Darkest of days on the big stage
It was meant to be a breeze for the ‘world champion’ Scots, but no one told Costa Rica
THREE months before Italia 90, Scotland welcomed the reigning World Cup holders Argentina to Hampden Park.
On March 28, Aberdeen’s Stewart McKimmie scored the only goal to secure a confidenceboosting 1-0 win over a side that included five of the Mexico ‘86 finalists and an up-and-coming striker called Claudio Caniggia.
Hopes were high, then, as Andy Roxburgh’s men headed to Italy that summer for Group C encounters with Costa Rica, Sweden and Brazil.
After being drawn in the Group of Death in Mexico four years earlier with West Germany, Denmark and Uruguay, here, surely, was a big chance for the Scots to finally progress to the knock-outs.
All eyes were on the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa as Roy Aitken led Scotland out for their opening game against the little-known Central Americans on June 11.
Highlighted by Roxburgh as a weak link, keeper Luis Gabelo Conejo had the game of his life.
Then, in the 49th minute of the match, Claudio Jara’s clever backheel played in Juan Cayasso who knocked the ball past Jim Leighton to score Costa Rica’s first ever goal at a World Cup Finals.
Scotland lost 1-0 but went on to beat Sweden 2-1 and succumbed 1-0 to a late goal from Brazil. But that Costa Rica disaster meant Roxburgh’s side finished third and were on their way back home.
Here are the stories of some of those involved on that dark day...
MAURICE MALPAS: The Dundee United full-back won 55 caps for his country, appearing at two World Cups in ’86 and ’90 and at Euro ’92.
‘The biggest thing I remember is the reaction after the game. There was such an outcry. You would have thought we had just been beaten by the world’s worst pub team.
‘I remember going into the village near our training base for a coffee the next day and, my God. The press boys were showing us some of the stuff that had been written about us back home and the fans were upset and some were telling us what they thought of us.
‘The Tartan Army usually give you their 100 per cent backing but not that morning. A few guys were giving us stick, saying: “You’re not good enough”. But that’s life as a footballer. You take the praise and you have to accept a bit of criticism, too.
‘Not many people knew much about Costa Rica. In those days you couldn’t get access to video clips at the drop of a hat.
‘We were in the dark about them and on the day we could not handle them. I remember we were trying not to let them down the sides, so we were letting them go inside. But then they got through the middle and the wee guy Cayasso scored. We got mugged!
‘But, in fairness, I thought Costa Rica were a decent team and they went on to beat Sweden too and reach the knock-outs.
‘If we had beaten Costa Rica then lost to Sweden I think that would have been acceptable. Nothing much would have been said.
‘But everyone just presumed we would beat Costa Rica and the fact that we lost was a real shock to people.
‘I would be disappointed if anyone needed spurred on in a World Cup but we were all so desperate to do well in our next match against Sweden after what had happened against Costa Rica.
‘We beat Sweden then we just fell short against Brazil, losing a goal at the death. Typical Scotland!’
STUART McCALL: The former Rangers and Everton midfielder won 40 caps for Scotland, scoring his only goal for his country in the 2-1 win against Sweden at Italia ’90. He also played at Euro ’92 and ’96.
‘I made my international debut in the friendly against Argentina at Hampden, when Stewart McKimmie scored the winning goal.
‘The South Americans were the reigning world champions at the time so the joke was we were leaving for Italy as the favourites to take their title.
‘Then, one game later, we were accused of shaming the nation and bringing humiliation on our World Cup campaign.
‘The truth is somewhere in between.
‘We were told in the dressing room the Costa Rica keeper was suspect at dealing with high balls, so a decision was taken to play big Alan McInally up front.
‘The keeper had one of those nights when he held everything and caught us cold even in the sweltering heat of an Italian evening.’ CRAIG BROWN: Assistant to coach Andy Roxburgh at Italia ’90, who later went on to manage Scotland at Euro ’96 and World Cup ’98.
‘Costa Rica were no mugs. They were a good team who had come through a very tough qualifying campaign and they had a canny coach in Bora Milutinovic.
‘Costa Rica had not been watched in a live match but we studied them on video many times. To suggest Andy Roxburgh was short of preparation would be wrong. He was meticulous, always. Maybe there’s an argument that he was over-prepared.
‘The media can influence fans. There was a view that Costa Rica were going to be a walkover and perhaps the Tartan Army bought into that.
‘On the coach to the Sweden game we saw a banner written on a bed sheet saying: “Andy, your P45’s in the post!”. The players all laughed and in a funny way it helped everyone relax for the Sweden game, including Andy himself.’
DAVE McPHERSON: The former Rangers and Hearts defender won 27 caps for his country and featured in all three games at Italia ’90 and at Euro ’92.
