Scotland flew to the 1978 finals on a wave of hype before reality hit but the win over Holland will be remembered for generations
“My name is Ally MacLeod, and I am a born winner!” And we all know how this story pans out.
Let’s cut the man some slack, though, for he wasn’t quite the congenital loser he’s usually painted as. True, the high-water mark of his playing career as a willowy, crowd-pleasing left winger – a man-of-the-match performance for Blackburn Rovers in the 1960 FA Cup final described as “magnificent” by this paper – earned him nothing more than personal plaudits and a runners-up medal after a comprehensive 3-0 defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers. But there were notable achievements when he hung up his boots and clambered into the dugout. First, a couple of promotions with Ayr United, a club he very nearly took into Europe in the early 1970s. Then tangible success at last: a Scottish League Cup with Aberdeen in 1976, the club’s first triumph in the competition for two decades and only their second major trophy in an otherwise barren 20-year stretch. Dons’ supporters who still singing hosannas to Derek McInnes will know how good a League Cup can make you feel.
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