|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
If reaching the World Cup is the pinnacle of any soccer player's professional career, then reaching the FIFA World Youth Championship can be considered an important stop along the way. Held every two years, the FIFA World Youth Championship is generally regarded as premier event for the top youth players in the world.
Historically, many of the world's top players have stopped at the World Youth Championship before entering the international limelight. Previous tournaments featured players such as Diego Maradona (Argentina), Raul (Spain), Davor Suker (then Yugoslavia) and Marco van Basten (Holland). Malaysia '97 featured a pair of budding stars named Michael Owen (England) and Thierry Henry (France), who just one year later stamped their mark on the 1998 World Cup. The 1999 Championship featured performances by several players who went on to further their mark on the international game at the 2000 Olympics, including Ronaldinho (Brazil) and Xavi (Spain). Thirteen of the USA’s 19 players on the final Sydney 2000 roster played in a World Youth Championship, and two more - Landon Donovan and Conor Casey - are trying to make it to Argentina 2001.
From June 17 - July 8, 2001, the next wave of world-class players will be on display in Argentina, as 24 countries compete in th 11th FIFA World Youth Championship. The Championship will take place in six venues across Argentina, including the Jose Amalfitani Stadium in Buenos Aires, Olimpico in Cordoba, Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza, Club Atletico Newell’s Old Boys in Rosario, Nuevo Estadium in Salta and Jose Maria Minella in Mar del Plata. The draw for the tournament will take place in Buenos Aires on April 26, 2001.
Spain was the story at the 1999 World Championship, going undefeated en route to the country's first Youth Championship title with a 4-0 win over Japan in the final. Spain’s potent attack was led by Pablo’s Championship-leading five goals, including two in the final. The U.S. advanced to the Round of 16 in Nigeria, before bowing out to Spain with a 3-2 loss and placing 11th -- with their only two losses coming to eventual finalists Spain and Japan.
The list of World Youth Championship honors over the years is led by Brazil with three gold medals and two silvers. Only Argentina, winners in 1979, 1995 and 1997, and Portugal with their wins in 1989 and 1991, have also claimed the trophy more than once. The other winners were the Soviet Union (1977), West Germany (1981) and Yugoslavia, whose 1987 squad included today's Croatian stars Zvonimir Boban, Robert Prosinecki and France '98 Golden Boot winner Davor Suker.
Originally called the World Youth Tournament when the event was first staged in 1977 (Tunisia) and 1979 (Japan), the tournament took its current name and became a FIFA-sanctioned event in Australia in 1981. The tournament has garnered some of the highest profile matchups in international soccer; in 1983, the event enjoyed its first enormous success in Mexico, where the final between Brazil and Argentina drew a capacity crowd of 105,000. The 1991 final saw even the '83 attendance eclipsed, as 127,000 - the second largest crowd ever to attend a FIFA match - crammed into Lisbon's Stadium of Light to watch Portugal defeat Brazil, 4-2, on penalty kicks. |
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
About the FIFA World Youth Championship
Did you know?