Many will remember vivid television images of blue and white confetti cascading from the stands. It was both a greeting and an exhortation. Argentina’s star striker Mario Kempes provided the impetus for an exhilarating month which ended in victory.

In many ways Argentina ‘78 represented the end of one era and the beginning of another in world sport. It was the last time the final tournament would feature only 16 teams. Absentees included the first World Cup winners Uruguay and European champions Czechoslovakia. England winners in 1966, also missed out.

The World Cup holders West Germany and The Netherlands, beaten finalists in 1974 were both in Argentina, though significantly without their greatest player Johann Cruyff.

The one African spot went to Tunisia and the only Asian representatives at the finals were Iran.

From the following competition, there would be a greater geographical spread. This had been the electoral promise of FIFA President João Havelange of Brazil. Elected in 1974, he was presiding over his sports biggest showpiece for the first time.

His predecessor Sir Stanley Rous had been in charge when Argentina had been named as hosts in 1966.

In the intervening decade, the Government had changed with alarming regularity.

Two years before the tournament was due to begin, President Isabel Peron was ousted to be replaced by a military junta headed by General Rafael Jorge Videla.

Those who opposed it were imprisoned, subject to torture and worse.

In part at least, the Government pointed to a threat of violence from a left wing terrorist organisation known as the ‘’Montoneros’’ as justification for their hard line methods.

Many families carried pictures ,the "disappeared", and protested about their lost loved ones with courage and dignity.

It was said that some prison centres where victims were taken were within earshot of the stadia.

''Ente Autarquico Mundial'', an organisation charged with planning the World Cup was established by the Junta. Money, it seemed, was no object.

American public relations agency Burson Marsteller was also engaged to bolster the public image of the country.

The true cost of the whole enterprise will probably never be completely verified but estimates put it at £700 million, which is around £5.1 billion ($6.8 billion/€5.83 million) by today's standards. This was more than double the cost of the 1974 tournament held in West Germany, a much more prosperous nation.

Treasury secretary and leading economist Juan Alemann called it ''the most visible and indefensible case of non-priority spending in Argentina". It did not bode well that General Omar Actis, the head of the Organising Committee was assassinated on his way to a meeting. He was replaced by another military man General Carlos Lacoste. Unsurprisingly, Lacoste was surrounded by tight security throughout his tenure.

The Argentinians build new stadia in the foothills of the Andes at Mendoza, in Cordoba and in the seaside resort of Mar del Plata.

The centre piece in Buenos Aires was to be the Estadio Monumental, home of River Plate, which was the setting for the opening match and the final. The famous chocolate box, La Bombonera, home of River’s bitter rivals Boca Juniors was not used during the tournament, but instead Velez Sarsfield, was upgraded at great cost. Although it was slated only to stage preliminary matches, the idea was that in event of unspecified emergencies, this would be plan B.

When the leading teams had visited Argentina in 1977 , their matches were still televised in black and white. A new television centre, estimated to have cost $45 million - around $223 million (£167 million/€191 million) today - was constructed in the centre of the capital. It occupied 23,000 square metres.

Employing the latest technology from West Germany, the centre broadcast colour pictures across the world but viewers in the host nation itself still watched in black and white.

The tournament embraced merchandising. There was a tournament logo which seemed to be everywhere and a mascot called Gauchito, a smiling child dressed as a cowboy in the Argentinian colours of light blue and white.

Adidas sponsored ‘’Tango" the official ball which had a distinctive appearance and was used at every single match.

It was also the first year World Cup replica strips were marketed in a meaningful way. Adidas provided the playing strip worn by the majority. Of the 16 finallists, only Italy and Spain wore traditional shirts without a makers name.

Even the coffee was sponsored. The scoreboards proclaimed

‘’THE COFFEE OF THE WORLD CUP IS THE COFFEE OF BRAZIL.’’

The Opening Ceremony was at the Estadio Monumental, home of Buenos Aires giants River Plate and began with the release of balloons and pigeons. Some 1,700 youngsters too deliberately chosen from those aged between 13 and 17, chosen to be of non-voting age to emphasise the non-political nature of the ceremony.

