THE DAY ALL SCOTLAND STOOD STILL
At the epicentre of the footballing universe, with billions watching all over the globe, Brown’s men opened the show against stars of Brazil
IT may be impossible to imagine for a generation that have grown up without a single Scotland side to cheer at any major finals over the last two decades.
But 20 years ago this coming Sunday — on June 10, 1998 — at 5.30pm, the whole country ground to a standstill as the eyes of the planet were firmly fixed on our national team.
An estimated one billion viewers across 110 countries tuned in to see Craig Brown’s side open the World Cup against holders Brazil in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.
Celebrities like Billy Connolly, Sean Connery and Rod Stewart were among the 80,000 crammed into the stadium to watch the Scots take on the dizzying talents of Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Cafu and Roberto Carlos.
The night before the France ’98 curtain-raiser, Prime Minister Tony Blair had flown in by helicopter to the Scots’ chateau base on the outskirts of Paris to wish Brown and his boys well.
As captain Colin Hendry led the team out for the match amid a deafening din, Scotland were very much at the epicentre of the footballing universe.
‘I think it’s the most prestigious match Scotland has ever been involved in,’ Brown told
Sportsmail.
‘I know the rivalry with England is probably more important to the Tartan Army but, in the eyes of the world, that was probably the most important game we have ever played.
‘I would say it’s the second-most prestigious game at the World Cup behind the final itself, with everyone tuning in to see the holders defend their trophy.
‘Although nowadays I see it’s the hosts that kick off the World Cup final as Russia will do when they face Saudi Arabia in Moscow next week.
‘That game against Brazil was certainly the most watched match in the history of the Scotland football team.
‘They say a billion people watched the game but I’ve read people claiming there were actually two billion viewers.
‘The interest in it was incredible that a lot of it is a blur. The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, flew in by helicopter to meet us the night before at the hotel and he shook everyone’s hands. It was such a prestigious occasion.
‘He chatted with everyone. Sometimes you get the sense that politicians are told what to say in these meetings but he seemed very knowledgeable.
‘Billy Connolly, Rod Stewart and Sean Connery were all at the game but they regularly followed the national team.
‘When we prepared for Euro ’96 in America, Rod Stewart had invited the team up on stage at his concert at Madison Square Gardens and he later joined in with us at training. Sean Connery used to watch the qualifying matches on the road to France ’98 and he would often phone me at the SFA after games.
‘At first, I thought it was Ally McCoist up to his old wind-up tricks, but when he came on the line it was definitely Sean Connery as he referenced previous conversations we’d had.
‘But their presence at the match only added to the occasion.’
The Scots were given a rapturous reception when they walked around the Stade de France resplendent in traditional costume.
The inspiration for the kilts came to Brown after a lecture from Werner Kern, the head of youth at German giants Bayern Munich.
‘In away games, Bayern Munich’s youth sides would wear the traditional Bavarian national costume of lederhosen to show their identity,’ recalled Brown. ‘It went down very well and sometimes even the first team, who were one of the best teams in Europe at the time, would travel wearing their national costume.
‘I thought Scotland wearing kilts would make a nice statement at the World Cup and we got a deal with a kilt manufacturer, who put money in the players’ pool. It went down really well. Only one guy that I recall, Tom Boyd, said they were too warm.’
As the Scots walked out, Colin Calderwood infamously took a wrong turn, going right instead of left as his team-mates burst out laughing.
Skipper Hendry then led his side out on to the turf where the biggest match of their lives awaited.
‘I will never forget that day against Brazil at France ’98,’ Hendry recalled.
‘I can still picture it all; from the bus journey through Paris to the ground, to the colour and the noise of both sets of fans on the way there and in the stadium.
‘As a team, we walked out on to the pitch wearing kilts long before the game and I recall seeing my family, my children, my late wife Denise and Denise’s parents standing next to my parents.
‘They, in turn, were standing next to musicians, comedians, politicians. Everyone who was anyone was there.
