Denis Law
Page 16
Poring over the action, there are several things to note. For instance, Jimmy Greaves, fabled marksman, didn’t have a single shot at goal. The injured Jack Charlton not only scored, but he had another two efforts saved by Ronnie Simpson, had one cleared off the line and yet another header that swept dangerously over the bar. Denis Law later described his presence as ‘nuisance value’ and, right enough, he did prove to be difficult to shut down despite his injury. (It was later discovered that a stud had broken through the sole of his boot after his tackle on Bobby Lennox.) Apart from goal-kicks, Simpson used his feet only twice – and one of those occasions was to boot the ball out of play for Law and Banks to get treatment. On every other occasion he threw the ball, mainly to Jim Baxter. Willie Wallace and Lennox switched wings constantly, probably off their own bat rather than a pre-match instruction from manager Bobby Brown. Left-back Eddie McCreadie popped up almost on the right touchline at one stage in the first-half. No wonder England were bewildered! This was Total Football before the Dutch came on the scene to claim it as their own. Full-backs Tommy Gemmell and McCreadie spent more time in the English half than they did in their own. Jim Baxter, not known for his aerial work, won plenty of headers. Ronnie McKinnon hardly gave Geoff Hurst time to turn with the ball at any time. John Greig was a powerhouse throughout. Billy Bremner’s energy was immense and Jim McCalliog spent a huge part of the game in midfield leaving Law a lone marksman. It all gelled on the day.
I don’t know how many times commentator Hugh Johns mentioned the fact that England were World Cup holders. I stopped counting at 20 after the first 15 minutes or so.
Chapter Fifteen
LAWLESS SCOTLAND
A trademark flashing header from Denis Law signalled the kick-off to the 1970 World Cup qualifying campaign. Scotland, generous to a fault, gifted the visiting Austrians a goal of a start in only two minutes before surging back to triumph 2-1 in front of 80,856 ecstatic supporters on a chilly evening at Hampden on 6 November 1968. The Scots picked up seven points from a possible eight in their first four games, but realised that the last two ties, against West Germany in Hamburg and then Austria in Vienna, would be the ones that mattered. Cyprus were also in the qualifying group, but offered very little resistance with Scotland scoring 13 goals over the two matches.
Scotland, after missing out on Chile in 1962 and England in 1966, were anxious that they would not be restricted to watching the Mexico finals on television. We were all getting thoroughly sickened by the old joke, ‘What do you call a Scotsman at the World Cup Finals? The referee.’ How the English chortled. So, no-one predicted the shocking start against a workmanlike Austria, a team totally bereft of big-name stars. August Starek fired in a hit-and-hope long-range effort only moments into the game and a deadly hush fell around Hampden as the wind-assisted swerving effort baffled Ronnie Simpson and thudded into the back of the net.
Help was at hand, though. Law, as he had demonstrated so often in the past, provided the answer. Once again, he was the master in the air and angled a typical header beyond the helpless Garald Fuchsbichler in the seventh minute to calm the nerves of his teammates and the supporters. The tension was palpable as Bobby Brown’s side pushed for the winner and it duly arrived in the 75th minute, delivered by captain Billy Bremner. The gutsy little Leeds United midfielder battled in a packed penalty area to force the ball over the line. It was untidy and would never figure in any DVD of the Best 50 World Cup Goals, but it was enough to ensure that the nation enjoyed a winning start and no-one complained.
The following month, on 11 December, Scotland travelled to Nicosia for their first-ever match against Cyprus. The only problem appeared to be the playing surface. The Daily Record’s Alex Cameron described it thus, ‘It will be nigh on impossible for Scotland to play good football on this pitch. There’s precious little grass, there are bumps and lumps everywhere, and we can only hope that they remember to put down some lines to actually let the players know where the pitch starts and where it ends. That would be helpful.’
There was no need to worry, though. Celtic’s masterly midfielder Bobby Murdoch, defying the underfoot conditions, strolled through the encounter with commanding ease as the Scots surged to a 5-0 victory with all the goals coming in the first-half. Denis Law was missing through injury, but, on a rare occasion, his country could afford to be without his inspirational presence. Alan Gilzean, wearing the No. 10 shirt vacated by Law, scored the opening goal in three minutes and Murdoch rolled in a second 20 minutes later. Gilzean made it three on the half-hour mark and Colin Stein rattled in two in three minutes before the break. Poor overworked goalkeeper Michalalikis Alkiviadis must have wondered what to expect in the second-half. In fact, he could have taken out an umbrella and sheltered under it as a sudden deluge threatened proceedings. Scotland were satisfied to stop at five.
