National Championship 1978 Round 1 05/11/1978 Argentinos Juniors 1-0 Racing (Córdoba) Stadium: La Paternal, Argentinos Juniors Field condition: regular La Nación “Nothing new. And it may be repetitive, as an obligation to say it. It’s about Maradona. The only thing good about the game was him. Author of the only goal, obtained like so many of his frequent, opportune, precise and astute plays. It happened at the 34th minute. The ball arrived to him, he made a quick turn, eluding the central fullbacks and also the left back, and on the edge of the box, he sent a strong and direct shot that was ideal.“ El Gráfico “Racing was too stingy in the first half and only defended with all men close to their goal. Argentinos — with the terrain and disposition on their side — became the owner of the field through the careful work of Fren and the luxuries of Maradona. Thereafter, Racing attempted to go forward, fundamentally with Giuliano and the strength of Maldonado, bringing danger to the opponent. There emerged the solid goalkeeping of Munutti, who saved everything” Diego played a good match and was rated with a 7 from El Gráfico. Summary: 1 goal The table looked like this after round 1
I got the impression that in the late 70s, the local based talent was lower than in previous years. - Just looking main squads (less competition). - Comparing rating with previous years (less shining stars). Just, this would not be the right thread to developed the idea.
The 1977 year was certainly stronger, since as previously mentioned, the World Cup, the foreign tours of certain clubs to Europe in the middle of the season, the exodus of players after the WC, and the youth WC preparation, all devalued the 1978 Championships. There was simply too many interruptions, which is why I believe Quilmes won, a small market team that would never win again once 1979-1980 started to stabilize again. Edit: And for example look at the stars of 1977 compared to those of 1978 in the ideal teams: Even the backup options could easily have been first choices, with Ardiles and Bochini fighting in Maradona’s position. Also, mostly NT players were in the 1977 team, compared to only one really in 1978 ideal team, which comprised of mostly underdog or mid to lower table teams. You have no River Plate, Boca Juniors, Independiente players in the side of 1978 whereas in 1977 they are in the list as either first choice or second.
National Championship 1978 Round 3 12/11/1978 Argentinos Juniors 0-1 Independiente Stadium: La Paternal, Argentinos Juniors Field condition: regular El Gráfico “As long as Maradona won the personal duel with Leone in the first half, Argentinos were owners of the ball, they managed it with criteria and created the best chances. Two brilliant plays from Maradona left Castro alone in front of goalkeeper Baley to score but he failed. Thereafter Leone erased Maradona (...)” El Gráfico rated Diego with a 6 for a correct performance (good in the first half) but his second half had been subdued. It is of note that Baley, the second choice NT goalkeeper, had transferred from Huracán to Independiente. Independiente would end up winning this championship again. Here a look at this game with brief highlights:
Friendly I don’t have the exact date, but between 14 or 17 of November 1978 Youth Argentina NT 1-2 San Rafael (Mendoza) Stadium: San Rafael, Mendoza (Argentina) In preparation for the youth World Cup qualifiers, the youth NT visited the province of Mendoza, on the frontier of the Andes mountains which separate Argentina from Chile. And to the surprise of the press the team lost against the local club after winning against the NY Cosmos. After the match the players and coach said that the win against the New York champions produced a false sense of invincibility and that they had let their guards down in this game. In any event, these games were valuable tests to prepare against the rugged South American nations that competed for a final place in the FIFA Youth WC of Japan 1979 Maradona’s main contribution was laying off a pass from an indirect free kick that led to the team’s only goal and a fierce shot that crashed off the crossbar (photo below). Summary: 1 assist https://infobravo.com/1978-una-epopeya-san-rafael-2-seleccion-sub-20-a-f-a-1/ http://www.rsssf.com/tablesm/mendoza-friendlies.html
Meanwhile, for round 4 of the National Championship, AJ were hammered 4-0 at home against Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) without Maradona.