A giant Argentinian flag preceded the parade of flags of the member nations of FIFA.

The flags of the 16 nations were paraded in alphabetical order according to the language of the host nation. 1974 champions West Germany, ‘’Alemania’’ in Spanish were the first to appear. No players paraded. The teams were represented by track-suited youngsters. Each flag was escorted by young people in appropriate national costume. Lederhosen for Germany, a kilt for Scotland.

In the centre of the field, youngsters in white and light blue tracksuits performed a gymnastic display. By comparison with today, the displays seem very stilted. Their formations displayed the name the worlds ARGENTINA 1978, MUNDIAL FIFA, and then unfurled the flags of the 16 competition nations.

Finally the youngsters made World Cup logo as other youngsters paraded the flags of all the FIFA nations.

Up in the Presidential box, President Videla opened the tournament. He had arrived without fanfare and it was said he wanted ‘’as far as possible to enjoy the ceremony as a normal spectator".

He was invited to open the tournament by the FIFA President Havelange.

‘’Today is a day of celebration for our nation of Argentina ‘’ said President General Jorge Videla speaking apparently without notes. His message was liberally sprinkled with the word peace and goodwill. "This event is a really a contribution towards strengthening peace, for the whole world and for all the peoples of the world. Peace is wanted by everyone.’’

Many years later, Videla was indicted for human rights abuses.

In the days before the tournament, the President had met the Argentinian team.

‘’We will give everything," team coach Cesar Luis Menotti had told the President. Menotti had left a teenage prodigy out of his squad: one Diego Maradona.

Although performances were not entirely fluent, Argentina won their first two matches against Hungary and France to advance to the second phase.

Menotti became a household figure. A chain smoker, he was tall and thin. In Argentina he was known as ‘’El Flaco’’ or the thin one.

The haunting close ups of another manager would also become well known. Scotland manager Ally Macleod had arrived in Argentina as ‘’the Muhammad Ali" of football.

‘’Why shouldn’t we win it?’’ he asked.

Rod Stewart sang the official team song ‘’Ole Ola, we’re going to bring the World Cup back from over there!’’

The players were given a heroes send off by a huge crowd at Glasgow’s Hampden Park before the tournament. Then they lost to 3-1 to Peru in their opening match but worse was to come. Willy Johnston of West Bromwich Albion failed a drug test and they could only draw against the unfancied Iranians. Although they beat the Dutch 3-2 in the final match, they were eliminated on goal difference it was a chastened team which returned home.

The second phase consisted of two groups. Only the winners would advance to the World Cup final. There were no semi-finals.

The Netherlands beat Austria and Italy to make sure of their place in the final for a second successive tournament.

In the other group Argentina needed to beat Peru by four clear goals to qualify for the World Cup Final at the expense of Brazil.

That night, a musical about the most famous woman in Argentina’s history opened in London. The story of ‘’Evita’’ had a tragic ending. Thousands of miles away, Argentina scored six goals on a night of ecstasy in the provincial town of Rosario. Many still believe that the result was fixed.

Peruvian veteran star Hector Chumpitaz claimed Argentinian President Videla and US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger visited their dressing room, though this was subsequently denied by Kissinger. There were allegations that the Governments in Argentina and Peru had made a deal which would ensure Argentina won the match. Ramon Quiroga, Peru’s keeper was actually born in Argentina. The accusations persist to this day, although when the match was still scoreless, Peru had hit the post.

Argentina might have also have lost the final. It was balanced on a knife edge at 1-1 when the Dutch also hit the post before two goals in extra time made sure for Argentina.

As the tournament came to an end, the world feed of television coverage ended with the official Argentina '78 march written by Ennio Morricone, later known for composing the Soundtrack for The Mission.

In October, the third Summer Youth Olympic Games will open on the very same Buenos Aires streets where fans thronged to celebrate the completion of Argentina’s mission in 1978.