England’s Jack Wilshere has restarted the debate about whether footballers should be able to represent countries other than their own. The Arsenal midfielder was referring to the rule that allows players to switch nations after five years of residency, but his comments have still opened up other allowances for scrutiny. If someone who has lived in a country for a number of years is not allowed to play, is it then fair that another is given the freedom when he only qualifies through a relative? With this in mind, we look at six Scottish international footballers who may well have never been able to play for Scotland under stricter rules.
Two Scotland heroes are present in this image who weren’t officially considered Scottish.
Steven Fletcher
The former Hibs striker who has commanded over £20 million in transfer fees throughout his nine year senior career was actually born in Shrewsbury. Young Fletcher spent the first ten years of his life travelling around different army bases in England and Germany with his Liverpudlian soldier father. Tragically, the player’s dad died of cancer when he was ten and his Scottish mother decided to relocate the family to Hamilton. With only 12 caps he has yet to make his mark for Scotland, but there is plenty of time for that yet. He is undoubtedly the country’s best striker.
Andy Goram
“The Goalie” always considered
himself Scottish as he looked up to his Edinburgh born father, even
though he was born and raised in England and spent the first seven
years of his career playing for Oldham. Throughout his Scotland
career he competed with Jim Leighton and this restricted his final
cap total, which reached only 43. He could only claim to be the undisputed number one for a four year period in the early 90’s.
Richard Gough
Gough has quite the storied background. The future Rangers captain was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to a Swedish mother and Scottish father. Despite this he grew up in South Africa and only entered in the UK as a 17-year old to play for Charlton Athletic before emerging with Dundee United in the early 80s. Gough earned 61 caps and could have earned more had he not chosen to withdraw himself from selection after being critical of the Bruce Rioch/Craig Brown management duo.
Don Hutchison
By no means the greatest of footballers but a player who did a solid job for Scotland over four years and scored one of the most famous goals in the last 20 years. Even though he was born and raised in Gateshead, Hutchison claimed he always felt Scottish because of the strong relationship with his father, who had been born in Nairn. He later said that every time they’d go on holiday to Butlins he’d be the only kid with a Scotland top on. His goal that defeated England at Wembley made his father, a 6ft 4in former miner, cry with pride.
Stuart McCall
Famously McCall came within seconds of never being able to play for Scotland. Having decided to represent England at under-21 level, the youngster was waiting to come on in a match against Turkey when the referee blew for full-time. Had he entered the field, even for a few seconds, he would have forever been unable to play for Scotland. Raised in Leeds by Scottish parents, McCall didn’t actually live in his adopted land until he signed for Rangers as a 27-year old in 1991. By that point he’d already made his debut for the national side and would go on to tally 40 caps – most of those while he was at Ibrox where he won six successive Scottish titles.
Bruce Rioch
The goalscoring midfielder and future Arsenal manager became the first ever Englishman to captain Scotland. The pride he received from the accomplishment led him to sign autographs with ‘COS’ written under his name (Captain of Scotland). Born and raised in Aldershot, he was eligible to play for his adopted country thanks to his Scottish father. He featured in the national team for three years after helping Derby County, under Dave Mackay, to lift the First Division title in 1975.
Andrew Watson
The man who is thought to have been the
first black footballer ever to have played an international match was
born in British Guiana but taken by his Scottish sugar planter father
and raised in Britain. His early education took place in London but
he moved to study at the University of Glasgow and this enabled him
to become an international footballer during his two-year spell at
Queen’s Park. He captained the side in a 1881 win over England.
Any other great players you feel we should note? Leave your views in the comments.
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