Adeyinka Akintunde
All is set for the 22nd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup taking place in Poland.
The competition, which will hold from 23rd May to 15th June, 2019, will see players from all around the world compete for the biggest prize in the youth category.
It is one tournament the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) uses in discovering talents who turn out to become world class stars.
It was formerly referred to as the FIFA World Youth Championship until 2005.
Argentina is the most successful team in this competition, so far with six titles. They are followed by Brazil with five titles. Portugal and Serbia have both won two titles and Ghana is the only African country so far that have won the title- once in 2009.
There are football legends we know today, produced from this age-grade competition. Notable amongst them are:
Diego Maradona
At the 1977 World Youth Championship in Japan, a certain Diego Maradona was discovered. He won the golden ball of the competition, after scoring six goals, which included the last goal of the competition.
He went on to win the 1978 FIFA World Cup in his homeland, and in 1986, he scored a controversial, “hand of God goal” and a goal voted in 2002 as the “goal of the century’.
Maradona, who later in life went on to become the head coach of the national team, is today regarded by many football writers, players, and fans as the greatest football player of all time.
Ronaldinho
Brazilian legend, Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, popularly called Ronaldinho was part of the team that won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1997 and graduated to the U-20 competition in Nigeria two years later where Brazil reached the quarter-finals. He scored three goals in Nigeria ’99, displaying a freakish ability to control and contort the football.
In 2002, he became a FIFA World Cup winner, scoring a wonder-goal against England in the quarter-finals. He went on to win the 2006 UEFA Champions League title with F Barcelona and was a force to reckon with in World football.
Angel Di Maria
Angel Di Maria was called upon to represent Argentina at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada. He scored three goals in process, helping the young Albicelestes win the title.
He has gone on to feature in big clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester United and Paris Saint German (PSG), where he has so far gotten sixteen goals for the club.
On the international scene, he scored the goal that won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games and has also represented them at three FIFA World Cups, reaching the final in 2014. He was named on the ten-man shortlist for FIFA’s Golden Ball award for the 2014 World Cup’s tournament’s best player
Davor Suker
Davor Suker is remembered for his excellent display for Croatia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France but his success story dates back to 1987 when he finished as the second highest scorer with six goals at the World Youth Championships in Chile.
He set a Championship record with 22 goals scored altogether with Yugoslavia going on to win the title with a generation of future talents. He went on to represent Croatia at the 1996 European championship and was part of those named as the Team of the Tournament.
He scored the bronze-medal winning goal against the Netherlands in the 1998 World Cup, winning the tournament’s top scorer. He later on became the President of the Croatian Football Federation.
Samson Siasia
Former Nigerian striker, Samson Siasia was part of the bronze-medal winning team for Nigeria at the 1985 World Youth Championship in the Soviet Union, where he scored a goal against Canada.
He played 51 international matches for Nigeria, over a period of eleven years, winning the bronze medal at 1992 African Nations Cup in Senegal and the trophy two years later in Tunisa with the Super Eagles. He is referred to as the third leading scorer for the National Team.
He was later appointed as coach of the U-20 national team, the dream team, and eventually, coach of the Super Eagles
Read Also: Africa team will lift U-20 World Cup – Garba
Paul Pogba
Turkey 2013 produced a certain young boy named Paul Pogba, who was part of the French team that won the tournament. Pogba, who was made captain, scored the team’s second goal in a 3–1 win.
He played every minute of all of France’s matches except for the final group match against Spain where he was an unused substitute and was adjudged the best player of the tournament.
Pogba later went on to represent Manchester United and Juventus, featuring in the 2015 UEFA and also won the 2018 FIFA World Cup with the national team, scoring in the final
Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez, a great icon for FC Barcelona and the Uruguay national team, is a product of the 2007 U-20 World Cup in Canada. It was not a great tournament for Suarez as he only scored two goals in Canada against Spain in the group stages and against the United States in the round of sixteen, which they lost, but he was noticed.
He went on to feature for the national team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where he made a major statement, stopping a goal-bound header from Ghana, which would have given Africa a spot in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals for the first time ever.
Suárez now has 18 trophies to his name, including six league titles and a UEFA Champions League title at club level, and a Copa América with Uruguay, scoring over 400 senior career goals for club and country. He was named player of the tournament IN THE 2011 Copa America, after scoring four goals.
John Mikel Obi
John Mikel Obi was a product of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands where he finished as the second best player, behind Lionel Messi. He scored a single goal throughout the tournament, against Switzerland.
He went on to be a part of the Super Eagles team at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations and also made it to the AFCON in 2013, where Nigeria emerged winners. H was named alongside the team of the tournament.
He was involved in a controversial transfer issue between Chelsea and Manchester United where he finally settled for the London Club. In 2012, he was a UEFA Champions League winner. He is currently with Middlesbrough, after leaving Tianjin TEDA, where he joined on a free transfer.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi, current holder of five ballon d’or, was the best player of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship where he scored the two goals that gave Argentina the title, scoring six goals in the process.
He went on to represent his country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, at the age of 18, making him the youngest Argentine to play in the World Cup, and he has featured so far in four FIFA World Cups.
He has been compared with legend, Diego Maradona, who has also referred to him as his successor because of his style of play, as a, left-footed dribbler.
He joined FC Barcelona in 2004, and has risen to become one of the greatest forces in the Catalan Giants. He has ten La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League trophies and six Copas del Rey titles to his name.
He has most official goals in a calendar year, and most hat-tricks in the UEFA Champions Leaguebut still looks forward to winning a major title with his national team after the 2005 World Youth Championship and the 2008 Olympic Games gold medal.