National Championship 1978 Round 5 19/11/1978 Altos Hornos Zapla (Juyjuy) 1-2 Argentinos Juniors Stadium: Centro Siderúrgico Palpalá (Juyjuy) Field condition: good Two number 10s: Diego and Bacas An interesting review translated below from a fan of Altos Hornos Zapla of that afternoon in the northern province of Argentina, on the borders with the country of Bolivia. The article below said this: In fact I observe, I look, I am moved and I admire a photo fortunately in colors in which the great Diego Armando Maradona poses embraced, with his red Argentinos Juniors clothing, with his curlers, his fresh face, his jovial gesture. Next to him is the fantastic number ten of the merengue team, from the late 70s, born in Tucumán: the famous Eduardo “lalo” Bacas, a footballer who is already part of the almost mythological history of the beloved Altos Hornos Zapla. The two are portrayed behind the preferential tribune of the Emilio Fabrizzi stadium, with the background showing some gaps, since evidently the match corresponded to one more date of the old National Tournament, in which I am sure, which was the afternoon in that "Dieguito" made him drag goalkeeper Coronel with a couple of masterful free kicks. That day Diego did his thing, while the public in each corner of the field, crowded against the fence when he was about to take a corner. The point was to see it up close, even if you couldn't touch it. Diego was in his incipient idolatry that would lead him to be the greatest of all time. But let's talk about the other phenomenon that accompanied him in this sensational photo: Eduardo Bacas, with his stamp of a great player, taking a head out of Diego, and with a privileged physique for a dazzling number ten. Many times I was asked what the "lalo" Bacas was like in football and with a simple forcefulness, I answered: Eduardo Bacas, for me he was Mario Alberto Kempes. Yes, because he was a killer; when he raised his head, he puffed out his chest and when he started with his proverbial skill, he seemed to announce to his marker or to the entire opposing defense that he was facing you or facing you. Sure he was a phenomenon! That is why that number ten shirt had its own light as perhaps others who wore it. That is why he was a crack not only at his club, but when he provided his services as a reinforcement for Gimnasia y Esgrima and at Atlético Ledesma, where the old Ángel Tulio Zof had him as his favorite player. In the "Jujuy wolf", he had companions such as Varela, Teloni, Gonzalo, Otaola, Barreiro, Ainstain, Altamiranda, Gile or Carlos García. As we said, Mr. Ángel Tulio Sof always wanted it and he also used it when Atlético Ledesma classified a National. He was with the goalkeeper Bignone, Roldán, Chazarreta, Bedogni, Rubiola, Farías and Augier, to name a few members of a team. Obviously, on some occasions, playing for any of these Jujuy teams, he appeared in the summary of the date in the magazine El Gráfico, with his photo that highlighted him as the figure of the match with scores that ranged from 7 to 10 points, such as the magazine knew how to rate the individual performance of the players. But I wanted to share with you this photo of a soccer fan, in which on the Altos Hornos Zapla field, “the“ golden kid ”Diego Armando Maradona posed for posterity with the freshness of his 17 years. Beside him, one of the huge players who put on the number ten shirt of the beloved “merengue” team. This photo still glows with football, it draws one of the deepest memories and it still makes your skin crawl, even though the years have passed. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ju...eduardo-bacas-juntos-la-posteridad-n21296/amp According to that wonderful insight by the author that wrote that story, Maradona scored 2 free kicks that vanquished the home team. El Gráfico “After an initial beginning where the dominance of Altos Hornos was not fruitful due to poor finishing, in the second half the figure of Maradona emerged, which after an excellent individual performance, untangled a parity that deep into the second half seemed justified. After Argentinos second goal, the local team launched into a stubborn attack but were disorganized (...)” Maradona was El Gráfico’s man of the match and received a good grade of a 7. Summary: 2 goals (2 free kicks)
For round 6 of the National Championship Diego did not play and Argentinos lost at home to Velez Sarsfield, who were now managed by Enrique Omar Sivori.
After Maradona and the Argentinian youth NT defeated the NY Cosmos, press voices started to take note around the world. The Spanish Catalan newspaper of Mundo Deportivo published in December of 1978 about how Maradona was the projected future star of world football. It headlined: “He’s not Di Stefano nor Pelé but he is close” It read: One of the most bitter moments that the Argentine team went through, before proclaiming itself world champions on June 25, was when its trainer, César Menotti, had to discard four, of the twenty-six players who had lived together for a long time, distributing hours of training, concentration and illusions. Among those four players who could not be protagonists of the World Cup, there was a boy, still a child, called to be the youngest of the participants but who saw his dream vanished when Menotti, acting like his guts, told him that he should go home. - - Today, that boy, who has just turned 18, is the great figure in Argentina. It captures the attention of all the fans. He is something more than an idol. It is not possible to predict if he will be another Pele or another Di Stéfano, but if anyone is close to achieving the fame of these two "holy monsters" today, it is, without a doubt, Diego Armando Maradona. Everyone wants him, the Argentine youth team defeated a whole NY Cosmos, with its great figures, such as Beckenbauer or Chinaglia, at stake. And Diego Armando Maradona was far above that USA conglomerate that had to bow to the South American kids. Maradona is, despite his age, a mature player, with all the football that any player experienced in high-level competitions can offer. His technique is refined to the maximum and if something lacked such as dedication and a spirit of sacrifice, Menotti has tried, with success, to instill it in him. Barcelona is ready to push hard for this boy; the NY Cosmos themselves put dollars on a table after that commented match. If Italy opened its borders, Maradona would be the number one candidate to occupy a place in any of the best squads of "calcio”. http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1978/12/09/pagina-32/1042575/pdf.html It was becoming clear that the publicity surrounding this young man was about to explode.
