WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE Paris
But Caldo insists Brazil wasn’t biggest match of his life because we got beat
IT was the game watched by a billion people worldwide yet Colin Calderwood doesn’t look back on Scotland v Brazil as the biggest moment of his career.
On Sunday he will be reunited with his Braveheart team-mates to mark the 20-year anniversary of that famous opening game of France 98.
No doubt there will be laughs like the memory of midfielder John Collins breaking the tension for a nervous watching nation by cheekily winking at the passing TV camera during the anthems in Paris.
Will it still hurt enough for there even to be tears when they consider the cruel manner in which a heroic draw against the might of those superstar defending champions was snatched from them?
Perhaps that wicked moment does still torment poor Tom Boyd enough to wonder what might have been had a freak deflection off his chest not cannoned the ball into his own net to give Brazil a 2-1 win.
Nevertheless, Boyd and the rest can still hold their heads high as they gaze back two decades to the last time Scotland graced a major finals.
But ask Calderwood how he feels about it now and it doesn’t even rank in his top two experiences in football.
Enquire if he has any souvenirs to remind him of the day and he casually tells you he has the shirt of Brazil’s opening scorer tucked away in a box somewhere under his stairs.
There are plenty who would have Cesar Sampaio’s No.5 jersey mounted on a wall but not the humble and understated Calderwood. The way he sees it why would he want to remind himself every day of a game he lost, no matter how big the stage?
When footballers are old and grey it’s the warmth of the light shimmering from the medals they won that makes them smile most, not the games that got away.
Calderwood said: “There were a couple of promotion games with Swindon that I would still rank above it. They are the games that got me into the top league and helped me reach a level that saw me play for Scotland in the first place.
“If we didn’t win those games then the whole experience of France 98 might never have happened for me. So I still look at those play-off finals as fondly, if not more, simply because on those occasions we won.
“In terms of viewing audiences and the level we were at, the World Cup opener is bigger – but we lost. Winning will always be a sweeter memory to cherish.” That said, the 53-year-old is still looking forward to catching up with old friends. Starting with a golf day at Dalmahoy on Saturday, celebrations will roll into the next day when the players, manager Craig Brown and his backroom staff are honoured at a dinner at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow.
There they will relive the adventure. They’ll recall stepping out at the Stade de France and quickly being blindsided by Sampaio’s goal in just four minutes.
They’ll revel in the stuff of dreams when Collins levelled from the penalty spot seven minutes before the break.
And they’ll recall how they held strong at the back and even managed to ask more questions of these Samba superstars including another penalty claim snubbed and a Kevin Gallacher cross bundled wide for a corner.
But ultimately lady luck was to kick them square in the teeth when Cafu’s effort was blocked by Jim Leighton but rebounded off the chest of Boyd.
A typical Scottish football story of glorious failure. But looking back now Calderwood remembers the adventure fondly and said: “Before a game at that level of course there’s an anxiousness and fear but there was a strong sense of belief coming from the coaches – don’t fear playing against that shirt, play your own game.
“At the time I thought, ‘Can it get any better or more exciting than this?’ Then of course I crashed back to reality when we lost an early goal. That was a huge concern. I mean anything can happen when a team of that class scores early. “They were a level above anything we had played. There were certain
things they did that I just hadn’t seen before. That level of speed and combined skill within the team was something I’d never had to cope with.
“There were a couple of moves that just left you standing. The quickness of their movement and their strength was breathtaking.
“Everyone looks at the skill of any Brazilian or South American team but behind that there’s an immense amount of power and physical strength they don’t get credit for.
“At the time Ronaldo was widely considered the best player in the world but Rivaldo was the one who really stood out to me. He was outstanding.
“He always seemed to have so much time on the ball. He’d be 25 yards from goal, swamped by defenders, and somehow he’d get it down at his feet, touch it to the side and find the space to have a pop at goal.
“Thankfully we managed to get through the period without further damage and then we got our goal.
“It felt like we had arrived at the tournament, that we’d proved we deserved to be there because we’re capable of competing against the world champions. From that moment on there was a genuine feeling we could go to the end.
“The unfortunate nature of their second goal is typically Scottish. But while we were disappointed we could take heart from having competed so well.”
●Play golf with Craig Brown and the players at Dalmahoy this Saturday or join them for dinner on Sunday, June 10, at Hilton Glasgow.
For info on La Reunion and tickets: www.thelongestforty.com/la-reunion or call 07725 850915
Don’t fear playing against that shirt, play your own game COLIN CALDERWOOD