The Irish senior team were deep in transition in the summer of 1997.
Jackie's generation were wheezing and spluttering their way towards the metaphorical finishing line and the younger lads were struggling with the burden of replacing them. The old were gone too old and the young had not yet taken wing.
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Into this difficult and joyless period stepped the 'Malaysian marvels', who travelled all the way to 3rd place in the World Youth championships that year. By the end, RTE were screening their games live throughout the early morning. Their achievement has been retrospectively overshadowed by the European championship winning teams of 1998.
But it's worth remembering the team of '97 - their most famous graduate turns 37 today. Here are the guys who started the third place playoff against Ghana.
Goalkeeper: Derek O'Connor
The Irish No. 1 played all bar two games in Malaysia, being replaced by Oxford's Paul Whelan for the second group game - a 2-1 win against the USA and the second round victory over the Morrocans.
At Huddersfield in the late 90s, he played only a couple of first team games and departed shortly after the sacking of manager Brian Horton.
He spent a season training with St. Patrick's Athletic around 2001 but never burst into the team. Departed for England soon after.
The last anyone heard from him, he was working as a gardener for Grace Landscapes in the English North East.
David Worrell
Born in Dublin despite his English sounding surname, Worrell played in every game in Malaysia. On the books at Blackburn during the adventure of 1997, he never succeeded in making the breakthrough.
However, he subsequently carved out a living in the lower divisions and in Scotland. Enjoyed his most settled period at Plymouth Argyle in the early noughties. Spent his last season in the professional game at Dundee in 2007-08.
Robbie Ryan
Spent six seasons at Millwall between 1998 and 2004, making over 200 appearances for the club. His final appearance for the club came in the 2004 FA Cup Final against Manchester United.
Thereafter, he had three seasons at Bristol Rovers, where he also made a mark.
Subsequently, he drifted towards the non-League and eventually out of the game in his early thirties. According to an article in the London Independent, titled 'The man who marked Cristiano Ronaldo in an FA Cup Final', Ryan now works as a cable lineman on the London Underground.
Colin Hawkins
A constant presence at centre back in the Malaysian odyssey, Hawkins had a long career, taking in numerous League of Ireland clubs and English lower division teams.
Enjoyed perhaps his best spell at St. Pat's in the late 1990s, featuring in the 0-0 draw at Celtic Park and winning the Young Player of the Year award. He won two League titles in a row at Pats and was part of the Shelbourne team which won the Premier League under trying circumstances in 2006.
Worked as a coach with Shamrock Rovers in the 2013 season.
Aidan Lynch
The 3rd place playoff against Ghana was Lynch's only start in the campaign. In the subsequent years, his career was confined to the domestic game. His lengthy LOI career took in spells at UCD, Drogheda United, Dublin City, Monaghan United (RIP) and Dundalk, where he subsequently stepped into a coaching role.
Niall Inman
The first non-native born player, Inman grew up in the heart of rugby league country in Wakefield. As with many others, the high-point of his career arrived early. At the time of the World Youth Cup, he was with Peterborough United. He toured a series of non-League clubs after leaving. He retired from injury in 2007 but subsequently re-signed for Mildenhall in 2008.
Michael Cummins
Cummins enjoyed a decent career in the English Football League. At Middlesbrough as a youth player, he subsequently made over 500 appearances for clubs as varied as Port Vale, Darlington and Rotherham United.
Currently works as a coach at Conference side Gateshead.
Thomas Morgan
A skilled player and captain of the Malaysian marvels, Morgan found the grueling, physical nature of English lower league football not to his tastes, and returned home to win two League titles with St. Pat's in the late 90s.
A cousin of Wes Hoolahan, Morgan's career also took in spells at Bray Wanderers and Shelbourne. In a 2007 interview with the Irish Independent, he spoke about the tough environment that prevails in the grimy nether reaches of the English Football League.
There's a lot of luck with making a career in England. The manager taking a shine to you or just being in the right place at the right time. Lower league football in England, particularly 10 years ago, had the ball in the air so much you'd feel sorry for it.
Damien Duff
Damien Duff was an unquestioned star in the great Malaysian adventure. He shimmied and feinted his way past full-backs as the first symptoms of Damien Duff Dizziness revealed themselves in terror of the Morrocan, Argentinian and Ghanian defenders.
He scored the golden goal which beat Morroco in the second round and sent a skittery shot past the keeper to beat Ghana in the 3rd place playoff.
We know how he has done since.
Dessie Baker
A trainee at Manchester United in the late 90s, Baker was possessed of shoulder length long hair in 1997. He ditched that look by the time he pitched up at Longford Town in the mid-2000s.
He spent seven seasons at Shelbourne, picking up a couple of League titles in the process. He signed for Longford Town, helping them to retain the FAI Cup that season.
Trevor Molloy
One of the biggest names on the '97 team, Molloy was a League of Ireland stalwart in the years following. The heavy St. Pat's influence on the Malaysian marvels is evident here again. Like Morgan and Hawkins, Molloy won LOI titles under Pat Dolan and Liam Buckley in 1998 and 1999.
He spent four seasons at struggling Shamrock Rovers in the mid-noughties and then moved to the IFA and Glenavon in the latter part of the decade.
Notable subs:
Neale Fenn
Fenn played in every game of the Malaysian game, being replaced by Baker for the 3rd place playoff. He scored the opener in the last 16 game against Morroco.
Born in London, and then at Spurs, he later spent long years in the League of Ireland. A skillful and stylish striker with both Waterford United and Cork City, he struggled to make an impact at Bohs but did manage to pick up a couple of League titles. ]
He was a bit part player in Shamrock Rovers title winning season in 2010.
He is currently head of operations at 'Path 2 Pro', a company which offers academy level coaching for Irish teenagers.
Alan Kirby
Like Fenn, 'Kirbs' played every match bar the 3rd place playoff. He was replaced by Aidan Lynch for the Ghanian game. Over at Villa at the time, he returned home to Waterford in 1998, spending three seasons there.
His performance against Longford Town in the 2001 FAI Cup semi-final convinced Stephen Kenny to bring him to the Premier Division that summer. He won two FAI Cups with Longford Town in 2003 and 2004.
After spells at St. Pat's, Sporting Fingal and title-chasing Sligo Rovers, he returned to Longford Town in 2012.
Read more: Ireland's 1998 Under 18 European Championship Winners - Where Are They Now?
