JOCK-A BONITO

The four Scots who added the flair to the beautiful

YOU could be forgiven for assuming that when it comes to dishing out lessons on how to play the beautiful game, the relationship between Scotland and Brazil would be relatively one-way. What could our country, one that has never progressed beyond the group stages of a major tournament, possibly be able to teach a nation that has lifted the World Cup on a record five occasions?

Certainly, the last century or so would suggest that we don’t have all that much to offer the football-daft South American country. But it hasn’t always been that way. Some of the most successful countries in the sport have directly benefited from Scottish influence and some of the most important and fundamental tactics hail from Scotland. We might not be the most prestigious football nation, but we’ve still managed to leave an indelible mark on the beautiful game.

It all starts in the late 1860s. Across the UK, football was gripping the nation. Clubs were springing up in Scotland, England and Wales as people across Britain fell in love with the sport and began setting up their own teams. Workers, in particular, would often create their own factory side which would then play other nearby employers.

In 1867, Scotland had its first association club in the shape of Queen’s Park, now one of the oldest teams in world football. And, throughout the 1870s, they were arguably the most tactically innovative and influential side on the planet.

Back in the early 1870s, football was a very different game. Matches then would be almost unrecognisable now to the modern football viewer, as there was a heavy emphasis on dribbling.

In order to get the ball towards the opposition goal, you had two options. You could lump it up the pitch in the hope that a forward would get on the end of it, or you could embark on a mazy dribble, attempt to weaving your past the entire opposition, and drive at goal. It was a game that relied on individualism, and not teamwork, in order to win.

Early tactical set-ups tell us a similar story. Most of us know that in the early days of football, sides tended to be particularly top-heavy with many attackers but very little in the way of a defence. It wasn’t uncommon to see teams line up in a 1-1-8 or a 2-2-6 formation.

Punting the ball vaguely in the direction of goal from the back made a lot of sense. After all, that’s where all your teammates were. Just whack it up in their general direction and hope for the best. Almost every team in Scotland and England played in this manner, except for Queen’s Park. They had a different idea.

Rather than simply punting it up the pitch and hoping for the best or relying on one player to dribble past the entire opposition, the Queen’s Park players decided they would play to their strengths with a short passing style.

It might sound simple, but it’s arguably the most fundamental change to the way that football was played in its history. All of a sudden, football was a team sport. And any side that could