Diego is almost at 100 official caps in his young career: 98 official games with 46 goals (94 games with Argentinos Jr, 4 games with senior national team). He also has 2 games with 1 goal with Youth Argentina National team, 4 games with Argentina senior team and 4 games with 2 goals with Argentinos Jr. 19.11.1978 OFFICIAL GAMES: 98 games - 46 goals UNOFFICIAL GAMES: 10 games - 3 goals TOTAL: 108 games - 49 goals Best Rated Player of the 1978 Metro with 7.16 avg Top Scorer of 1978 Metro with 22 goals in 31 games Included in those 49 goals there are 7 free kicks (6 of them in official games) and 8 penalties, with 2 missed.
Friendly Youth Argentina NT 4-0 San Jose (Uruguay) Venue: Uruguay Date: Apparently the 24 of November, since it was played one week after the NY Cosmos match, according to the article of El Gráfico about the upcoming youth NT games. And even though no texts or articles are available that I could find, it has been registered through various sources, like in a 1987 list of Maradona statistics from the magazine “Superfutbol”, it stated he scored 2 goals, although they seemed to get the date wrong. That source had an excellent info plus a complete interview with Diego, which I will share once I get to that year. Summary: 2 goals
National Championship 1978 Round 7 26/11/1978 Rosario Central 2-1 Argentinos Juniors Stadium: Rosario Central Field condition: excellent Diego’s last game of the National Championship before he made his final preparations for the South American youth World Cup qualifiers. El Gráfico “(...) Paradoxically in the two chances the home team created they scored two goals. Thereafter the level of Meza elevated, Maradona appeared in flashes (he scored a spectacular goal) and Argentinos balanced things out. However, it was not enough because the home team counterattacking was always more dangerous (...)” Maradona was replaced in the 83rd minute after getting injured. Diego was rated well with a grade of 7 from El Gráfico. Summary: 1 goal It must be noted that Carlos Fren, the captain of Argentinos Juniors, who had been Maradona’s best partner in midfield since Diego started professionally, had been sold to the club of Independiente. Now Maradona would take over the captain role.
So the National tournament was over for Maradona. There was 7 rounds remaining and without him the results ended like this: AJ 0-2 Racing (Córdoba) round 8 AJ 2-0 Deportivo Roca (Rio Grande) round 9 AJ 2-4 Independiente round 10 AJ 1-1 Gimnasia Y Esgrima round 11 AJ 5-3 Altos Hornos Zapla (Juyjuy) round 12 AJ 0-2 Velez Sarsfield round 13 AJ 1-2 Rosario Central round 14 2 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw http://www.rsssf.com/tablesa/arg78.html
Final summary of the National Championship. National Championship 1978 05/11/1978 Argentinos Juniors 1-0 Racing (Córdoba) 1 goal 12/11/1978 Argentinos Juniors 0-1 Independiente 19/11/1978 Altos Hornos Zapla (Juyjuy) 1-2 Argentinos Juniors 2 goals (2 free kicks) 26/11/1978 Rosario Central 2-1 Argentinos Juniors 1 goal Total: 4 games, 4 goals (2 free kicks) Maradona’s 4 games were rated by El Gráfico in the following way: 3 good performances with a grade of a 7 1 correct game with a grade of a 6 Final average 6,75 He was man of the match once in round 5 against Altos Hornos Zapla (Juyjuy). Without Maradona the club went 2 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw. Needless to say, it was a disastrous tournament for Argentinos Juniors, with the team scoring 17 goals and conceding 26. They ended in penultimate position in their group.
