R. Sasikumar, Singapore's match-winner in the 1998 Tiger Cup final - which the Asean Football Federation championship was known as then - said: "Due to injury and personal reasons, many stars like Fandi Ahmad, David Lee, Malek Awab, Lim Tong Hai, Steven Tan and V. Selvaraj were retired or not in the 1998 squad.
"There was a youthful energy about the team because there were players from the Olympic (Under-23) squad who wanted to prove their worth and thinking this was our turn. There was Rezal Hassan in goal, S. Subramani, Aide Iskandar and myself in a three-man defence, and we had a solid backline who trusted one another.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Read the full story and more at $9.90/month
Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month
ST One Digital
$9.90/month
No contract
ST app access on 1 mobile device
Unlock these benefits
All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com
Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device
E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you