The FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025™ is now just 2 days away!
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During a triumphant campaign at the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship™, Argentina scored more than three goals per match on average, while conceding only twice during their six outings. La Albiceleste marksman Ramon Diaz was the 1979 competition’s top scorer with eight goals; Diego Maradona also chipped in with an impressive tally of six. As a result of their efforts, the pair picked up the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards, respectively.
Maradona himself waxed lyrical about that team that soared to the title in Japan: “That was by far the best team I was ever a part of during my career; I never had so much fun on the pitch!
It was the first of many U-20 titles for La Albiceleste. Today, they are the competition’s most decorated side, having lifted the trophy on a further five occasions: 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2007.
Cesar Luis Menotti, who had led Argentina to victory at the 1978 FIFA World Cup™, took charge of the U-20 team with a particular challenge in mind. He took over the team led by Argentinos Juniors star Maradona who – a year earlier, aged just 17 – had been left out of the side that would go on to win Argentina’s first World Cup. As time went by, that decision proved to be increasingly controversial, but the coach and No10 did go on to develop a special bond. In terms of teaching and training players, Menotti seemed like the perfect mentor for a group of talented individuals who would go on to shine at the world’s best clubs soon after.
“It was so valuable to have a world champion coach at the helm of a youth team,” defender Juan Simon told FIFA. “It was a dream for us – God came down from the heavens and trained us all. El Flaco (The Skinny One) was our God. His word was sacred. He put it all on the line for a group of youngsters. From a distance, you might say, ‘What a crazy thing to do.’ Fortunately, we were able to respond in the best possible way.”
Writing in El Diego y la gente (Diego and the people), published in 2001, Maradona wrote: “The thing is, when we finally arrived in Japan, we knew we had to win. Especially me: I’d set my mind on making up for (not being in the squad for) the 1978 World Cup. And in Japan, I did it.”
Argentina proved to be a force to be reckoned with in the group stage, beating Indonesia 5-0, Yugoslavia 1-0 and Poland 4-1. They hammered Algeria 5-0 in the quarter-finals, cruised past Uruguay 2-0 in the semi-finals and beat the Soviet Union 3-1 in the final.
Although the team was blessed with a number of talented players, such as Juan Barbas, Osvaldo Rinaldi and Gabriel Calderon, the Maradona-Diaz partnership stole the show.
Both of them were still teenagers, but they already had extensive experience in Argentina’s Primera Division. Diaz, a pacy striker with an eye for goal, was River Plate’s talisman at a time when Boca Juniors had just won back-to-back CONMEBOL Libertadores titles in 1977 and 1978. Maradona, meanwhile, was Argentinian football’s rising star, and all eyes were on him.
Diaz and Maradona would have their big chance at senior level three years later, at the 1982 FIFA World Cup™ in Spain. However, that team – also managed by Menotti – failed to perform at their best. Argentina would go on to crash out in the second group stage after defeats to Italy and Brazil. In 1986, with Diaz no longer in the picture, Maradona had his defining moment. He inspired Argentina to World Cup glory as the team’s star player, echoing his triumph in 1979 with the U-20 squad.
With that title, Maradona became part of a group of players who have been champions at both youth and senior level – an achievement he shares with compatriot and fellow global icon Lionel Messi.
