular in the world. But in Japan it wasn't. So I started drawing for that reason, to spread it.

From [this interview](https://web.archive.org/web/20180621145012/https://en.as.com/en/2016/12/17/football/1481991686_215388.html) with Spanish newspaper *AS*:

> **Q: What inspired you to create *Captain Tsubasa* (titled *Oliver y Benji* in Spain)?**
>
> A: When I was 18, I watched the [1978] World Cup finals in Argentina and was totally fascinated by it, I loved the football that was played there. In Japan, it was almost completely unknown. I wanted to make it popular and so I started producing drawings…

Any stories about Maradona being the inspiration behind *Captain Tsubasa* appear to be false.
---
