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1979 U20 World Cup, The Coronation of Maradona

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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

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