Ally's Army
The Scotsman has a good piece on the passing of Ally MacLeod. MacLeod is best remembered as the Scotland manager who [foolishly] claimed that Scotland would return from the 1978 World Cup in Argentina as world champions.
Remarkable as it may seem, a lot of people took him seriously. At the time Scotland were on a roll, they’d beaten the English in their own back yard, they had a good draw in the group stages (Iran, Peru and Holland) and they could call on arguably the finest Scottish football squad ever (Gemmill, Dalglish, Souness, Jordan, Johnston etc.).
However, a draw against Iran and defeat against Peru made Ally and Scotland a laughing stock (though in true Scottish fashion, after it was all over, they went out and beat the eventual runners-up, Holland, 3-2).
After the World Cup MacLeod eventually resigned as manager and returned to club management with Ayr and Aberdeen. The debacle of the 1978 World Cup no doubt left it’s scars but MacLeod should be remembered for better times. Willie Miller and Jack McConnell best summed up his legacy —
“His power was getting people to listen. No matter how outrageous the statements, Ally had you believing what he said could happen. When he was at Aberdeen, he lifted the players and lifted the town and I will remember him with affection.”
“Ally MacLeod was a Scottish hero. His passion for his country and for football were infectious. He should be remembered for his fantastic achievements. He was a great family man and a special Scot.”
Posted 6 years, 1 month ago
Talk about coaches and debacle. Your entry reminded me of '98 Cup when Korean World Cup committe decided to fire Coach Cha in the middle of the tournament following a defeat to Holland (I think). As a long time fan of the Korean national team, I was personally humiliated when this highly political organization decided to show the world just how cruel and stupid an organization could be. It was an embarassing experience for me as a Korean. Cha, "The Brown Bomber", was the Pele of Korean soccer and an idol for all my friends when I was growing up. It was unbelievable for us to have a national sports hero who could perform with the best of the world in German league for over 10 years. And to see him being publically humiliated like that solely for internal political reasons was painful.
soxiam · www · 6 years, 1 month ago
I think the only reason this guy has a reptuation is, so many people believed him blindly. Theres nothing wrong with aiming high, and you don’t really get much higher than the world cup.
The beauty of being scottish is the fact that we know our football team hasn’t got what it takes, and allowing ourselves to be swept up in the moment. We love the team (the scottish factions that don’t love the team, support Eire and England), and will always be found with a pint in one hand, and a tear-sodden hankey in the other.
The classic headline, that you see on the Daily Record the day we go out of the cup is, ‘So close, yet so far’. Sums it up beautifully ;)
Andrew · www · 6 years, 1 month ago
'Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory' has always been a favourite of mine ;-)
Good comment about being a Scottish football fan. You definitely need a good sense of humour and a tough skin. It will always end in tears but it’s good fun all the same!
Phil · 6 years, 1 month ago
as a canadian -born Aston Villa supporter[who will NEVER understand why Andy Gray never went to a world cup]and who resides [sometimes] in Scotland...I have to say here that one of my life long memories will be of sitting in a bar in Rio de janeiro in june 1982 and watching David Narey’s thunderbolt fly into the net: there was a long milli-second of silence from the uruguayan border up to the venezuelan border[with the crash of a few million beer bottles] and then the whole country erupted in unison against Waldir Peres [who would have been lucky to get a game playing for 'wigtown rovers' and that was a moment never to be forgotten....
David · 3 years, 11 months ago