There was a time we were toast of Europe
GORDON STRACHAN bemoans a lack of quality players in his quest to lead Scotland to the finals of a major tournament.
He envies not having Robert Lewandowski, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale who elevate Poland, Sweden, Croatia and Wales from ordinary to very good. Clearly the Scotland manager hasn’t done his research. Scotland had players like, and sometimes better, than the aforementioned superstars between 1960 and 1970 – yet we still didn’t qualify for a single World Cup or European Championship finals during that decade.
This was an era when Denis Law was FIFA World Player of the Year in 1964, Celtic won the European Cup in 1967 and lost the 1970 final.
Rangers lost both the 1961 and 1967 Cup-Winners’ Cup Finals. While between them the Old Firm, Dundee, Dunfermline, Hibs and Kilmarnock reached nine other European semi-finals.
Clearly, there were top-quality Scottish players around back then. But still we came up short.
A 4-2 defeat to Czechoslovakia after extra-time in a Brussels play-off meant no World Cup in Chile in 1962.
Scotland had an added incentive for the 1966 Finals, to be held in England. Despite beating Italy 1-0 at Hampden, however, we still required a win in Naples after taking only one point from two ties against Poland. A 3-0 defeat meant no jaunt across the border. The qualifiers for Mexico 1970 were just as frustrating. Drawing at home to West Germany – who were to be beaten semi-finalists – before losing 3-2 in controversial circumstances in Hamburg meant Scotland were grounded again for the big occasion.
Scotland didn’t even enter the 1960 and 1964 European Championships.
When we did for the 1968 Finals in Italy, UEFA decreed the two Home International series leading up to the tournaments would form a qualifying group.
Typically, Scotland won 3-2 at Wembley and drew with the reigning world champions at Hampden. But that wasn’t enough due to a defeat from Northern Ireland and a draw with Wales.
This meant genuine top-quality Scots like Jim Baxter, Eric Caldow, Billy McNeill, Ian St John, Alex Hamilton, Ian Ure, Alan Gilzean, Willie Henderson, Tommy Gemmell, Charlie Cooke and Bobby Murdoch never played at the highest level for their country.
Baxter masterminded a famous 2-1 victory at Wembley in 1963 with both goals when Scotland played with 10 men for 84 minutes.
Years later he told me: “I would have scored an own goal near the end to make it a hat-trick if England hadn’t got a goal back themselves.
“We were world-class that day. Alex Hamilton handed Bobby Charlton a spare complimentary ticket at halftime, saying that might get him back in the game.”
Oh, for some of that gallusness today!