It had been a walkover against the Cypriots, but Scotland realised they would have to get their working clothes looked out for the next confrontation, the visit of mighty West Germany to Hampden Park on 16 April 1969. Denis Law was urgently required for this one and, thankfully, he was free of the knee injury that had plagued him all season at Manchester United. He lined up in an enterprising frontline alongside Jimmy Johnstone, Alan Gilzean and Bobby Lennox. The West Germans, so unlucky in the 1966 World Cup Final against England at Wembley, were still one of the most formidable football forces in the game. Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, Franz Beckenbauer, Helmut Haller, Gerd Muller, Wolfgang Overath and Sigi Held, all genuine superstars, were in Helmut Schoen’s line-up. There was also a gritty little right-back called Berti Vogts, who would come to know Hampden well later in his career as Scotland manager.
West Germany’s pedigree in the tournament was breathtaking. They first entered the World Cup in 1954 and, confounding all predictions, defeated Hungary 3-2 in the final. They were fourth in 1958, quarter-finalists four years later and, of course, finalists in England. Even more remarkable was the fact they had never lost a qualifier in the competition. If it had been a breeze against Cyprus, Scotland realised they would have to weather the storm against West Germany. A crowd of 95,951 packed into Scotland’s national stadium to witness the spectacle. Curiously, the West Germans had never beaten Scotland, losing two and drawing one of the previous three games. Bobby Brown had a problem to solve before the kick-off. Ronnie Simpson, the Peter Pan of goalkeeping, had come to the end of his glittering career at the age of 38. Birmingham City’s Jim Herriot was expected to face Muller and Co, but, unfortunately, injured a hand playing for Birmingham City on the Saturday. An SOS went out for Tommy Lawrence, Liverpool’s 14 stone custodian who hadn’t played for his country since 1963.
Bobby Brown selected Denis Law alongside Alan Gilzean to give the team an aerial presence. West Germany’s centre-half Willi Schulz was a rarity in that position as he barely came close to six foot. His defensive partner, Beckenbauer, preferred the ball on the ground, where he did his best and most elegant work. Scotland went into the encounter hoping to emulate past successes against group favourites. Spain, in the 1958 World Cup qualifiers, Czechoslovakia (1962) and Italy (1966) had all been beaten in Glasgow. Could the Scots add West Germany to that illustrious list?
West German manager Helmut Schoen had carried out his homework. He identified the menace of Law and Gilzean and pushed left-back Schnellinger, all of six foot two inches, into the middle of the rearguard alongside Schulz and Beckenbauer. Vogts played as a sweeper behind them and wingers Bernhard Dorfel and Sigi Held were instructed to play virtually as full-backs. Scotland, with midfielders Bobby Murdoch and Billy Bremner pushing forward relentlessly, took the game to their opponents. Goalkeeper Horst Wolter saved athletically from Gilzean and then Law. With six minutes of the first-half remaining, referee Jose Gardeazabal, of Spain, awarded West Germany an innocuous free-kick outside the box after Beckenbauer claimed he had been fouled by John Greig. Disaster was only moments away. The supremely-gifted Beckenbauer slid the ball to his Bayern Munich teammate Gerd Muller who appear
ed to barge into Ronnie McKinnon before turning and lashing a shot beyond the portly Lawrence from 18 yards.
McKinnon protested, but the match official was unmoved. Murdoch recalled, ‘Muller would have been nothing but for that backside of his. He made it impossible for defenders to even see the ball. He would back into them, inviting a foul. Ninety-nine times out of 100 he got it, too. If his opponent tried to go through him he would go down theatrically. Muller got away with it throughout his career. And we paid on that occasion. Watch the film of that game – it’s a clear foul on McKinnon.’
It was the Celtic maestro who came to Scotland’s rescue with the clock ticking down. West Germany had sent on substitute goalkeeper Sepp Maier for Wolter at the interval and he looked composed and assured. Up until the 88th minute, anyway. That was when Bobby Murdoch almost ripped the net from its stanchion with a blistering 25-yard shot that no goalkeeper on earth could have prevented from bulging the rigging. The Scots had held their nerve as they probed throughout a hectic second period. Law and Gilzean continued to threaten a stout and stubborn defence, but it looked to be yet another evening of glorious failure. And then the enchanting Charlie Cooke, a 63rd minute substitute for Bobby Lennox, danced merrily into the spotlight. He weaved in from the right wing before leisurely rolling the ball in front of Murdoch. The Celtic player strode onto it with poise and purpose and shelled a mighty effort into the roof of the net. That’s the way it remained. The fans left Hampden Park that night drained totally; satisfied, too, with a rescued point.
