Brian Kerr was coaching soccer teams when he was just 13 years old.
He'd been bitten by the bug before he'd even reached adulthood, getting hist first taste of management in Drimnagh before leading a team in Crumlin when he was 15, and still a promising player himself.
Kerr's playing career failed to take off but he'd already found his calling, razor-sharp mind helping him carve out a brilliant career in the game.
The Dubliner had unprecedented success with the Republic of Ireland underage teams, leading the Under-16s and Under-18s to European Championship titles in 1998.
Those feats landed him the senior Ireland job, and he later went to the Faroe Islands, who he helmed for nearly three years.
Before all that though, there was St Pat's.
Kerr got his big break in management with the Saints and repaid their faith by delivering two titles and countless great memories in a golden ten-year spell.
They are, as he told Des's Island Discs on RTÉ Radio 1, his true footballing love.
"The first big match I ever went to was in Inchicore, Richmond Park, when I was eight years of age," said Kerr.
"St Pat's were playing Cork Celtic and were beaten 8-2 on the day, but like most kids, when you go and see that green pitch - though in those days it wouldn't have been a green sward, it'd have been bumpy and lumpy with mucky patches on it - but to see it with the lines marked, the people packed in around what was then a wooden fence, the excitement, the cheering.... it was something I grew a love for in a very early stage of my life.
"I used to stand on a grassy bank on the Camac side. It's a bit posher now, there's terrace and bars and all that, but the Camac is still bubbling along.
"I still stand there, nearly 60 years later. They gave me my first opportunity to manage in the League of Ireland. I was never good enough to play for them. I got to manage them for ten years, lot of ups and downs, but I always had great support from the board, the chairman and owners.
"I never had a day where the supporters booed whether the results were good or bad. I still love to go down and watch Pat's and just be a supporter now, and stand on the terraces with the same frustrations and annoyances at times but always going with hope that it's going to be a good night's football and I'm going to come home after seeing a good result and good entertainment."
On the show, Des Cahill is joined by guests from various walks of life to discuss songs of significance to them, synonymous with moments in their lives.
One of the tracks Kerr chose was Children by Robert Miles.
"It came out early in 1996. We won the league with St Patrick's in 1995/96. We'd a great win in Dundlak on the Friday night. We needed to win to stop it going t the last game against Shelbourne. We won 2-1.
"The next day I was due to go in to RTÉ to do Saturday Sport, George Hamilton was presenting. I got delayed. I got delayed in Dundalk, then I got delayed in Inchicore. I mislaid my car keys. And I mislaid my car. It turned out it to be a late night and an early morning.
"I eventually got into RTÉ and I remember on the Saturday Sport programme there was a montage of all our goals from the season, and particularly the highlights from the night before.
"They used the Robert Miles song over those powerful scenes of the winning of the league. When I hear that tune I always think of Dundalk.
"My kids, when they hear it they associate it with that too. Often when I was going to matches after I'd play that album, but particularly that song. It used to be on repeat."
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