The joys and disasters of Scotland's Euro 96 campaign

Inevitably, talk of the 2021 championship (postponed from last year and now being played under strict Covid rules which mean most fans will not see their heroes play in person) has prompted memories of the last time we graced the European football stage.

It’s 25 years since that summer of ’96, when England hosted the tournament, Britpop was all the rage and Cool Britannia was still a thing.

Good things happened in Scotland that summer - Belle and Sebastian were formed, the Gallery of Modern Art opened in Glasgow and Dolly the sheep was ‘born’ after cloning work in Midlothian proved successful.

It was the second time Scotland had qualified for this competition – in 1992, under the guidance of manager Andy Roxburgh, Scotland were drawn into a difficult group with the Netherlands, the defending champions, the CIS, the remains of the Soviet Union team who were defeated in the final in 1988, and Germany, who were defeated in the semi-finals in 1988. Despite competing well in defeats against the Netherlands and Germany and a fine 3–0 win against the CIS, the team did not make it through to the next round.

A Dutch fan and a Scottish fan dance in a Birmingham fountain, 1996. Pic: Herald and Times

In 1996, with a new manager at the helm – Craig Brown – Scotland finished second behind Russia in a qualifying group that also featured Greece, Faroe Islands, Finland and San Marino.

The first game at the tournament against the Netherlands ended 0–0 and both team and supporters were on a high – until THAT game at Wembley against England.

In the kind of typical Scottish snatching defeat from the jaws of victory manner, Gary McAllister missed a penalty kick and a swift and undeniably sensational goal by Paul Gascoigne led to a 2–0 defeat.

Scotland recovered to beat Switzerland 1–0 with a goal by Ally McCoist and when England took a 4–0 lead in the other match, for a brief moment Scotland and England could qualify.

Euro 96: Scotland captain Gary McAllister hangs his head after seeing his penalty saved by David Seaman. Pic: Herald and Times

But a late goal for the Netherlands meant Scotland went out on goals scored.

Fast forward to 2021 and Scotland are back in the game, although it will be a very different experience for both the team and the fans this time.

As part of the 60th anniversary celebrations, UEFA decided that rather than choosing one host country, the tournament would be spread right across the continent, involving cities from London and Glasgow to St Petersburg and Budapest and beyond.

Speaking to our sister newspaper last year, Rangers and Scotland player Stuart McCall said he had many happy memories of the opening game for Scotland against the Netherlands at Euro 96.

His most vivid memory, he said, was the colourful scene that greeted Scotland at Villa Park in Birmingham.

“The atmosphere was absolutely brilliant,” he recalled. “The colour and the noise that was generated was one of the best in my career.

“We walked out at Villa Park and everything was so bright. You had all the Dutch supporters in orange in one half of the ground and our fans in their tartan in the other.

“It was such a special occasion even if the game wasn’t up to much.

“It was a good start for us when you looked at that Dutch side.

“I know they had problems later on and Edgar Davids was sent home after falling out with the manager. But they had gone into the tournament as one of the favourites to win it with the bookies and had a lot of quality.”

READ MORE: The story of the 'unofficial Celtic team' that played in Easterhouse

*Were you at the Euros? Are you a Scotland fan? Perhaps you have travelled the world with the Tartan Army? Or maybe you are an armchair fan?

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