Pablo Zabaleta is in no doubt that the Under-20 World Cup has provided him with some of the outstanding moments of his career. Twice he won the Premier League with Manchester City but this tournament has a special place among his honours. Perhaps because of the skinny, shy kid drafted in at short notice to the Argentina squad Zabaleta captained in 2005. No one really knew much about the introverted 17-year-old, the youngest of the group.
They left him on the bench in a warm up game against Paraguay, but brought him on for the second half. ‘It was one of those moments where someone has a massive impact,’ recalls Zabaleta.