Stevie Crawford quickly went from dreaming of selection for Scotland’s World Cup squad to madcap Tartan Army foot soldier in 1998.
And he insists his passion for the national team still burns brightly as he looks forward to the big kick-off to Euro 2024 against hosts Germany.
Crawford was a Hibernian player 26 years ago when Craig Brown was making his selection for France.
Having been overlooked in favour of the likes of Kevin Gallacher, Gordon Durie, Darren Jackson, Simon Donnelly and Scott Booth, the once-capped Crawford had to be content with watching the tournament back home in Dunfermline.
But missing out did not dim his patriotism, which he has revealed bizarrely included a spur-of-the-moment trip to the hairdressers in time for that stunning opening game against Brazil in Paris.
“For the ’98 World Cup, I think I was sort of verging on possibly having an outside chance of getting picked,” said the former Dunfermline player and manager, who recently launched his own youth academy.
“I ended up watching it with my mates along at the Rollerbowl in Rosyth.
“Watching the Brazil game, two of us thought it was clever to go and get our hair dyed blond!
“There we were, Scotland strips on, watching as John Collins scores the penalty.
‘A massive plus’
“Looking at it as a supporter, I always have a feeling of excitement and pride.
“Okay, the results sometimes don’t go for us. But getting to major tournaments is a massive plus for a country our size.”
Crawford made his debut for Scotland in the Kirin Cup in 1995. But he had to wait six years for his next appearance in dark blue.
He went on to rack up 25 caps and four goals for his country before his final outing against Sweden in November 2004.
Pride is also the overwhelming emotion from those days as a player with the national team.
And, two decades on, he has moved to clear up any doubts over his passion for Scotland because of one pre-match difficulty he encountered.
“Any time I pulled on the Scotland jersey, it was an unbelievable feeling of pride, because I know what it meant to my family,” added the ex-Raith Rovers, Dundee United, Aberdeen and Millwall striker.
“I said from when I was seven years old that I wanted to play with Scotland.
“So, to get the opportunity to do that, you have to deal with those feelings. You’re going out to compete and it can be a bit overwhelming.
‘I had to check my emotions’
“I now get asked the question, ‘why were you not singing the national anthem?’. Even close friends have asked, because I was really quite patriotic.
“I couldn’t – because I would have started greeting! That’s the honest answer.
“I had to check my emotions. At times, I was biting my lip.
“I was singing it in my head, but to actually physically sing it, I couldn’t.
“I know that sounds like fairytale stuff or getting carried away, but it was the reality.
“I had to get myself in check to go out and play a game of football.
“So I’ll never criticise, when the camera goes down the line and people might think, ‘look at him, he’s not bothered about playing for his country’.
“Sometimes it’s the opposite, that they’re actually more proud to be there.”
