Scotland bid to crackle in Magic City but World Cup hopes could get surprise shock
A long night awaits Tartan Army once again in quest for glory
When Steve Clarke writes his book, as he promised he will do come the end of his new contract in four years’ time, there will surely be several chapters devoted to single matches.
One on Denmark, guaranteed. Probably another on the win over Spain, perhaps one on Belgrade and the night Scotland triggered this current run of three major finals out of four.
Might there be one devoted to a hot and sticky night in Miami? A city Joan Didion described as a “rich and wicked pastel boomtown” seems as good a place as any for Scotland to secure history. The writer-journalist got a handle on the so-called Magic City in the 1980s while researching a book of essays on the Florida capital. She questioned whether Miami was a city at all. She viewed the place more “as a tale, a romance of the tropics, a kind of waking dream in which any possibility could and would be accommodated”.
Sounds just the right venue for Scotland to potentially make history two times over. A first ever-win against Brazil would be doubly rewarding since it would also mean securing a first-ever berth in the second stage of a major finals.
There is electricity in the air, and not just because of the almost ever-present threat of lightning storms. Zig-zag lines lit up the horizon just before the pre-match press conference on Tuesday in a stadium distinguished by a surrounding ring of steel. Low rumbles of thunder also seemed to anticipate a monumental cosmic shift.
All this activity in the skies was appropriate as Scotland bid to alter the deep tread of history, although it could also prove unhelpful. Clarke has revealed Scotland have worked on a plan to cope with disruptions after the France versus Iraq match was suspended at half-time on Monday due to severe weather in the Philadelphia area.
It eventually re-started over an hour later, with France running out 3-0 winners.
“I think so far we have probably been a little bit lucky with the weather,” noted Clarke. “Looking at the forecast tomorrow it is possible there will be some rain disruptions. We have a strategy in mind on to how to deal with it. Obviously you don’t know how long the delay is going to be. You have to wait 30 minutes after the last lightning strike so that can just roll on and on.
“If there is to be a delay then hopefully it can get short one and like I said before, we have got a coping strategy and we have an idea what we would do if that happened to us,” he added.
Brazil would be the perfect opponent to beat
It could be an extra-long night for the Tartan Army though one with the potential to be satisfying like no other. Brazil would be the perfect team against which to achieve something so unprecedented, since beating them would satisfy a craving stretching back 60 years and 10 games, to a 1966 friendly at Hampden in which Pele played. It would provide more than adequate revenge for the South American side’s part in various Scottish World Cup failures.
One that springs to mind is the night the Scots had to audacity to edge in front, David Narey scoring a goal that will forever hold its charge. Some did later wonder whether he might have been better sending his shot into Row Z, complaining that all the Dundee United player had done was poke the bear.
Brazil responding by scoring four times before the hour mark. A three-goal defeat would potentially leave Scotland teetering on the brink of elimination. Nevertheless, Clarke would take his full-back, where Narey played that night, or indeed anyone, slamming one into the net to put Scotland in front in Miami.
“I wouldn't I wouldn't mind taking the lead, I’ve got to be honest,” he smiled. “If we take the lead in the game, I will be happy.”
The book Clarke is planning to write will be improved if he can start remembering where he was for big Scotland moments. After not knowing where he was on the bleak evening Scotland crashed out of France '98 at the hands of Morocco when asked last week, he was vague on his whereabouts when Narey slammed an Adidas Tango Espana into the top corner in Seville 44 years ago.
“Probably watching on the telly somewhere,” he said. He had just joined St Mirren from Beith Juniors and would make his senior debut a few weeks later in a League Cup tie against Ayr United. One would hope that has stuck in his mind. Sketchiness about a night he wasn’t involved in is forgivable.
Still, surely won’t forget where he was on the night Scotland played Brazil for a place in the knockout stages. Standing on a touchline next to Carlo Ancelotti while Neymar et al file past is surely something that will stick in the memory, especially if Scotland go on to reach the knockout stages on their own merits, which is Clarke’s and everyone else from Scotland’s preference.
A couple of Mexican journalists attended the pre-match press conference. One last-32 scenario has Scotland playing Mexico in Estadio Azteca next week. Mexican news outlets sent their reporters to get Clarke’s thoughts on what would represent a dream clash in an iconic stadium for the manager.
Although he advised the journalist that “we have to get there” first, Clarke admitted he would dearly love to return for the first time since 1983.
“I played there in the Under-19 World Cup way back, many years ago when I young, fit and healthy for football,” he said. “I managed to score a goal in a 1-0 Scotland win so if it does happen, maybe we can have a repeat.”
Nothing wrong with his memory after all.
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