NO PAIN NO GAIN
Caldwell welcomes a spot of friendly fire for Scots by insisting it builds character
IT wasn’t so much a baptism of fire as football’s equivalent of being hung, drawn and quartered.
Back in 2002, the SFA in their infinite wisdom believed that a trip to the Stade de France to play France — then the reigning world and European champions — was the ideal assignment to get Berti Vogts’ tenure as Scotland manager off to a flying start.
What ensued was a five-goal defeat so brutal and demoralising that the German’s credibility was immediately shot to pieces. He never truly recovered.
The record book shows that Zinedine Zidane scored the first, David Trezeguet grabbed a double with Thierry Henry and Steve Marlet inflicting further misery. Yet it was the spectacular own goal scored by the guardians of our game in agreeing to the fixture in the first place which was the catalyst for it all.
‘They were just full of world-class players,’ reflected Gary Caldwell, a 21-year-old debutant that night.
‘I was up against Trezeguet and they had Henry and Sylvain Wiltord on the wings. Zidane just played off them. He scored a magnificent volley with his left foot. Behind him was Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira.
‘Football just doesn’t get much better than that in terms of quality.’
No one in their right mind would equate that France team with the Peru and Mexico sides Alex McLeish’s threadbare outfit will soon face.
Yet, 16 years on, the governing body’s urge to put their head in a lion’s mouth remains equally as mystifying.
Neither of the sides Scotland will face are considered potential winners of the World Cup. But they are both going.
And, worryingly from our perspective, they will anticipate the mother of all send-offs.
Caldwell gets the widespread consternation at signing up for matches that seem to cast us in the role of morale-boosting cannon fodder.
Equally, though, his experiences after that infamous night in Paris tell him that only good will come from whatever unfolds over the course of the next nine days.
‘I still took positives from it,’ he reflected. ‘When you are representing your country for the first time, it’s special.
‘It was no disgrace because the team we were playing against were one of the best international sides ever assembled.
‘We were very much a new team under a new manager with a lot of young players getting their debuts.
‘It just gave me the wish to do better and get more caps.’
Insisting the diminished class of 2018 can bank valuable experience irrespective of the outcomes in South and Central America, Caldwell added: ‘I think there is plenty for us in these next two games.
‘Every game is important and you have to take something from it.
‘If you get beaten 5-0 you have to learn from it. It has to be a motivation to get better.
‘I remember we went to South Korea before the 2002 World Cup and played them in their last warm-up match. I think it was 4-1 we lost.
‘We got heavily criticised but they ended up getting to the semi-finals.
‘As long as everyone gives their best and you take something from the games, the manager will learn something — usually what players he can trust and can use in the future.’
Caldwell believes the solidifying of a central defensive partnership might just be the over-riding positive for McLeish.
‘I know Jack Hendry really well as I signed him for Wigan from Partick,’ he said. ‘He’s a player that I have high hopes for.
‘I didn’t have enough time to work with him and try to develop him. But it’s great to see him playing so well on his debut for Scotland (against Hungary) and getting a few opportunities at Celtic.
‘He has a challenge in front of him that he has to work hard to get into the Celtic team and become a regular with Scotland.
‘But he has all the attributes to be a top centre-half. I’ve seen that day-in, day-out.
‘I haven’t seen as much of Scott McKenna but he’s been excellent. I watched his debut against Costa Rica and he showed he can play at that level.
‘He and Jack were both excellent against Hungary. I don’t think centre-halves really mature until their late 20s, so that bodes well for both as they still have lots of time to develop and get better.’
McLeish will never have as much time on the training field with his charges as he would desire. Accordingly, Caldwell’s advice for the defenders who will come under the wing of a man who mastered the art over the course of 77 appearances in dark blue is to keep their ears pinned back at all times. ‘I always liked that as a player — when I had a manager who played my position,’ he continued.
‘I always felt you could pick up a lot as they obviously understood that.
‘Alex had amazing success as a player in that position and great success as a manager. He can give those players a lot of advice and help make them better.’
In the absence of a raft of regulars, opportunity knocks for the likes of Lewis Stevenson, Dylan McGeouch, Lewis Morgan and Johnny Russell.
And if Scotland take a sore one along the way?
Caldwell would refer them to a rather more fondly-remembered moment against the French at Hampden four years after his debut as proof that it’s always darkest before the dawn.
‘It was without a doubt the highlight of my Scotland career,’ he said of his 2006 winner.
‘It was especially pleasing after my first game against them. In my house I’ve got the pictures of Trezeguet with the 4-0 (fingers raised) from my debut and obviously the pictures from scoring as well.
‘It just shows that football isn’t all highs. You have some lows and have to learn from them. It’s how you come back from them.’
Gary Caldwell was speaking as part of the campaign to preserve the future of Hampden Park, Scotland’s National Stadium.