Scotland qualify for Euro 2020- or should that be 2021 and memories of Scotland past.

 Scotland qualify for Euro 2020 - or should that be 2021 and the memories of Scotland past. 

Scottish football will rarely have seen a night like it. They will look back over the years, searching forlornly perhaps for any one event throughout their chequered history where it all came right on the night and then cry profusely into their Tartan beers and whiskies. It'll come as no great surprise then that they have finally cracked the code, qualifying impressively for next years European Championship to be spread all over Europe this time for the first time ever.

Trust the Scots to confound the odds when the odds are heavily stacked against them. They always seem to come up smelling of roses though when nobody gives them a prayer. It seems to be in their DNA. It is now 22 years since Scotland last reached a major tournament and the embarrassment still lingers. No nation has a divine right to either reach either a World Cup or European Championship but for Scotland, gallows humour always seemed appropriate. Nobody though should begrudge them their moment of glory. 

When you think of Scottish football though the mind always travels back to those horrendous World Cups from years gone by. You think of the crumpled face of poor Ally Macleod whose Scotland team arrived in Argentina in 1978 on a tide of delusion and totally misplaced, wild-eyed and wacky optimism. According to Macleod, Scotland would shake them up when they won the World Cup because Scotland were the greatest football team of all time and that's official. But then things didn't go according to plan. 

So the image of Macleod on the pampas of Argentina remains like a dark stain. Gazing despairingly out onto the pitch against both Iran and Peru in the group qualifying stages, Macleod looked like a broken man, tortured by the sudden realisation that Scotland were not renowned world beaters and that the likes of Brazil, Argentina, Holland and West Germany were still technically superior to them by several country miles.  

And yet Scotland have done it again. Their 2-1 victory over Serbia sparked unbridled rejoicing in the Highlands and Grampians, a huge outpouring of utter relief and that indomitable fighting spirit that could never have been questioned. It is easy to think of the battles of Culloden and Bannockburn when mention is made of any Scottish conflict but here again the Scots took to facing up to a seemingly insurmountable challenge, hurdled it with some ease and wondered what all the fuss was about. They could have done this one in their sleep with blindfolds on. 

But then you remember the likes of Willy Ormond at the 1974 World Cup Finals in West Germany and the grave features of Ally Macleod four years later and there you have the personification of Scottish football. When Scotland got to the World Cup Finals in 1974, the nation was regarded as just another addition to the numbers that had already qualified. Sadly expectation would give way to mediocrity. The tartan hordes who would faithfully followed their team come rain or shine would drown their sorrows in the local bodegas of Buenos Aires. 

In their qualifying group Scotland opened their first World Cup since 1958 with a laborious 2-0 victory over Zaire and fared no better against Yugoslavia who at least could boast some kind of playing pedigree on the international circuit. Then the Scots came up against the mighty, all-conquering Brazil, who had won the World Cup several times before with the kind of flair and sophistication that Scotland could only have dreamt about. Then Zaire were demolished by Yugoslavia 9-0 while Brazil were more lenient with the African side in a 3-0 victory. But Scotland were on their way home from West Germany and the fairy tale fantasy was over. 

However, the memories could never be buried and when Archie Gemmill danced through a hapless Dutch defence with his imitation of a slalom skier, weaving and tricking his way through an orange wall of shirts. Sadly the two goal margin which would have ensured qualification for Scotland from the group stage was never completed. Holland's classy playmaker Ruud Krol drove an unstoppable shot from outside the Scots penalty area into the roof of the net for the Dutch second goal. Thus was the fate of Scotland sealed and from that point onwards the Scots were condemned to a place in football's Arctic wastes. 

There was the famous afternoon when Scotland, determined to gain some kind of revenge for their Auld Enemy's glorious World Cup winning victory the year before, came to Wembley and secured the sweetest of 3-2 victories. Who would ever forget the vengeful 'Wee Jimmy Johnstone' jinking, jiving, and skipping past the English defence as if they were somehow invisible? There were the midfield schemers and lock pickers Tommy Gemmell and Bobby Murdoch carving open gaping holes and supplying the necessary service and ammunition for their colleagues. There was the blossoming Denis Law of Manchester United who could hardly believe his luck when George Cohen and Bobby Moore decided to have the day off, a bad day in the English office. 

And who could ever have imagined the chaos and pandemonium that would ensue during the now notorious 1977 Home International tournament? For what must have seemed like years of pent-up frustration, thousands and thousands of Scottish supporters descended on Wembley, intent on destruction of the old stadium. That they succeeded so triumphantly probably says more about the hostility that existed between England and Scotland fans at the time. 

The images of Scottish fans disguised as thuggish hooligans will live on for as international football is played. Crossbars were sat upon and snapped in half with the posts and nets following suit. The green Wembley turf was ripped up cruelly and savagely by fans who allegedly believed they were. The future of the England and Scotland fixture was threatened albeit briefly but then calm was restored.  Until the early 1980s Scotland would continue to throw good-natured insults and oaths at their English counterparts. 

But we must express our congratulations to our friends from beyond Hadrian's Wall, our brothers and sisters in arms over the border. Scotland will always be friendly, welcoming, tolerably opinionated when the mood takes them and just prepared to buy you a strong tot of whisky if you were willing to reciprocate the gesture. We'll always smile at your effusive Hogmany celebrations when ladies and gentlemen hop in between swords in rich tartan skirts. 

Above all we love Scotland is a country of decorative, heather clad hills, imposing mountains and romantic liaisons at Gretna Green when couples tie the marital knot in a ceremony heavily steeped in tradition. It is a country that rightly celebrates the poet Rabbie Burns every Burns day, eats gallons of porridge for breakfast and then produces iconic sporting heroes such as Jackie Stewart from the world of motor racing, Bernard Gallacher from golf's fairways and more recently Sir Andy Murray who has now collected two Wimbledon's men singles titles with some panache and the most sublime tennis Britain has ever seen.

So Scotland we can never thankyou enough. There will of course never be any love lost between England and Scotland and although both crave absolute independence from each other, you'll always be in our good books. You can still hold your caber tossing tournaments during British summers quite unashamedly and Balmoral will always remain a royally commanding castle. So here's a toast to Scotland, the Scotland football team our friends north of the border. Three cheers to Scotland the brave.