Murdoch told me later, ‘I knew they wouldn’t beat us. I hadn’t a clue how long there was to go, but I knew we would get a goal. Charlie’s pass was perfection and I just walloped it. We used to train for these situations at Celtic. Jock Stein would get myself and the other midfielders to position ourselves around the 18-yard line and then he would tell the likes of Jimmy Johnstone and full-backs Jim Craig and Tommy Gemmell to cut the ball back to us. We were told to hit it first time. We weren’t allowed to tee it up. Big Jock always went on about the element of surprise and not allowing a goalkeeper time to set himself and get ready for the shot. That second or so was absolutely vital. So it proved against West Germany.’ He added thoughtfully, ‘Mind you a lot of praise must also go to Denis and Gillie. If I remember correctly, they both made great runs to take away defenders before Charlie passed to me.’
It had been an exhausting performance from Denis Law and, sadly, was one of only two international appearances in 1969, the other coming in a 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland at Hampden on 6 May when Colin Stein netted in the 53rd minute to nullify a first-half effort from Eric McMurdie. Alas, it would be almost three full years before the Scottish fans would again witness their hero in their nation’s dark blue. Happily, he marked the occasion with a goal in a 2-0 win over Peru in Glasgow. During that barren period, Law would have to overcome the demons of doubt as some ill-informed critics wrote him off. There was still more, a lot more, to come from this man.
Scotland would have to attempt to reach Mexico in 1970 without the inspirational and influential Law. Rangers’ rumbustious Colin Stein, a good, old-fashioned centre-forward who relied on brute strength rather than ball-playing skills, was being granted his opportunity on the international stage to show what he could provide at this level. The Ibrox frontman took centre stage in the next World Cup qualifier against the hapless Cypriots at Hampden on 17 May, a week after Scotland had been soundly beaten 4-1 by England at Wembley. On that occasion, Stein was on target with a header after a delightful left-wing run and cross from Eddie Gray but, unfortunately, the English were already two goals ahead with Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst scoring inside the first 20 minutes. Scotland’s revival was short-lived with Hurst blasting a penalty-kick past Jim Herriot on the hour mark and Peters claiming the fourth shortly afterwards. It was back to the drawing board once more for Bobby Brown.
Bereft of Law’s presence, the Scotland manager didn’t have too many options in attack. He pushed Billy Bremner back to wing-half and brought in Charlie Cooke to replace him further forward. He kept faith with the frontline that rarely troubled Gordon Banks at Wembley; Willie Henderson, Colin Stein, Alan Gilzean and Eddie Gray. Stein dismantled a nervy Cypriot rearguard, scoring four goals in a pulverising 39-minute period. Gray, Leeds United’s graceful outside-left, scored the opener in the 15th minute and Celtic captain Billy McNeill added a second five minutes later. Stein lashed in number three in the 28th minute and added three more before the 67th minute. Rangers right-winger Willie Henderson fired in the seventh and Celtic’s adventurous full-back Tommy Gemmell brought down the curtain with a thunderous penalty-kick 14 minutes from the end.
There had been a clamour for Stein to take the spot-kick to enable him to emulate Hughie Gallacher’s historic five-goal feat in a 7-3 victory over Northern Ireland in Belfast in 1929. Gemmell said, ‘There was no way I was going to let Colin Stein take that kick. I was the penalty-taker and I told him that. As everyone knew, I loved the thrill of scoring goals. I was a defender, but I liked to think I could chip in a goal or two throughout a season. It didn’t matter that we were already seven goals up in that game. We could have been 70 goals ahead and I would still have taken that penalty-kick. Anyway, a Celtic man allowing a Rangers player to score a goal? That just wasn’t on.’
