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.^[1]

1979 FIFA World Youth Championship Final

National Stadium of Tokyo, venue of the match
Event	1979 FIFA World Youth Championship
Argentina Soviet Union 3 1
Date	7 September 1979 19:00
Venue	National Stadium, Tokyo
Referee	José Roberto Wright (Brazil)
Attendance	52,000
← 1977 1981 →

Argentine raising superstar Diego Maradona, who scored a goal, was named the best player of the competition.

Background

Ernesto Duchini (left) chose the players that were then coached by César Menotti (right)

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.^[2]

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 García Cambón, Oscar Más, Rubén Ayala, Oscar Ortíz, Jorge Olguín, Raúl Savoy, among others.^[3]

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 Sperandío, all of them playing in Rosario-based clubs.

The players selected to play the tournament were goalkeepers Sergio García (Flandria) and Rafael Seria (Central Córdoba); defenders Juan Simón (Newell's), Rubén Rossi (Colón), Abelardo Carabelli (Argentinos Juniors), Hugo Alves (Boca Juniors), Marcelo Bachino (Boca Juniors), Jorge Piaggio (Atlanta); midfielders Daniel Sperandío (Rosario Central), Juan Barbas (Racing), Osvaldo Rinaldi (San Lorenzo), Juan José Meza (Central Norte de Tucumán); Diego Maradona (Argentinos Juniors); forwards Osvaldo Escudero (Chacarita), Alfredo Torres (Atlanta), Ramón Díaz (River Plate), Gabriel Calderón (Racing), José Luis Lanao (Vélez).^[4]

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 Díaz.^[2]

Road to the final

Argentina		Round	Soviet Union
Opponent	Result	Group stage	Opponent	Result
Indonesia	5–0	Match 1	Hungary	5–1
Yugoslavia	1–0	Match 2	Guinea	3–0
Poland	4–1	Match 3	Uruguay	0–1
Group B winners Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD Status  Argentina 6 3 3 0 0 10 1 +9 Advanced to the quarter-finals  Poland 4 3 2 0 1 9 4 +5  Yugoslavia 2 3 1 0 2 5 3 +2  Indonesia 0 3 0 0 3 0 16 −16		Final standings	Group D runners-up Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD Status  Uruguay 6 3 3 0 0 8 0 +8 Advanced to the quarter-finals  Soviet Union 4 3 2 0 1 8 2 +6  Hungary 2 3 1 0 2 3 7 –4  Guinea 0 3 0 0 3 0 10 −10
Opponent	Result	Knockout stage	Opponent	Result
Algeria	5–0	Quarter finals	Paraguay	2–2 (aet) (6–5 pen.)
Uruguay	2–0	Semi-finals	Poland	1–0

Match details

(Left): Both teams starting line-ups; (center): Diego Maradona carrying the ball surrounded by Soviet players; (right): Maradona scoring by free kick

7 September 1979

19:00 JST (UTC+9)

Argentina	3–1	Soviet Union
Alves 68' Díaz 71' Maradona 76'	Report	Ponomaryov 52'

National Stadium, Tokyo

Attendance: 52,000

Referee: José Roberto Wright (Brazil)

Argentina

Soviet Union

GK 1 Sergio García DF 4 Abelardo Carabelli DF 2 Juan Simón DF 6 Rubén Rossi DF 3 Hugo Alves MF 8 Juan Barbas MF 13 Osvaldo Rinaldi MF 10 Diego Maradona FW 7 Osvaldo Escudero FW 9 Ramón Díaz FW 11 Gabriel Calderón Substitutions: MF 17 Juan J. Meza GK 12 Rafael Seria DF 13 Jorge Piaggio MF 5 Daniel Sperandío DF 15 Marcelo Bachino FW 16 Alfredo Torres FW 18 José Lanao Coach: César Menotti

GK 1 Viktor Chanov DF 14 Sergey Ovchinnikov DF 2 Viktor Yanushevsky DF 4 Ashot Khachatryan DF 5 Aleksandr Polukarov MF 15 Anatoliy Radenko MF 6 Yaroslav Dumanskyi MF 8 Igor Ponomaryov FW 13 Sergei Stukashov FW 10 Oleh Taran FW 11 Ihar Hurynovich Substitutions: MF 7 Mykhaylo Olefirenko MF 16 Vladimir Mikhalevsky GK 18 Serhiy Krakovskyi DF 3 Alexander Golovnia DF 12 Gennadiy Salov MF 17 Oleksandr Zavarov FW 9 Valeriy Zubenko Coach: Sergei Korshunov

Match rules: 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra time if necessary Penalty shoot-out if scores still level Five named eligible substitutes Maximum of two substitutions

Sources:

• FIFA (Argentina squad)
• FIFA (Soviet Union squad)

Aftermath

The Argentine players celebrating after the match

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.^[2]

The media also praised the team's style of play, attributed to Menotti's philosophy toward the game.^[3]

Sirs, you are already champions, I don't mind the result of this game because you have shown that you are the best in the world. Nothing to hit kicks or to do crazy things; let's go, play and amuse the 35,000 Japanese at the grandstands

— Manager César Menotti's talk to the players before the final match.

Beyond the great performance of the team in general, media focused on the performances of Argentinos Juniors' star Diego Maradona (highlighting his control of the ball, passing and dribbling) and Ramón Díaz's scoring prowess at the tournament.^[4]

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.^[5]

See also

• 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship