The U-20 World Cup Has Born Many Football Stars, From Maradona To Messi

JAKARTA - Indonesia will host the U-20 World Cup from May 20 to June 11 and this biennial soccer championship is known as an event that has given birth to many stars and has even become a legend of the round skin processing.

A number of names have been shining to date, namely Lionel Messi. This Argentine player, as compiled by data, was one of the employees when Tim airing won the U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands in 2005. At that time Messi, who was full of talent, was 18 years old.

Messi's career continues to soar with Spanish club Barcelona. He managed to present a number of trophies to the Catalan team. Likewise with personal achievements by becoming the best player with various levels to the world.

For the senior national team level, Messi almost walked on the spot until he was finally able to help Argentina become the 2021 Copa America champion. Messi's name continued to soar after bringing his country to the 2022 World Cup champions in Qatar. This is the most anticipated achievement as a football player.

Messi, who now strengthens the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) team, even became the first player with 10 Player of the Match awards in the World Cup tournament. He extended that record to 11 with a win in the final against France.

Apart from Lionel Messi, there is Harry Kane. The player who is currently the backbone of English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team quoted from fifa.com is a member of the U-20 World Cup squad in 2013.

Harry Kane in the championship that took place in Turkey appeared in three group stage matches. Furthermore, the player who was born on July 28, 1993, continued to make his senior debut in the England national team against Lithuania at Wembley Stadium in 2015.

At the U-20 World Cup in Turkey, there was also the name Paul Pogba. The French player who has played a lot for the big teams in Europe such as Manchester United and Juventus is the best player in the event.

The next big player is Diego Maradona. The man who was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 30, 1960 is known for his extraordinary achievements. Closed on November 25, 2020, Maradona was arguably a football legend who inspired many young players around the world because of his ability to control the ball and create scoring opportunities for himself and other players.

In fact, Maradona managed to lead his team to win various championships in Argentina, Italy and Spain. He also managed to star in the Argentine national team which won the 1986 World Cup.

Britannica.com noted that Maradona started his professional football career after signing a contract with Argentinos Juniors at the age of 14, making his first division debut in 1976, 10 days before his 16th birthday.

Only four months later he made his debut with the Argentine national team. Despite being dropped from the 1978 World Cup champion squad because he felt he was too young, the following year he led the U-20 national team to win the Junior World Cup.

Ahead of the U-20 World Cup, PSSI as the parent organization of Indonesian football had to change captain from Mochamad Iriawan to Erick Thohir and this condition would not interfere with the preparation of the championship under FIFA's control.

Member of Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives Andre Rosiade who is also the Representative of Semen Padang FC assessed that Erick's experience in leading world-class football clubs such as Inter Milan was considered a good initial asset to advance the world of Indonesian football.

In addition, according to him, Erick's actions as Minister of SOEs also succeeded in fixing the previously slumped SOEs. This achievement is reflected in the performance of SOEs which can now pocket profits and even deposit the largest dividends in the history of the Republic of Indonesia.

Especially for preparation in the field, the six stadiums that will be used are Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta, Gelora Sriwijaya Jakabaring Stadium (Palembang), Si Jalak Harupat Stadium (Bandung Regency), Manahan Stadium (Surakarta), Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium (Surabaya), and Captain I Wayan Dipta Stadium (Gianyar) continues to be tamed.

In fact, FIFA representatives also began to go directly to check overall preparations including facilities and infrastructure. As the host, Indonesia clearly wants the U-20 World Cup to run smoothly and the Red and White national team under the care of Shin Tae-yong can fly.