‘And even for the very famous people, this was the pinnacle for them. They were just as blown away by the occasion as everyone else.
‘I suddenly realised we, as players, were taking centre stage in the biggest game of football in the world against one of the finest football countries that has ever existed.
‘And that I had been given the honour of leading my country out. I just remember looking up at my family, the people who had supported me along the way in my career and thinking: “Wow”. It was one of the finest moments of my career.’
But after four minutes, there was disaster for Scotland when Cesar Sampaio rose at the near post unchallenged to head Brazil into an early lead.
Seven minutes before half-time, though, Scotland were awarded a penalty when Sampaio challenged Kevin Gallacher in the box.
Up stepped John Collins, who coolly found the bottom corner before racing off on a mission.
‘The ball hit the back of the net and I ran to the corner to celebrate. I knew that’s where my dad, my wife, my brothers and my friends all were.
‘It makes me pretty emotional thinking about it even now,’ said the 58-cap midfielder, whose father, Norrie, passed away shortly before
Collins coached Hibs to the 2007 League Cup.
Scotland’s plan to blunt the Brazilian attack had been supplied by the England manager who steered the Three Lions to the semi-finals of Italia ’90. And it seemed to be working.
‘I spoke to Bobby Robson about Ronaldo, who had managed him at Barcelona,’ said Brown.
‘I asked him how best to stop him and he laughed and said: “You don’t stop Ronaldo”.
‘Bobby said he had worked with great strikers like Romario and Gary Lineker in his career, but that Ronaldo was far better than anyone.
‘He was outstanding, so lightning quick and gifted that he could cope with man-marking.
‘Bobby said anything you tried would fail against Ronaldo — except stopping him getting the ball.
‘I studied footage of nine Brazil games and the majority of passes into Ronaldo came from Cafu.
‘So I told Christian Dailly to half Cafu anytime he got the ball. It largely worked well until the fateful moment...’
That fateful moment arrived in the 73rd minute, when Cafu got in behind the Scots defence and his shot came back off Jim Leighton. The ball struck the luckless Boyd on the chest and somehow eluded Hendry on the line for Brazil’s winning goal.
Having qualified for five out of the last six World Cups, the official Scotland song for France ’98 was Del Amitri’s Don’t Come Home Too
Soon; a downbeat lament on the national team’s regular predication for not making it through the group stage.
A 1-1 draw with Norway in Bordeaux then a 3-0 filleting by Morocco in Saint Etienne ensured that pattern continued as Brown’s side finished rock bottom of Group A with one point.
But few could have predicted that when the Carnaval de Paris ended, Scotland would be locked out of the funfair, remaining on the outside of every major tournament since.
There is plenty to ponder when Brown, his backroom staff and the squad reunite this weekend for a golf outing at Dalmahoy tomorrow, followed by a dinner in Glasgow on Sunday to mark the 20th anniversary.
‘I can’t believe it’s 20 years on,’ said the former Scotland boss.
‘In the 12 years from 1986 to 1998, we made five major tournaments and then none in 20 years. I genuinely think we have lacked a bit of luck on a couple of occasions in qualifying over the years.
‘I thought last summer, when Leigh Griffiths scored twice against England, that may have been a turning point in qualifying for Russia.
‘Hampden was electric but Harry Kane grabbed that late equaliser to make it 2-2.
‘It’s hard to explain why the national team has not done so well over the years. But maybe the influx of foreign players after 1998 impacted on young Scots getting a chance at their clubs.
‘We definitely had better players back in 1998. We had three of the Blackburn Rovers side that were champions of England in 1995 — Colin Hendry, Kevin Gallacher and Billy McKinlay.
‘We had Gary McAllister, who was a superb player but got injured before France ’98 and we had Paul Lambert, who had just won the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund.
‘Scotland have good players now like Andrew Robertson and Kieran Tierney, but a lot of the squad comes from the English Championship.
‘But, like every proud Scot, I dream of us being at a major finals once more...’
Until that day dawns, like Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, Brown and the Tartan Army will always have Paris.