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England-Scotland rivalry revived
Posted: Tuesday October 19, 1999 04:06 PM
To those growing up outside the British Isles, the true magnitude of the England-Scotland matchup in the upcoming European Football Championship playoffs may be hard to fathom. Granted, Israel's game with Denmark, Slovenia's match with the mighty Ukraine (surely the best team not qualify automatically) and Turkey's matchup with Ireland are huge games for each respective country, as they bid to make the sixteen team finals. But, with respect, those games are nothing in terms of cultural significance compared to a clash between two nations whose rivalry pre-dates soccer by centuries. After years of antipathy towards each other on the battlefield, which viewers of the movie Braveheart might well recall, the two countries came together on the football field 127 years ago. The first meeting, which is generally regarded as the first officially recognized international anywhere, ended in a scoreless draw in Glasgow. Since then they've played 108 times, with England winning 44 matches, including a 2-0 victory in their last meeting at the 1996 European Championships. Scotland has won 40, and 24 matches were tied. Significantly, however, only five of those meetings were in major competitions, and it's that statistic that's perhaps the most telling. For while other countries may have merely accepted their neighborhood rivalries, England and Scotland have embraced theirs with a passion, with each seeking to one-up the other just for the sake of it. In the long lamented past, England versus Scotland matches were an annual event. The Home International Championship between England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland provided an exciting close to the season in the days when the season had a recognizable end. To the casual observer, most of the matches in that round-robin tournament would have gone unnoticed, regarded as no more than little domestic skirmishes between four nations within a nation. To the Brits, with their strong sense of history, however, they were a prime example of war without weapons -- a showcase for national pride that produced numerous classics, especially between England and Scotland. One the best of them came way back in 1967, when a 3-2 Scottish victory at Wembley, soon after England had won the World Cup, earned a place among Scotland's finest hours. Sadly, largely due to hooliganism, the Home Internationals have long since been consigned to history. Indeed, even so-called friendly England-Scotland internationals have been reduced to just one since 1989, following a pitch invasion at Wembley in the '70s, when Scottish fans tore down the goalposts, and a series of running battles on the terraces at Hampden Park in 1985, in which one fan was stabbed. Despite the recent lull in competition, however, the strength of feeling remains. As a result, while the other three ties in these European Championship playoffs are undoubtedly important in football terms, it's fair to say that England against Scotland is so much more than just another game. Terry Baddoo is a co-host of "World Sport," the international sports show that airs live on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN International.
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