5 Rising Argentina Stars to Watch in Under-20 South American Championships

At at time where major European leagues and the interminable rumour merry-go-round of the transfer window take centre stage, most South American competitions are inactive as players enjoy their summer holidays. One tournament, however, brings together some of the continent's finest youngsters. 

The 2015 South American Under-20 Championship takes place this January in Uruguay, and Humberto Grondona's Argentina are likely to be among the front-runners.

The Albiceleste kids open their campaign with a clash against Ecuador, and a place in both the World Cup and Olympic Games will be the prizes for a successful run. 

But who will be representing the youngsters in the prestigious tournament? Here are five of the top talents Argentina will call on in Uruguay, from battling defenders to silky playmakers and prolific goalscorers. 

5. Mariano Bareiro

At just 19, Mariano Bareiro is yet to make his bow in professional football. But the Racing Club midfielder has become a figurehead of the Academia reserve unit, anchoring the side in the middle of the pitch and pushing them forward with excellent vision and passing ability. 

The Buenos Aires native certainly has high aspirations, naming talents of the calibre of Fernando Redondo and Andrea Pirlo as his references in the engine room during an interview with Corazon Academico (via Spanish publicaton Taringa). 2015 will almost certainly see Bareiro pick up first-team minutes, but the South American competition will be a great test for him as he aims for a starting place in a talented squad. 

4. Tomas Martinez

Playmaker Tomas Martinez is one of the few members of the Under-20 squad who can boast sustained playing time at such an early stage in their career. The 19-year-old talent broke into the River Plate squad for the 2014 Transicion championship, playing four games in the Copa Sudamericana as the Millonarios lifted the trophy. 

Watching Martinez brings to mind the sort of mobile playmaker that in Argentina has begun to supersede the traditional No. 10 role of Juan Roman Riquelme and Ariel Ortega. He is a player who has wonderful mental capacity for the game, but also the physical presence to sprint past his marker and open up the pitch. 

Of particular importance in Uruguay will be the youngster's set-piece delivery. Martinez is an expert when it comes to dead balls, teeing up three goals in nine Transicion appearances to help his team primarily from the bench. 

3. Emanuel Mammana

Only two footballers in the history of the Argentinian national team have made Albiceleste debuts without a single professional game under their belts. The first is former captain and current midfield titan Javier Mascherano, and Emanuel Mammana would love to follow the example of the tenacious Barcelona tackler. 

Mammana saw playing time against Slovenia just before the World Cup, when he was called up from the group of "sparring" youngsters to play the last 15 minutes of a 2-0 victory. The defender, who at that point had not made an official appearance for River Plate, replaced none other than Mascherano in a moment full of poetic justice. 

The 18-year-old Merlo native has since made his Millonarios debut, where he asserted himself as a no-nonsense centre-back who lets little past him. Mammana is likely to lead the defence alongside another name for the future, ex-Boca prospect and current Fulham player Tiago Casasola, a pairing that few teams will want to meet in Uruguay. 

2. Maxi Rolon

Barcelona B striker Maxi Rolon is one of just three players in the U-20 squad, alongside Angel Correa and new Villarreal recruit Leo Suarez, who ply their trade outside of Argentina. But the 19-year-old will see at least one familiar face: twin brother Leo, already a first-teamer with Velez Sarsfield and who will hope to feed plenty of goals for his sibling in Uruguay.

Rolon has so far taken the same route as Lionel Messi and Mauro Icardi to possible footballing greatness. After starring in his native Rosario, the youth was invited to trials with the Catalan giant and eventually won a place, this season breaking into the B team.

His physical, direct approach to attack is not exactly in the vintage Barcelona tradition, but the diminutive Maxi has the heart and instinct for goal to fire Argentina to success this January.  

1. Angel Correa

Fans of domestic Argentinian football should instantly recognise the name of Angel Correa, by far the most experienced player in the U-20s squad with 61 San Lorenzo games under his belt. But a European bow for the 19-year-old forward has had to wait, despite agreeing a deal back in July to move under the wing of Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid. 

A heart defect detected during his Spanish medical has kept him out since that time, although the Colchoneros went ahead regardless with the transfer. The South American Championships, then, represent a golden chance for Correa to recover his best form, which made him one of the Argentine Primera Division's most dangerous attackers in 2013-14. 

Immensely quick, brave and technically gifted, the teenager shares some attributes with Angel Di Maria in the way he sprints down the wing, while also possessing a potent goalscoring threat. If fit, Correa will be the figurehead of the Albiceleste attack and a key figure throughout the Uruguay tournament.