Morgan's memories put to good use for U17 adventurers

Thomas Morgan doesn't need much prompting for memories of Malaysia 1997 to come flooding back in all their glory.

Particularly when the Republic of Ireland Under-17s head coach Colin O'Brien invited the now 48-year-old to give a talk to his players before they flew out to Qatar last Friday for the start of their FIFA World Cup adventure.

The Ireland U17s will kick off their group campaign against Panama on Wednesday with all of the Boys in Green's matches at the tournament live on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player.

Where the U17s will stride out onto pitch three in Al Rayyan for their 12.30pm kick-off (Irish time), 28 years ago it was Morgan, wearing the captain's armband, who was leading out a Brian Kerr-coached team at the Darul Aman Stadium in the Malaysian city of Alor Setar for an opening game against Ghana at the FIFA World Youth Championships.

By the time that Ireland team, which also featured up-and-coming starlet Damien Duff, faced the Ghanaians again it was the third-fourth place play-off and victory for the Boys in Green meant they famously returned from Malaysia 1997 with bronze medals from a competition since rebranded as the prestigious FIFA Under-20 World Cup.

The collective memories of the 18 squad members plus the staff from 1997 lives on through regular reunions organised by Kerr and an animated Whatsapp group, while Morgan's medal was close at hand when he went to visit the current U17s last Thursday at their manager O'Brien's behest.

"I just did a little questions and answers with them and a little insight of what they're going to be getting themselves into," Morgan said when RTÉ Sport caught up with him on Sunday evening.

"They put up a few videos of the games and a few pictures and sort of showed on a projector Malaysia 1997, how we progressed through the tournament and how we went on to finish with a bronze medal.

"So I brought the bronze medal out and I just showed the boys what they can achieve and little insights as to what we did."

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The U17s squad which includes Shamrock Rovers duo Michael Noonan and Victor Ozhianvuna, as well as Benfica winger Jaden Umeh and Dundalk's Vinnie Leonard, were very inquisitive.

Some asked about how Morgan and co acclimatised to the difficult conditions in Malaysia - that squad famously prepared for the heat and humidity by going into saunas at their University of Limerick training camp bedecked in raincoats - and others looked for an insight into preparing to face non-European teams.

"One of the boys asked me about playing against the different continents' international teams. They're going to be playing against Panama, Paraguay and Uzbekistan, and we played in our group, Ghana, China and USA," Morgan said.

"So quite different than playing against the European teams where you might be used to playing them more."

Aside from the importance of keeping the ball in the heat, Morgan, who played as the deep-lying midfield conductor in 1997, also emphasised the gravity of togetherness, given how vital team bonding was to his generation.

In a different era when smartphones were not even at an embryonic stage, sing-songs involving all the players and staff, and constantly spending time in each other's company drove the spirit through the group games and then the knockout wins over Morocco and Spain before a 1-0 semi-final defeat to an Argentina featuring future greats like Esteban Cambiasso, Juan Roman Riquelme, Pablo Aimar and their current 2022 World Cup-winning manager Lionel Scaloni.

Morgan didn't dwell on one aspect during the Q&A with the U17s and that was the fact that all of Ireland's games during 1997, win or lose, were decided by a single goal in typical tournament football style.

"I realised that, but I didn't say that to the boys the other day," he said.

"And then something that I wanted to say to the players - there was so much information going across (and) questions - but this is similar to the lads who are going away at the moment.

"It just shows the importance of staying in the game, going ahead, holding your lead, or else resilience to come back.

"So there are loads of factors, and they were very, very tight games, and it was something I was thinking about the other day."

There is one thing that is very different. The 21-strong U17s squad in Qatar are very much built around a League of Ireland produced core that, in many cases, have been fast-tracked into their clubs' first teams in a manner that is not replicated by their European rivals at the World Cup.

In contrast, all but three of the U20s from 28 years ago had long been in England, including Belvedere boy Morgan who had been at Blackburn Rovers alongside the aforementioned Duff and defender David Worrell.

Morgan, who would later be part of Shelbourne title-winning teams, was released by the Lancashire club shortly before Malaysia in a career low-point which made his selection and captaincy all the more special as it restored his "belief to go and play in the World Cup".

But back then, his generation weren't thrust into first teams at the same speed as the very familiar faces that were looking back at him during the Q&A.

"It's great to see so many younger players getting opportunities around first team football, but it's definitely needed and it's definitely embraced because you need that," he said.

"Sometimes you just have to take chances with younger players because if they have the ability and you see good traits and good fitness levels and so on, get them in, because if they go in with better players around them, I've always said you should become a better player.

"You become a better player when you've better players around you and the age profile shouldn't make much of a difference."

As an FAI development officer for the past 12 years, Morgan is at the coalface and has seen many of these U17s on their way up the grades, while he also currently coaches the St Patrick's Athletic U20s, having previously been involved with the Shamrock Rovers academy.

And this World Cup is happening with the backdrop of Government funding for LOI academies to the tune of €3 million.

"It's a starting place and it's definitely needed, and it's definitely appreciated from a clubs' perspective," Morgan said.

The crucial aspect for the future will be upping the coaching contact hours for young Irish boys and girls to match up with their European peers. Morgan recalled hectic schedules at Blackburn where it was football, football, football every day of the week bar Wednesdays and Sundays as a teenager which in his words, made you "feel like a footballer".

Over here right now, more often than not in an environment underpinned by dedicated volunteers, it's matches on a Saturday and training Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

"So basically it's four days you're with the players," Morgan, who has kids of his own coming through the system, said.

"It's definitely not enough, the (players) need more (contact hours). Ideally, you get them in every evening."

That's for the long-term. In the short-term, the men from 1997 are buzzing about what the U17s are about to experience in Qatar - including ex-Shelbourne manager Duff who is there on duty as a FIFA technical advisor - which has got Morgan's Whatsapp notifications buck leaping like a grasshopper again.

"We were onto our boys yesterday in the group, and we're all talking about it, having a bit of banter, like saying, 'it's not easy to win medals at a World Cup,'" he says with a chuckle.

"I texted Colin O'Brien last night and said, 'Even with the boys the other day, you're feeling the buzz factor of what they're going to go (and do). Their families, their friends, their parents are all so proud of them.

"It's actually great to see that and long may we get more of that going forward."

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