I love life in Leith after ultra chaos in Germany
SAYS JAMIE MACLAREN
SO then, Jamie. Do you fancy living in fear of the notorious Darmstadt ultras, a constant distraction in the fight to avoid a second straight relegation into the nether regions of German football?
Or would you prefer life in terribly civilised (well, mostly) Edinburgh? Scoring freely for a team contending at the right end of the Scottish Premiership and who are providing you with a great platform to enhance your World Cup hopes?
It’s not difficult to see why Jamie Maclaren leapt at the chance to join Hibernian during the January transfer window. Especially with the benefit of hindsight.
Five goals in 12 games speak to a flourishing partnership with fellow new arrival Florian Kamberi, the on-loan pair instantly gelling in the classic big man-wee man strike duo.
Together, they may just have the firepower needed to down Aberdeen at Pittodrie today in the battle to finish runners-up to Celtic.
In the circumstances, Maclaren has no regrets about leaving Darmstadt — currently in danger of dropping into Germany’s third tier — once Neil Lennon came calling.
Explaining what he’d left behind, the Australian international said: ‘In Germany, it was more of a hostile experience.
‘We had ultras come to the training ground, they get in your face and almost grab you by the scruff of the neck. It’s a different sort of culture.
‘Because Darmstadt were in the Bundesliga last season, fans expected so much.
‘So the idea of back-to-back relegations would be catastrophic.
‘There was one time when we went to training after losing three matches on the bounce.
‘The three main ultras came to training — the so-called gangsters — and they got in our faces and grabbed us by the shirts.
‘Not touching our skin, but by the shirt, they shouted: “What is this? We are paying our money and you’re taking the p***!”
‘As players, you don’t go out to lose games or not play well. It just goes to show the different ways passion comes through in different cultures.
‘I lived in the city and I’m a friendly person who can take criticism well. But in the stadium, when you were losing games, you would have beer bottles thrown at you — it’s a whole new level in Germany.
‘Walking the streets in Edinburgh, you hear people saying: “Well done, keep it going” which is nice to hear — and the environment here is so positive, seeing the fans go home happy. ‘Results help, obviously. And I’d rather be in a position where you are winning games and enjoying your work than being in a relegation scrap. ‘The new manager at Darmstadt, Dirk Schuster, wanted to keep me, which caused a bit of an arm wrestle. ‘But he knew I needed to get out, mentally, to be happy and also in terms of what was at stake with the World Cup coming up. That doesn’t come around too often and I needed to play football.
‘If I had stayed there, then I might have played more but would I have been happy? I don’t know.
‘I look back and say this is the best decision. And it is paying off.’
Maclaren’s stated intent upon arrival in Scotland was to force his way into the Socceroos squad for Russia this summer. Which means no let-up in his pursuit of the one currency that all coaches recognise.
‘I’d like to think my World Cup chances are good but, as a striker, you need to keep scoring goals,’ he said. ‘I’m in a good place, playing games and scoring goals, but that needs to continue.
‘I’ve scored against Celtic and Kilmarnock and I just can’t wait for the next game.
‘The Celtic win was live in Australia and people do watch that. There is a huge expat community.
‘I rise to those big games and, even if I can walk away saying I’ve scored against Celtic, Rangers and Hearts, then I can be proud of that. But I need to keep it going in the next three games.’
Maclaren would welcome Hibs team-mate Martin Boyle in the Oz squad, with the Scottish winger eligible through his dad. But he wouldn’t advise Boyle to rush into anything.
The former Brisbane Roar star said: ‘If he gets that passport sorted, then I don’t see any reason why he couldn’t play for Australia.
‘I think he should stick at it and I believe he’s good enough for Scotland. That’s a fantastic option.
‘Australia know about him, I know that for a fact, because they’ve been in touch (with Hibs) and Martin is in a great position to have two countries, two passports — and he is good enough to play international football.
‘I would say he would be a loss to Scotland. He brings unpredictability and real pace to the attack.’