Scots on the rocks
Tartan Terriers desperate to end major tournament misery
GLASGOW: Scotland face Albania in their first Nations League match today with long-suffering fans hoping they can take the first step on the road to ending a 20-year absence from major tournaments.
The new competition is designed to replace international friendlies with more competitive matches and also provides a second route to qualification for the European Championship.
And with Glasgow’s Hampden Park one of the host venues for the tournament in 2020, it gives Alex McLeish’s team, thumped 4-0 by Belgium in a friendly on Friday, added incentive to qualify.
The Scots reached five successive World Cups between 1974 and 1990 thanks to top-quality players such as Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Denis Law, Billy Bremner and Archie Gemmill.
But two decades and 10 major international tournaments have passed since Scotland faced Brazil in the opening game of France 1998.
A generation of Scots has been forced to look on enviously as other, smaller, nations such as Iceland, Croatia and neighbours Wales and Northern Ireland have qualified for major tournaments.
Managerial mistakes, lack of facilities, poor youth development and even genetics have been suggested as possible reasons for Scotland’s qualification woes.
Former Rangers, Brighton and Manchester City forward Gordon Smith – who was chief executive of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) from 2007 to 2010 – says everyone from the government down should shoul- der some of the blame.
“There are a lot more nations aiming to qualify now and the standard has improved greatly but I think the biggest disappointment for Scotland is looking at nations the size of Iceland qualifying,” Smith said.
“They put a lot of work into changing things and I would give them a lot of credit for that.
“They changed their game in order to make sure they were producing better players.
“Why has Iceland’s football improved so much? Because they’ve spent a lot of money on facilities.”
Smith said Scotland lacks facilities, including indoor pitches but that the government does not see building infrastructure as their duty with all the money washing around in the game.
“But I think the government has to get involved in order to get these facilities built because they are crucial to the standards we need to reach,” he said.
SFA performance director Malky Mackay, who has responsibility for Project Brave, set up to develop young players, agrees that Scotland lacks sporting facilities.
“You look at Iceland,” he told BBC Scotland.
“They built 10 indoor domes for them in a country that for six months of the year it was dark. All of a sudden kids were able to play all year round and their touch got better.
“Lo and behold, their Under17s and Under-19s and full squad have started improving.
“We have got to get kids the facilities.”