RUSSELL’S OUT TO TAKE HIS CHANCE
Russell proves cap desire with race from MLS clash to join Big Eck’s squad
THE last person caught up in a tornado in Kansas ended up on the yellow brick road.
Johnny Russell has just come through a whirlwind few days he hopes will lead to a route to success with Scotland second time around.
The Wizard of Oz? The former Dundee United attacker went all out to become a pilgrim to Peru as he sought to prove to Alex McLeish how much turning out for his nation means.
He had no sooner finished playing for Sporting Kansas City in their goalless draw with Columbus Crew last Sunday night than he jumped on a 10-hour flight south to Lima.
He looked on from the sidelines as the Scots were downed 2-0 by the hosts before hopping on a six-hour flight north again yesterday morning in the hope of featuring against Mexico tonight in the Azteca.
Russell’s last cap was in October 2015, when he came on for Matt Ritchie in Faro as the Scots downed Gibraltar 6-0, and there’s no way he’s giving up his international ambitions without a fight.
The 28-year-old also scoffed at suggestions a move to the MLS from Derby County in January amounts to semi-retirement as he praised the quality and standards of the league in which he’s now operating.
He said: “I flew into Lima in the early hours of Tuesday morning, 1.30am, after playing a pretty tough game against Columbus Crew in 35 degree heat.
“The two managers sorted it all out. I spoke to my gaffer at Kansas and said, ‘Look, this is an opportunity I’ve not had in so long and I really don’t want to pull out the squad’.
“He was brilliant with me, asked me to stay for the Columbus game and he would let me go to play against Mexico.
“My last cap was against Gibraltar but playing for Scotland again has always been a goal. It’s a lot more difficult for people to see me playing in the States but I still feel I have something to give.
“I’ve been away on a lot of trips in the past with Scotland and didn’t play a lot of those times so I always felt I had something to prove. I still do.
“I’ve been given a second chance to get back in there and it’s up to me to take it. By no means have I moved to the MLS to relax. I’ve moved there to push myself, to try something different to further my game.
“A lot of people don’t think there’s a lot of quality in the league but you only have to look at the squad lists of every team. The league is littered with talent.”
In total, 117 different nations have now been represented in the MLS and many foreigners, like Russell, are entering the league in their peak years.
Mexican striker Carlos Vela, for example, is likely to feature against Scotland and plays for Los Angeles FC, former Juventus midfielder Sebastian Giovinco is at Toronto, Norwegian star Ola Kamara is with LA Galaxy and Hungarian striker Nemanja Nikolic is with Chicago Fire.
That’s in addition of course to a certain Zlatan you-know-who
and another idol of Russell’s, David Villa at New York.
He added: “A lot of players from the MLS are going to the World Cup. The league is littered with big talent. There has been a perception in the past that somehow it’s a retirement league but they are completely changing that by attracting younger guys and some real quality players.
“It was brilliant to play against Ibrahimovic – Ashley Cole also plays for Galaxy as well. We played New York in our first game and I came up against David Villa, a player I’ve loved for years. It is a great experience.
“I was given the opportunity to play in a league I’ve watched for a while and it’s constantly improving. I felt now was the right time to make the move, especially as they don’t want the old guys any more.
“If I’d left it any longer I don’t know if I would ever have been offered the chance.”
The deal was brokered by former Old Firm star Mo Johnston and the move surprised many, but not Russell, with Derby still in the hunt for a place in the Premier League when he decided to make the move.
He said: “I felt for the sake of my game I needed a change. I thought about staying with Derby until the end of the season but you never know what could happen. I couldn’t turn this down.
“I always wanted to go and play outside of the UK, even when I was at Dundee United. Kansas is also a great place to bring up the kids and that was one another reason for moving. It was something different for the family and new opportunities for them too.” Russell has already played at altitude this season but at 7200 feet Mexico City is even higher than Denver, where he faced Danny Wilson’s Colorado Rapids. He said: “It’ll be tough with the altitude and the heat, something we’re not used to. You can’t catch a breath, it tires you quicker and you constantly feel you’re pushing through to find a second wind. “But the chance to play in a stadium with such history? It’s going to be amazing.”
I’ve been given a second chance and it’s up to me to take it JOHNNY RUSSELL