1979 U20 World Cup, The Coronation of Maradona

 

The 1979 U20 World Cup became the most talked-about edition for one reason: the official emergence of Diego Armando Maradona.

After being snubbed by Cesar Luis Menotti for the seniorteam in the 1978 FIFA World Cup in his own home soil because he was considered too young, Maradona was finally given his stage by Menotti. The World Cup winning manager named him the captain and tasked to lead the team to glory. He accomplished the mission perfectly. El Diego played a major role throughout the tournament, leading the Tango team to their first title and being awarded Best Player—similar to the 1986 World Cup.

The 1979 U20 World Cup Fact and Figures

The second edition of the U20 World Cup had a number of interesting facts compared to other editions. Here are some highlights of the first junior world cup held in Asia:

* The competition was held from August 26 to September 7 with 16 participants divided into four groups.

* A total of 32 matches were played throughout the tournament.

* The quarterfinal round was introduced for the first time.

* The host cities were Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, and Omiya.

* Europe was allocated six teams, but only three of the four semifinalists participated after Scotland, one of the semifinalists, withdrew without a clear official reason. The remaining three spots were filled by the best three runners-up from the 1978 U19 European Championship group stage.

* Indonesia actually replaced Iraq, Kuwait, and North Korea, who refused to participate in the final round as a boycott against the United States, one of whose global products, Coca-Cola, was the main sponsor of the U20 World Cup at the time.

* One of the rare World Cup editions where Brazil failed to qualify for the final round.

Maradona on the Center Stage

The 1979 U20 World Cup truly became a stage for Maradona. The legend delivered a flawless performance alongside his strike partner, Ramon Diaz. This forward duo played nearly perfectly from start to finish. Diaz finished as the tournament's top scorer with 8 goals, while Maradona netted six goals and contributed several assists.

In the group stage, Argentina crushed Indonesia 5-0 in the opener, followed by a narrow 1-0 win over Yugoslavia, and then a 4-1 thrashing of Poland in the final group match. In the quarterfinals, the young Albiceleste had no trouble overcoming Algeria with a 5-0 victory, before defeating Uruguay 2-0. In the final, the Soviet Union became the last obstacle for Cesar Menotti’s squad. They initially fell behind to a goal from Ponormaryov, but the score was leveled at 1-1 when Alves netted the equalizer. Then, in just five minutes, Argentina struck twice through the Ramon Diaz–Maradona duo. The first title was finally secured.

Tournament Summary

Group stage final standings (the ones in bold progressed to the next round)

Group A	Grup B	Grup C	Grup D
Spain	Argentina	Paraguay	Uruguay
Algeria	Poland	Portugal	USSR
Mexico	Yugoslavia	South Korea	Hungary
Japan	Indonesia	Canada	Guinea

** = penalties

* = extratime

Quarterfinal:

-          Spain vs Poland 0-0 (3-4)**

-          Argentina vs Algeria 5-0

-          Uruguay vs Portugal 1-0*

-          Paraguay vs USSR 2-2 (5-6)**

Semifinal:

-          Argentina vs Uruguay 2-0

-          Polandia vs Uni Soviet 0-1

Third-place Playoff: Uruguay vs Poland 1-1 (5-3)**

Final: Argentina vs USSR 3-1

Top scorer: Ramon Diaz (Argentina) – 8 gol

MVP: Diego Maradona (Argentina)

 

From Youth to Stardom

Aside from Maradona, several other names continued to shine when representing their senior national teams in major tournaments. One of them was the Soviet Union’s attacking midfielder Alexander Zavarov, who became a key player in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups. Here are some of the players from the 1979 U20 World Cup who also became mainstays at the senior level:

Players	FIFA World Cup editon (senior)
Miguel Tendillo (Spain)	1982
Djamel Menad (Algeria)	1986
Hocine Yahi (Algeria)	1986
Mohamed Chaib (Algeria)	1986
Pablo Lorios (Mexico)	1986
Andrzej Buncol (Poland)	1982, 1986
Andrej Palasz (Poland)	1982, 1986
Alexander Zavarov (USSR)	1986, 1990
Viktor Chanov (USSR)	1986
Petr Distzl (Hungary)	1986
Antal Roth (Hungary)	1986
Sandor Sallai (Hungary)	1982, 1986
Gabor Poloskei (Hungary)	1982
Jozsef Kardos (Hungary)	1986
Jacek Kazimierski (Poland)	1982
Gabriel Calderon (Argentina)	1982, 1990
Fernando Alvez (Uruguay)	1986, 1990
Miguel Bossio (Uruguay)	1986
Nelson Gutierrez (Uruguay)	1986, 1990
Jorge Barrios (Uruguay)	1986
Ruben Paz (Uruguay)	1986, 1990
Juan Simon (Argentina)	1990
Juan Barbas (Argentina)	1982
Ramon Diaz (Argentina)	1982
Diego Maradona (Argentina)	1982, 1986, 1990, 1994
Tomislav Ivkovic (Serbia)	1990
Ivan Guldej (Serbia)	1982
Rogerio Delgado (Paraguay)	1986
Julio Cesar Romero (Paraguay)	1986
Roberto Cabanas (Paraguay)	1986
Diamantino (Portugal)	1986
Oh Hyun-Ko (South Korea)	1986
Chung Yong-Hwan (South Korea)	1986, 1990
Lee Tae-Ho (South Korea)	1990
Kim Yong-Se (South Korea)	1986
Choi Soon-Ho (South Korea)	1986
Branko Segota (Canada)	1986
Ian Bridge (Canada)	1986
Mike Sweeney (Canada)	1986
Gerry Gray (Canada)	1986