Jordan calls on Scotland to break the cycle and qualify for years to come
JOE Jordan’s international career crashed to a disappointing end when Willie Miller and Alan Hansen collided late on to give the Soviet Union the 2-2 draw which sent us home from the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Now the Scotland legend hopes that a victory against Russia on Friday night might be the start of something special for the national team.
For all the dewy-eyed talk of the 1960s as halcyon days for the national game, it is easy to forget the men’s national team went through that entire decade – from 1958 to 1974 – without reaching a major tournament. It wasn’t until Jordan’s goal against Czechoslovakia in 1973 that we embarked upon that remarkable run where Scotland qualified for six out of seven World Cups and also made it to the European Championships in 1988, 1992 and 1996. Not only does Jordan hope someone in this current Scotland squad will taste what it feels like to score the goal which takes us back to a major finals, he feels it could spark a run of consistent qualifications in the future.
It all begins and ends, though, with strength and depth of talent for the manager to choose from. While there is the small beginnings of this in Steve Clarke’s squad when you consider the amount of Premier League or Celtic and Rangers operators in their mid20s vying for position in our midfield, or the glut of resources at left-back, we could still do with more established strikers, defenders and goalkeepers operating at the top level.
“I hope someone will taste that feeling again,” said Jordan, speaking to promote Premier Sports coverage of Serie A football. “Prior to that moment against Czechoslovakia, I had watched Scotland and you looked at those eras back to 1958 and the success that Scottish teams had in Europe. Dundee were in the semifinals of the European Cup in the 1960s with Alan Gilzean and players like that. Scotland had great players and Scottish teams were feared but we never achieved on the international stage.
“We broke that cycle in 1973 and when that happened then we had players, gained a confidence and a belief and an experience of how to handle qualifying for tournaments,” he added. “Then other players would come into the squad and they would be learning from the players who had experience of getting to tournaments and playing at tournaments. Then we had an incredible run of qualifying for World Cups and European Championships. It’s like a team that has not won the championship for 20 years. You look at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho, they win the Premier League then they gain belief and they are not far away and then they go and win it again. You would hope that would happen again but you’ve got to break the cycle first.
“That’s my belief but you have to have the players to do it. And in my day it wasn’t just the XI that were great players. Jimmy Johnstone went to the 1974 World Cup and he didn’t play. Jimmy Johnstone! A world-class player and he was only 29. He should have been at his peak. Willie Henderson never got to a World Cup, Jim Baxter. Denis Law didn’t get to a World Cup before 1974. You could go on and on about the players who never got that opportunity. You don’t want to have any regrets. Scotland now have two massive games coming up against Russia and Belgium and the players I played with would have relished those kind of matches.”
Clarke has the kind of options middle to front which would be the envy of some of his more recent predecessors but no-one would be gladder than the Scotland manager if Oli McBurnie starts living up to his £20m price tag.
“I’ve seen him play and £20m is a big price tag,” said the 67-year-old, a scorer at three different World Cups for Scotland. “But you’ve got defenders going for £90m so it’s hard to put fees into perspective.
“But he is now a striker in a Premier League team and he’s got that tag and it’s a pressure,” added Jordan. “He’s got off to a good start with a good header into the bottom corner. That will give him such a lift. He’s broke his duck in the Premier League.”
We had an incredible run of qualifying for World Cups and Euros. It’s like a team that has not won the championship for 20 years