21/05/2022
In February (I was sixteen at the time), I made my national team debut at the familiar Boca Juniors Stadium against the Hungarians. I was invited by Menotti himself. He called me, "Maradona, Maradona, is that you?" He asked twice. "I introduced you to the game with the Hungarians. Will you come?" He knew that if he called any Argentine footballer to the national team, he would immediately run to the training camp.
On April 3 of the same year, Maradona made his debut as part of the Argentine youth national team, in which he played at the Youth Championship of South America, which took place that year in Venezuela. There Diego played all 3 matches of the national team. For the Red Beetles, Maradona also had a good season, playing in 49 games and scoring 19 goals. Leading American and European clubs began to "hunt" for the young Argentine talent, but Diego refused everyone, preferring to prepare for the World Cup in a calm environment, for a trip where Maradona was one of the candidates