So this is some amazing stuff. Also, regarding Maradona official games with Senior Argentina team: The Newspaper said that he played the following 6 games until december 1978: Argentina - Hungary 5-1 (7-2-1977), friendly Argentina - Paraguay 2-1 (24-8-77), Copa Bogado Argentina - Paraguay 0-2 (31-8-77), Copa Bogado Argentina - Ireland 3-1 (9-4-78), friendly Argentina - Liga Tandilense 1-0 (12-4-78) , friendly Argentina - Liga del Sur 7-0 (3-5-78) friendly Now, they are missing the following friendly games: 30.04.1978 Argentina vs Cipolletti 2-0 entered in the 55th minute ^ 07.05.1978 Argentina vs Liga Correntina 2-1 entered in the 69th minute ^ I was under the impression that those 2 games were "Unofficial" friendly games just like the one vs Liga del Sur, but those 2 are listed and the other 2 no. Those 2 PLUS the games vs Liga del Sur and Tandilense are listed as unofficial games for Argentina Senior Team. So...what do you think @Vegan10 ? http://www.rsssf.com/tablesa/arg-unoff-intres-det.html#1978 Also, regarding the Youth Argentina match, which game is considered "official" and which "unofficial"?
Any match vs a club team was considered unofficial. What occurred was the magazine simply forgot to add those few friendly matches that were indeed played but not listed. For the Youth NT, the same thing applied. Only the NT games were regarded as official.
Without Maradona, the Youth Argentinian NT was defeated 2-0 in a friendly against Paraguay, a direct rival in the upcoming South American qualifiers. El Gráfico headlined: “Without Maradona it’s another thing” “The absence of Maradona signified a 50 percent reduction in functionality and an 80 percent in the psychological aspect for the team.” “Maradona is what for Pelé was for Santos or Di Stéfano for Real Madrid. He unbalances things. With him the team can play at 10 or 100 because he has four gears and he produces the changes in rhythm, that without him the team lacks (...)”
Then Diego he played so far 8 games with the Youth Argentina, and just 3 were "official". Update from my last post: up to 1-12-1978 ARGENTINA SENIOR Team: 4 games, 0 goals (8 games, 0 goals including unofficial friendly) ARGENTINA YOUTH Team 3 games, 0 goals (8 games, 4 goals including unofficial friendly) ARGENTINOS JR CLUB: 95 games, 47 goals (99 games, 49 goals including unofficial) TOTAL: 102 games, 47 goals (115 games, 53 goals including unofficial friendlies) * *Included in those 53 goals there are 7 free kicks, 6 of them in official games, and 8 penalties with 2 missed.
Friendly Between 5 and the 15 of December 1978 Combinado Liga Pergamino 3-3 Youth Argentina NT Summary: 1 goal Maradona is said to have played this game and scored 1 goal. In the link below dedicated to Alfredo Torres, who was part of the Youth NT roster, it stated the games he played and I was able to verify more or less the dates of these unofficial friendlies. https://www.google.com/amp/s/sentimientobohemio.wordpress.com/2016/11/12/viejo-y-querido-nato/amp/ My source had it dated the 5th of December. Their date is the 12. In any event it’s between those dates. No other newspaper information available.
Friendly 28/12/1978 Combinado Liga Cordobesa 2-2 Youth Argentina NT The link below said this: “Diego had already played with the youth team from the previous year (2-2 against the Cordoba League, on December 28) and was a figure of the youth side, but in the major he had not yet converted” https://www.google.com/amp/s/mmundod.lavoz.com.ar/amp/node/1774250 The same as before, in the link below dedicated to Alfredo Torres: https://www.google.com/amp/s/sentimientobohemio.wordpress.com/2016/11/12/viejo-y-querido-nato/amp/ No other additional information is available.
That put an end to year 1978 and now the Youth World Cup qualifiers was Argentina’s main objective entering 1979. For Maradona, the 1978 year was personally excellent at league level. He played 35 games, scoring 26 goals between the Metropolitan and National Championships. He was the top scorer in the Metro with 22 goals and El Gráfico’s highest rated player with an average of 7,16.
In fact there was some comments surrounding this game from El Gráfico. It was viewed as a demanding test before the Youth WC qualifiers against an opponent that had first level players. It highlighted the dependency on the natural skill of Maradona but reaffirmed that the team could still operate through other paths without excessively relying solely on him.
Year 1979 So this new year would be significant for Maradona. This is the year that placed him as South America’s player of the year and Guerin Sportivo’s world player of the year. The real pressure now started to build on his shoulders. His first real test would be to captain the Youth NT to qualify to the WC and then to win it. For his club, an encore is expected as he holds the title as best player in the league and top goalscorer.