Ah, remember the good old days when top Scottish footballers weren’t exiled to the beaches of the Costa del Sol for their summer jollies? Remember when trips to the World Cup brought so much hope and optimism that the Tartan Army gobbled up enough copies of Andy Cameron’s World Cup ditty to make it into the top 10 of the ‘Hit Parade’? Well Argentina ’78 was that summer and that tournament.
The Scots donned this classic navy blue Umbro jersey for what they thought would be a successful tour of South America, and with players littering top clubs both north and south of Hadrian’s Wall their self-confidence was quite understandable.
Ally MacLeod picked a strong squad including Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Asa Hartford and Bruce Rioch and were expected to progress beyond the first group phase where they drawn against the superb Dutch, the dangerous Peru and the might of…erm…Iran.
But after defeat to a Cubillas-inspired Peru and a poor 1-1 draw with the Iranians, Scotland needed a comprehensive victory over Holland (who would later end up as beaten finalists).
One of the country’s most famous performances followed and although they failed to rack up the winning margin they needed to make it to the second round, diminutive Nottingham Forest midfielder Archie Gemmill scored one of the World Cup’s greatest goals as he slalomed his way through the Dutch defence before coolly curling his shot into the far corner of the net.
Classic retro shirts now available from Campo www.camporetro.com