Stein recalled, ‘We won the penalty near the end. It was down at the Rangers end, where a lot of the 40,000 crowd were stationed, and they were chanting my name, willing me to take it. I was desperate to give them what they wanted and had the ball in my arms, ready to put it on the spot. But Tommy Gemmell marched up and snatched it away. He was the designated penalty-taker and clearly wasn’t happy that I was planning to ignore team orders. I was speechless, just shooting a few daggers in his direction, but nothing I could have said would have changed his mind. He would never have realised it, but Tommy actually did me a favour. With four goals, my confidence must have been bubbling over because I would never normally jump to the front of the queue to take a penalty. The truth is, I was never a dead-ball specialist, whether it was free-kicks or penalties. I preferred to leave them to the experts, apart from a stint at Coventry City when I took it upon myself to volunteer. Big Tommy tucked the penalty away to make it 8-0 and I had to content myself with the four goals.’
The World Cup crunch was looming; 22 October 1969 at the Volkspark Stadion in Hamburg, where a passionate crowd of 72,000 attended. West Germany went into their last game of the qualifying section with nine points from five games while Scotland had seven from four. Defeat would knock the Scots out of the tournament. A victory would set up Bobby Brown’s men nicely for their remaining fixture against Austria in Vienna a fortnight later. Once again, Denis Law was missing. Colin Stein was suffering a lean spell and it looked as though the main striking role would go to Wolves’ Hugh Curran, who, like Stein, was fearless, big and powerful. Twenty-four hours before the game he gave an interview to Ken Gallacher, of the Daily Record, and left everyone with the impression he wasn’t lacking in confidence. Under the headline ‘I GO WHERE THE BRAVE GO’, he told the newspaper’s readers, ‘The West Germans won’t know what hit them. I know what’s expected of me and I can promise the Scottish fans I will give it absolutely everything. This is the most important match I have ever played in and I won’t fail. I’ll make sure their defence doesn’t get a moment’s peace. I’ll be here, there and everywhere.’
Actually, where Curran was by the time the kick-off arrived was in the stand. A flu bug had bitten and he was out. Colin Stein, with ten goals from his previous six international games, was swiftly reinstated. Brown, realising the menace of West Germany’s strikers Gerd Muller and Uwe Seeler, twinned Old Firm duo Billy McNeill and Ronnie McKinnon at the heart of his defence. It was only the second time the Celtic skipper and the Rangers stopper had played alongside each other; the other being a 1-1 draw against England at Hampden in a European Championship qualifier in February 1968.
Jim Herriot continued in goal with the
Scots lining up with this starting 11: Herriot; Greig, McNeill, McKinnon, Gemmell; Bremner, Cormack, Gray; Johnstone, Stein and Gilzean. It was an attacking, adventurous team, but even Brown must have been surprised by his country’s dream start. Within three minutes, Scotland were a goal ahead after keeper Sepp Maier failed to hold a low drive from Eddie Gray. Celtic’s Jimmy Johnstone was more alert than dozy defender Berti Vogts as he raced in to clip the rebound over the stranded goalkeeper.
The West Germans were clearly astounded. Scotland were elated. Billy Bremner was immense in midfield, patrolling all along the line, harassing the likes of Helmut Haller and Wolfgang Overath, two ball artistes who liked time and space. A bristling Bremner would afford them neither. Johnstone, on the right, and Gray, on the left, were stretching the German defence while Stein and Gilzean kept up the pressure on Willi Schulz and Franz Beckenbauer. For the first half-hour, Herriot was rarely troubled. Gilzean lofted one over the bar as the home side toiled to get a grip. Alas, they snatched an equaliser seven minutes from the interval. The Scottish keeper carelessly allowed a pass back from McNeill to elude him and the Germans took a quick corner-kick. As luck would have it, the ball eventually landed at the feet of the unattended Klaus Fichtel and he sent a rasping drive beyond Herriot.
The second-half was tough and towsy. Johnstone, in particular, had been singled out for some unsavoury tactics from the West Germans, with Vogts the main culprit. The Scots were out of luck when a shot from the tireless Bremner smashed against an upright and bounced to safety. Tommy Gemmell also left Maier scrambling with a lobbed effort from the left that carried just over the crossbar. A goal was in the offing. Sadly, it came for the home outfit on the hour mark. Veteran frontman Seeler nodded a free-kick into the path of Muller and he ruthlessly battered it wide of the unprotected Herriot. Scotland’s response was valiant and swift. McKinnon thumped in a cross and Gilzean, escaping Schulz, rose to nod past Maier with poise and precision in the 64th minute. All to no avail, though. With nine minutes to go, Haller picked out tricky outside-right Reinhard Libuda and he streaked through the rearguard before firing past Herriot. Scottish players collapsed where they stood. Worse was to follow with Gemmell being dismissed by Swiss referee Ernst Droz after a kick at Haller in the last minute.