‘We were expected to win the opening game comfortably, maybe even by two or three goals.
‘Andy told us their keeper was a has-been who wouldn’t come for cross balls but, sadly, nothing could have been further from the truth.
‘We were lulled into a false sense of security as we settled for knocking the ball into the box for Alan McInally in the hope the keeper would spill something at the feet of our strikers.
‘Who were we kidding? The guy was like a flying salmon. He came and picked everything out of the air.
‘But it wasn’t all on the coaching staff. As players, we were experienced enough and should have slowed the play down, shown greater patience and settled for getting the ball wide and delivering greater quality into the box.
‘We put in plenty of endeavour and sweat that day, but we lacked quality in our final delivery and the element of luck and good fortune any side needs to win a game of football.
‘Our tactics never worked out and they were well organised and hit us on the break just after half-time for the only goal of the game.
‘Mo Johnston had a couple of chances and I also went close with a header which, had it gone in, would have made it a completely different game.
‘We weren’t arrogant in the build-up and we didn’t suffer from nerves on the day. We didn’t underestimate Costa Rica either, but we knew that first game was our best chance of securing a win, especially with games against Sweden and Brazil to come.’
‘About seven or eight minutes to go, I had a chance but I knew right away I’d headed it too hard. I should have scored. It would have given us a point.
‘But their keeper was unreal. Sadly, we could have played until midnight and not managed to score.
‘I then got injured in training, so I didn’t play when we went on to beat Sweden in the next match and I wasn’t fit for Brazil in the final game we lost 1-0. So it was a disaster for me, really. I can carry the can — I had a really good chance. If I was a scapegoat, then fine.
‘Mo Johnston and Richard Gough had chances too, but it was such a missed opportunity. Obviously, Costa Rica were better than we thought they were.
‘I don’t think we were doing it in an arrogant way at all. It wasn’t like Ally’s Army and Peru in 1978. But maybe we took it too lightly and thought we’d probably turn them over.
‘After the World Cup, I got back to Bayern Munich and I had German team-mates showing off their World Cup medals.
‘Even they were stopping to ask me how we got beaten by Costa Rica. But maybe it wasn’t such a bad result after all. Costa Rica have done pretty well since, reaching the quarter-finals of the last World Cup over in Brazil. JUAN CAYASSO: Cayasso won 49 caps for Costa Rica, scoring nine goals. Now 56, he directs grassroots sport on his country’s Caribbean coast.
‘The ball crossed the line and everything stopped for a second.
‘Then there was the noise. I remember feeling happy and terrified. This was big.
‘We had scored in the World Cup and we were leading Scotland. It was the best goal of my career. It was like a dream.
‘I am a deeply spiritual person and I truly believe that goal was my destiny.
‘I don’t know why but everything came together that day and I was there, in the right place, to score. It changed my life.
‘Here we are now, nearly 28 years later, and wherever I go in Costa Rica, people ask me about the goal. It was our first World Cup Finals, our first game, our first goal, our first win.
‘I called my autobiography “Italia ’90: Destiny, luck or chance?” because it is a moment that symbolises my life.
‘I could sense the anger inside the stadium in Genoa that day. The Scotland fans didn’t expect to lose. But our destiny was to win that game and something special happened after that moment. We grew in confidence. We are a small country but we realised we could achieve great things.
‘I’d love to visit Scotland one day but I joke that maybe it’s too dangerous for me to go there...’
BORA MILUTINOVIC: The Serbian coach holds the record for taking five countries to the World Cup. He was in charge of Mexico in 1986, Costa Rica in 1990, USA in 1994, Nigeria in 1998 and China in 2002. He led four of those nations into the second round, also a record for any coach.
‘A few days before the game there was a picture of Rod Stewart, who was in Genoa for the game. It showed him with his hand up, with five fingers out, saying Scotland would win 5-0. Maybe he was just waving, I don’t know, but I think he thought it was going to be easy.
‘Before the game, after the warm-up, I called my players together and told them to look at the Scottish players.
‘I said: “Look, it’s already 1-0 for us”. They asked me why and I told them to look at the Scottish team. I said: “Look how pale they are — that’s because they’re so scared”.
‘The Scottish players were so serious. I convinced my team we could win.
‘My goalkeeper, Luis Gabelo, had a very good game. He had a day he will never forget.
‘We also scored a very good goal through Juan Cayasso.
‘Costa Rica had never been to the World Cup before. The country only had three million people so no one gave us a hope. But we did it. We beat Scotland. It was such an important result.
‘When I got the job the journalists wrote about me being a clown in charge of such a poor country. But after we beat Scotland they said I was the magician. We returned home heroes.’
Andy Roxburgh told us their keeper was a has-been who wouldn’t come for cross balls. But the guy was like a flying salmon, picking everything out of the air