LIVE the DREAM
Nothing’s quite like the thrill of a major finals, so Reid says Scots must grab bull by horns when they finally take on Israel
WITH no live football to watch or analyse, a wistful Steven Reid has indulged in a little time travel. Keen to brush up on his Scotland knowledge, Steve Clarke’s sidekick has made a point of viewing lockdown re-runs of Euro ’96 and France ’98 and, from the contrasting penalty-kick fortunes of Gary McAllister and John Collins, he has learned much of our nation’s penchant for glorious failure.
But for pit-of-the-stomach emotion and nostalgia, Reid’s real indulgence has been 2002, the year he literally had the world at his feet.
Just 21 and full of youthful bravado when he boarded the plane for Japan and South Korea, Reid witnessed first hand the implosion that saw Roy Keane walk out on the Republic of Ireland squad at a preWorld Cup training camp in Saipan.
Mick McCarthy’s men would ultimately use the absence of their superstar captain to galvanising effect and Reid played his part.
Twice sent on by Mick McCarthy as a substitute in the tournament’s group stage, Reid was afield to experience the elation of the disgraced captain’s namesake Robbie firing home an equaliser against Germany in stoppage time.
The striker would repeat that trick in the knockout stage against Spain but ultimately that night ended in a campaign-ending penalty shoot-out defeat.
Foolishly, Reid expected such
adventures would continue to illuminate his career. In reality, he would never again be given the opportunity to play in an international tournament.
That’s why he would urge Clarke’s group of players to apply laser-like focus to the Euro 2020 play-off tie against Israel when it eventually rolls around.
‘I’ve been getting a bit nostalgic watching Euro ’96, a bit of France ’98 but 2002, that was the one for me,’ says Reid.
‘The memories of that and the feeling of being in a major tournament, you have to enjoy that because it passes you by.
‘I was so young and naïve that I thought I’d be playing in three or four of those tournaments but, to this day, it’s still the highlight of my career.
‘That moment when Robbie Keane scored the equaliser against Germany is probably in my top one or two moments ever on a football pitch.
‘I could argue that I have never replicated that high.’
Reid was deep in preparation for the play-offs when coronavirus hit. Clarke was just days away from naming his squad for the March 26 fixture against Israel when the season was suspended and now the national coach awaits confirmation from UEFA on when it intends to fit the games into the calendar.
Reid continues: ‘For these players, whether it’s behind closed doors or fans are allowed into the stadium, to get the possibility of playing in one of these tournaments, I hope these lads will look back on it in the same way. Maybe 20 years down the line they will look back on that Euro tournament with their kids and grandkids.
‘It can be a once-in-a-career moment.
‘Despite there being such a long delay, it will still be the same tournament. And hopefully it may even mean a bit more.
‘Because the lads now realise what it feels like to have football taken away, to confront family and health worries. So, when you actually get the opportunity, do not waste any time. Have a right go at it.
‘Because there are a lot of footballers who won’t come out of this situation in a good place.
‘You have to grab the bull by the horns.’
It won’t, of course, be as simple as beating Israel — a team who lost at Hampden as recently as November 2018.
In the other Path C semi-final, Serbia travel to face a Norway team that is spearheaded by teenage striking sensation Erling Haaland. The winner will host Scotland for a place at the finals, making progression a tough ask.
Already Clarke has petitioned SFA president Rod Petrie to lobby for a later date in the international calendar on the thinking that the extra preparation time will improve his team’s chances of success.
For Reid, there is a counter argument.
With Scotland drawn yet again to face Israel in the next iteration of the Nations League, it would seem strange to face Andreas Herzog’s team in that competition before the Euros schedule has been played out.
‘For me, the sooner the better, to be honest,’ he adds. ‘It was always going to be a long gap from our last game in November to March, never mind November to the unknown.
‘It’s been too long since we’ve seen the players. With all the prep work we have done, it would make sense for the play-offs to be the next games, rather than the Nations League.
‘We know how much the Nations League games mean. That’s what got us to this play-off. We will certainly know Israel!
‘It’s a strange situation that we’re playing them again. If it was to be that we play them in the play-off alongside a Nations League game, it would be such a bizarre situation but, no matter the order of the fixtures, we are going to be picking strong teams who want to win every game. Let’s just get on with it.’
Restart is now the mantra on everyone’s lips with news that the English Premier League is to return on June 17, quickly followed by a commitment from the SFA and SPFL’s Joint Response Group to try to have the game up and running in this country on August 1.
‘The restart in England has obviously had a mixed reaction but I think it’s good news,’ says Reid. ‘Some players are eager to get back, others are not so comfortable with certain family health issues, which is understandable.
‘On the whole, I think we all want to see football back. I think the players want to get back playing and finish the campaigns. Some are fighting for different reasons, they might be at the top of the league or the bottom of the league but, on the whole, it is a good thing, that is for sure.
‘But we are at the stage now where we just need to get it back, whatever way it looks.
‘The Premier League is starting in June and at one stage we weren’t sure we would get those games finished at all.
‘To get that going is the first step and then UEFA and FIFA will decide when the international matches will resume.
‘We will adapt to that whatever structure they use.’
As has become routine over the past few weeks, Reid is speaking via video call from his home south of the border.
In an ideal world, one in which Israel, Haaland and the Serbs were all destined for a summer on the sofa, he would have been conducting this interview at another pre-tournament training camp.
With Hampden chosen as one of 12 host venues, anticipation ought to have been building in Glasgow for a special summer of football.
‘Yeah, all those discussions were underway,’ he admits. ‘There is no doubt about it, the last few months have been so frustrating.
‘The preparations for the play-offs started in November, we were getting information sent out to players individually and in units on Israel, Norway and Serbia.
‘We were looking at potential training camps, the venues that we might try to get away to. How we were going to structure getting all the lads together, whether they’d been playing in Scotland, the Championship or Premier League.
‘We’re going to have to reschedule and replan going forward.’
Hopefully that training camp will still take place — preferably without the added drama of an Andy Robertson walk-out!
When the chance comes, do not waste any time. Have a right go at it