1979 FIFA World Youth Championship final
The 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship final was a football match that was played on at the National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan on 7 September 1979 to determine the champions of the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship. The final was contested by Argentina and the Soviet Union. Argentina won the match 3–1, winning the title for the first time.
Argentina’s rising superstar Diego Maradona, who scored a goal, was named the best player of the competition.
Background
Argentina had won its first FIFA World Cup just one year before. César Luis Menotti, who had managed the senior squad that crowned champion in Argentina, coached the team. Ernesto Duchini –who was part of the coaching staff to discover new talents around the country– had selected the players that were then under the guidance of Menotti to win the title.Duchini had been in charge of Argentine youth teams since 1954, and was a cornerstone of the coaching staff that led that group of players to achieve their first title. Some of the players discovered by Duchini were Roberto Perfumo, Carlos GarcÃa Cambón, Oscar Más, Rubén Ayala, Oscar OrtÃz, Jorge OlguÃn, Raúl Savoy, among others.
Duchini worked side-by-side with Miguel Gitano Juárez, former player of Rosario Central and very close to Menotti. Juárez suggested some players for the youth team, such as Juan Simón, Rubén Rossi, Rafael Seria and Daniel SperandÃo, all of them playing in Rosario-based clubs.
The players selected to play the tournament were goalkeepers Sergio GarcÃa and Rafael Seria ; defenders Juan Simón, Rubén Rossi, Abelardo Carabelli, Hugo Alves, Marcelo Bachino, Jorge Piaggio ; midfielders Daniel SperandÃo, Juan Barbas, Osvaldo Rinaldi, Juan José Meza ; Diego Maradona ; forwards Osvaldo Escudero, Alfredo Torres, Ramón DÃaz, Gabriel Calderón, José Luis Lanao.
Diego Maradona was the playmaker and leader of that team. His performance in the competition was so stunning that was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament. He also won the Silver Boot as the second topscorer behind teammate Ramón DÃaz.
Match details
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Aftermath
The second world title within two years were widely celebrated by people throughout the country, as they had done the previous year after the win against the Netherlands.The media also praised the team's style of play, attributed to Menotti's philosophy toward the game.
Beyond the great performance of the team in general, media focused on the performances of Argentinos Juniors' star Diego Maradona and Ramón DÃaz's scoring prowess at the tournament.
At their returning from Japan, the players were carried in helicopter to the Atlanta stadium, where the flagship landed on the field as part of the celebrations for the championship won in Tokyo.