Get over finals hurdle
50 Sunday Mail
Steven Reid has spent lockdown reminiscing about the 2002 World Cup – his only major finals appearance with Republic of Ireland.
And as the memories came flooding back, it made him even more determined to ensure Scotland’s players sample it for themselves at Euro 2020.
Steve Clarke’s right-hand man has been as frustrated as any Scot at the postponement of our play- off game with Israel due to Covid-19.
He might have to wait until next year for a crack at them, with the tournament now in the summer of 2021.
Reid lapped up his rerun of Japan and South Korea 18 years ago and said: “I’ve been getting a bit nostalgic. I’ve watched a bit of Euro 96, France 98 and also 2002.
“That was the one for me, watching those games back, having been involved in the tournament with Ireland.
“The memories and the feeling of being at a major tournament. You’ve got to enjoy that because it passes you by.
“I was so young and naive – I thought I’d be playing in three or four tournaments. To this day, it’s still the highlight of my career.
“For the Scotland players, whether it’s behind closed doors or fans being allowed into the stadium, to get the possibility of playing in one of these tournaments – I would hope they’d look back on it in the same way.
“Maybe 20 years down the line they will look back on this Euros with their kids and grandkids. It could be a once-in-a-career moment.”
Reid admits Clarke and his backroom team had already made plans for a crack at the finals.
He added: “All of the discussions were underway. That’s why the last few months have been so very frustrating.
“It wasn’t just the semifinal with Israel, we were prepping for Norway and Serbia as well should we have faced them in the final.
“We were getting info sent out to players individually and in units.
“All bits like that, even in terms of potential training camps, the venues that we might try and get away to.” important in the section and we didn’t want to win it. I remember Robert scored a goal and the camera panned on to him.
“It was on the big screen and you could see him saying to himself: ‘Oh f***!’
“As we ran back to the halfway line we were giving him dog’s abuse for the goal. We knew if we qualif ied we’d need to stay another week out there – which was the last thing we wanted.”
Totten’s boys were meant to be relaxing after a long season.
Despite being 5000 miles away in an unfamiliar city, Roberts and Co weren’t keen on being cooped up in a hotel room or having ‘rest’ days after games. He said: “We were out every second night, we got blootered.
“We were going into the centre of Seoul. To this day I’ve no idea how we managed it because the taxi drivers couldn’t speak English. “There were a lot of military police out there, it was just mental.
“One night we were in a bar that was effectively a wooden hut and we were all crammed in.
“All of the sudden the doors were bolted up and the shutters came down over the windows.
“The police were telling us to lie down on the ground. We were on the floor in this shack while the police looked in. We thought: ‘ What the f*** is going on here?’
“But then the doors opened, windows opened, music started blaring and we were all up dancing again. It was nuts.
“At night, I was doing crazy stuff. I was building barricades outside the gaffer’s hotel room.
“He’d wake up in the morning and couldn’t get out because he had beds and wardrobes outside the door.
“We had a great group of boys, young ones like myself, David Bagan, Alex Burke and Alan Kerr. We had some carry on. We talk about it all the time now. It was a really funny trip and we’ll never forget it.
“Big Derek Anderson was there and he was a character.
“We went into town one night and were led through a gate into this building. We didn’t know what was in store for us. But all of a sudden, a big door opened up and it was a massive nightclub. It was brilliant, absolutely bouncing.
“Big Del found an Inspector Clouseaustyle coat and hat so he put it on and