Euro 96: Gordon Durie relives Scotland's trip to England
European Championships 1996: Wembley Wonder for Durie
By ALAN POTTS
FORMER Scotland hitman Gordon Durie still remembers the Euro 96 campaign as the time that all his childhood dreams came true, as he managed to walk out against England at a packed Wembley stadium.
The ex-Spurs, Rangers and Hearts frontman had been a Tartan Army foot soldier himself as a youngster, being part of a group of thousands of fans who used to make the regular journey south of the border to tackle the auld enemy.
As he looked back at one of Scotland's last major championship appearances the current East Fife number two said “It was boyhood stuff to walk out at Wembley, I had went down years before as a supporter and never imagined it would happen to me.
“It was a great experience but all in all we got beat which was a big disappointment. It was a game that I did enjoy but it is never nice to lose to your old enemies especially down there.”
It was a game that saw England run out 2-0 winners as goals from Alan Shearer and then Rangers midfielder Paul Gascoigne gave Terry Venables side all three points. Things could have been so different as Scotland were awarded a penalty in the second half.
Skipper Gary McAllister took the responsibility but he had to watch on as keeper David Seaman made a one handed wonder save – or was it Uri Geller moving the ball as he so delightfully declared that made McAllister miss - to push the ball over the bar for a corner?
After the game, and for a long time afterwards, the dejected skipper took much of the criticism for costing the country a share of the spoils against our rivals, but Durie believes that his former skipper should have been applauded for stepping up when some others wouldn’t.
Speaking of the missed spot kick he said: “We have all missed penalties. I remember them saying about Uri Geller moving the ball but Gary was man enough to stand up and take it when a lot of boys seemed to turn their back when we got the penalty.”
Other results in that campaign weren’t as painful as Scotland were able to draw with Holland and defeat Switzerland thanks to an Ally McCoist strike. In the last game against the Swiss it was all looking good as the McCoist goal had us on the brink of qualification and with England cruising at 4-0 against Holland, it looked like it was going to be a good night for both sides of the border.
Then disaster struck as Patrick Kluivert slipped the ball through David Seaman’s legs to give the Dutch the goal they needed to send them through and send us back north with nothing but memories. Durie believes it is just the typical Scotland story when it comes to the major events, so near but yet so far.
“That is Scotland for you. It wasn’t the first time we were at a major championship and one goal seemed to cost us. We heard England were winning 4-0 and we were through but then Holland scored late on which cost us.”
The striker was also quick to praise the contribution of the management team – Craig Brown and Alex Miller – who still remain Scotland’s most successful management team at international level.
“The two of them were great at organising and we went through videos of the opposition which was great because when we played against any opposition then we knew their strengths and weaknesses.
“They kept togetherness with the lads in the squad.”
Durie admits that one of the special traits of the Scotland squad was the harmony on and off the park as the players bonded during every get together. During this time the Old Firm were at loggerheads as Rangers looked to achieve nine in a row with bitter rivals Celtic looking to stop them, but that never damaged the spirit in the group.
“The squad I was involved in, the mood was always great, it was a decent bunch of lads where there was no superstars. We all got on well together and I think that showed with the team spirit on the park.”
The former striker hopes that ex-international teammate - Craig Levein – can lead the country back to some major championships as he is looking to once again go along as one of the faithful Tartan Army followers.
“I hope we can get there, France 98 was the last one and to be honest I’m desperate to go as a supporter. It is nice to be there as a player because you miss out on all the atmosphere before these tournaments and it would be fantastic to be involved in that again.”
This article is from our new Scottish Football magazine, download issue one FREE of charge by clicking on the cover below.
