As Colombia
prepares to host the 18th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the locals may
well be wondering what to expect. The tournament’s billing has traditionally
promised ‘a look at football’s stars of tomorrow, today’, but has the
34-year-old showpiece really lived up to this kind of hype? FIFA.com set about cheap
soccer jersey finding out.Tunisia
staged the first-ever FIFA World Youth Championship, as it was known in 1977,
and the star of the title-winning USSR side was midfield general
Vladimir Bessonov. After laying claim to the tournament’s adidas Golden Ball
award, the Dynamo Kiev star went on to enjoy an outstanding international
career, winning Olympic gold .A good start, then, but nothing compared to the
sense of history-in-the-making that accompanied the 1979 edition in Japan. This
was the tournament at which a certain Diego Maradona gave the world a memorable
first glimpse of his awesome potential, inspiring an outstanding Argentina side
to glory alongside his prolific partner in crime, Ramon Diaz.
Argentina conceded their crown two years later, but the Albiceleste side of 1981
did contain a striker who would go on to score a FIFA World Cup-winning goal
just five years later, Jorge Burruchaga. Uruguayan legend Enzo Francescoli also
impressed in Australia, but it was Romulus Gabor – the rock on EPL Football shirtswhich the bronze-winning Romania side was
built – who claimed the adidas Golden Ball.It was generally felt that Gabor,
despite going on to win 35 caps for his country, failed to live up to his
potential, and the same was widely said of Geovani, the star of Mexico 1983.
The Brazilian’s vision and skill had seen him edge the likes of Marco van
Basten, Toni Polster and Bebeto to both the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe awards,
but it was to prove the high point of a career that never truly got off the
ground.Geovani’s fellow Brazilian and winner of the 1985 Golden Ball, Silas,
undoubtedly fared better, starring for Sporting and Sampdoria in a career that
also encompassed two FIFA World Cups in 1986 and 1990.
A
supporting cast in USSR that included the likes of Claudio Taffarel, Rene
Higuita and Krassimir Balakov also provided evidence of Chelsea FC Football Shirt the tournament’s
growing strength, and this trend was to continue at Chile 1987.The elegant,
imperious Robert Prosinecki proved a popular choice as the tournament’s
outstanding player, but the title-winning Yugoslavia team alone provided the
midfielder with a plethora of worthy rivals such as Zvonimir Boban, Predrag
Mijatovic and Davor Suker.
There was similarly stiff competition in Saudi Arabia two years later, with
Diego Simeone, Sonny Anderson and Oleg Salenko all in the running for honours.
Yet it was Brazil who again provided the Golden Ball winner, and though
Bismarck didn’t go on to conquer the world, he did earn a place in the Seleção
squad at Italy 1990.Portugal 1991 witnessed the crowning of Chelsea home shirt a ‘golden
generation’ as the hosts retained the trophy, despite the efforts of emerging
talents such as Giovane Elber, Andy Cole nd Paulo Montero. Yet the player
identified as the competition’s shining star was not Luis Figo, nor Rui Costa
or Joao Pinto, but rather Peixe, who unlike his overlooked team-mates went on
to enjoy a surprisingly unspectacular career.