The list of U20 World Cup winners is a roll call of some of the modern greats. From Luis Figo, Rui Costa, Xavi Hernandez and Iker Casillas to Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Daniel Alves and Joan Roman Riquelme, all these players have tasted glory in the biennial tournament which is sometimes known as the FIFA World Youth Championship.
And many current and past stars have taken part in the tournament which generally gets a fair bit of coverage and plaudits outside of Ireland and the UK.
It is ten years since Ireland had a team at the U20 World Cup. But back in the 90s, Ireland were regular qualifiers, winning the bronze medal in 1997.
That team which made such an impression in Malaysia included future Ireland man Damien Duff and beat Spain along the way, before narrowly falling to eventual champions Argentina in the semis – a star-studded team featuring future Argentina stars Riquelme, Esteban Cambiasso, Pablo Aimar and Walter Samuel.
Ireland qualified again for the 1999 edition with current Ireland skipper Robbie Keane, ex-Leeds man Stephen McPhail, Richie Sadlier and former Tottenham defender Gary Doherty joining Duff in the squad which travelled to Nigeria and reached the knockout stages.
Under the guidance of Brian Kerr, Keane along with John O’Shea had been part of teams that had achieved unprecedented success for Ireland by winning the U18 and U16 European championships during the mid-90s. Keane and Duff, in particular then played key roles for the senior setup as they reached the knockout rounds of the 2002 World Cup while O'Shea began to establish himself at Manchester United soon after.
Keane scored three times in Japan while Duff’s “Sayonara” celebration against Saudi Arabia was one of the moments of that tournament.
The class of 2003 which also qualified for the knockout stages of the U20 World Cup included current Boys in Green like Kevin Doyle, Glenn Whelan, Stephen Kelly and ex-senior caps like forward Stephen Elliott, midfielder Darren Potter and goalkeeper Wayne Henderson.
Kevin Doyle of Ireland and Jorge Caceres of Paraguay at the 2003 U20 World Cup ©INPHO/Andrew Paton
"Once in a blue moon"
With a population of about 4.5 million according to the last census, the odds are always stacked against Ireland at youth and senior level, but there should be huge concern that Ireland has failed to make a serious impact at U20 level over the past decade. Part of the reason was the fact, Ireland fell behind technically and tactically compared to other European teams.
The generation of Keane, Duff and O’Shea were rightly seen as a golden generation at youth level but for a country of Ireland’s size, producing such a group of players happens once in a blue moon.
Of course our playing pool has been boosted by Northern Irish players who switch allegiance, while we have traditionally had many British-born players of Irish parentage. But many of them tend to join up when they are already into their 20s which makes it harder to successfully establish a footballing culture at international level.
In 2006, the FAI did start to make moves to close the gap by setting up the Emerging Talent Programme and appointing Dutchman Wim Koevermans as High Performance Director before he took over the India national team last summer.
The changes made were aimed at improving the technical level of Irish players, particularly between the ages of 13 and 16, and any progress would bear fruit around their late teens.
Ireland did reach the U19 European Championships in 2011 and although they were taken apart 5 – 0 by a brilliant Spain in the semi-finals of the eight team tournament, at least it was a sign of progress – although much more can be done.
A lot of media focus goes towards the senior team but in reality the true health of a nation’s sports teams are increasingly apparent at youth team level with Spain as the most potent example.
Golden generations do not just emerge out of nowhere. In fact this Spain team is a confluence of about three generations, from the old guarder of Xavi and Casillas, to Iniesta and Torres, and to the likes of Pique and Fabregas. Due to the work done at youth level, all those players were European or World Champions at U17, U19 or U20 level, carrying that success into their senior careers.
17 months before Euro 2012, the youth team coach of a leading League of Ireland club told me that he hoped that Ireland would not qualify for a major tournament until we had sorted out the problems at underage level.
Looking back at the debacle of Euro 2012 and the barren spell at U20 World Championships, he was correct in his assertions.
