Scotland have become the supporting act in an exhibition steeped in nostalgic achievement and notoriety. Tonight, Barry Ferguson will provide some contemporary relevance when he joins an elite band of international stalwarts.

Scotland have become the supporting act in an exhibition steeped in nostalgic achievement and notoriety. Tonight, Barry Ferguson will provide some contemporary relevance when he joins an elite band of international stalwarts.

The Rangers midfielder will captain his country for the 27th time, in doing so equalling the longevity in leadership of Graeme Souness and Roy Aitken.

George Young holds the record of international appearances as captain but, none the less, it was welcome news to the 30-year-old yesterday when informed of the significance of his imminent 44th cap. But for three serious injuries Ferguson would have surpassed his predecessors and long since joined the Scottish Hall of Fame.

For a player whose national pride had been questioned after a spate of call-offs earlier in his career, Ferguson was visibly chuffed by his feat.

"I will give Graeme a phone to tell him," he said.

"I wasn't aware of that but it is something to be proud of. I have missed so many games that I have not even reached 50 caps yet but you cannot just take injuries away."

From the present, Ferguson cast his mind back to the past and, in particular, the first vivid memories of World Cup football. They invariably involved Diego Maradona. Ferguson was an eight-year-old boy in the summer of 1986, a time when his elder sibling demonstrated prodigious talent at Ibrox and would soon make a prominent introduction to the first team.

The younger Ferguson contented himself with a Panini album - the World Cup 1986 special edition, distinctive by its transparent plastic cards rather than traditional stickers - and a front row seat in the Ferguson family living room. Maradona's mesmerising slalom past five English mannequins sparked involuntary celebrations and remains Ferguson's favourite goal to this day.

"I remember watching the game in the house with my dad and big brother, jumping about daft," he recalled. "It was one of the best goals I had ever seen and it is still one of the best today."

As a child of the '80s, Maradona was Ferguson's point of heroic reference, despite being reared on tales - and reels of grainy footage - of the great Pele. He will confront one of his boyhood idols this evening but will be too preoccupied with his on-field responsibilities to be awestruck. This, after all, is the player who had a hand gripped around his throat after confronting another modern legend, Lothar Matthaus, during Rangers' Champions League encounter with Bayern Munich.

"You never think you are going to meet the guy," he said. "There is no time for hero worship. As soon as the whistle goes, you have to concentrate on your job. Obviously, you respect what he achieved as a player, but that respect goes out of the window. People always talk about Pele being the greatest but I am too young to have seen him play. Maradona is the best I have seen in my lifetime and, today, you would have to say Lionel Messi is the closest to him. I was fortunate enough to play against him for Rangers when we met Barcelona in the Champions League."

Ferguson considers tomorrow's contest worthwhile preparation for the World Cup qualification match against Netherlands in Amsterdam next March.

"It would be easy for us just to take a game people expect us to win, against a nation who are not the best, but you only learn by playing against the best players," he said . "We have a couple of people out but it will be a good test. I have heard people talk about the effects if we get a humping but I don't think we will."

His reference to humping' seemed an opportune moment to discuss Allan McGregor, who will deputise for the injured Craig Gordon this evening. The Rangers goalkeeper has become a one-man saviour of tabloid circulation for his relentless and chaotic love life. He was dropped by Walter Smith earlier this season after the manager denoted an adverse professional effect from his exploits. Respite has been brief: while McGregor has resumed his place as first choice, his off-field exploits have recently been mocked by no less a shagger than Andy Goram.

Ferguson may lament the social antics of his younger colleague but he remains an admirer of McGregor's perseverance. His former youth-team colleague has developed into one of the country's finest goalkeepers, and given Burley the kind of specialist competition not seen since Goram and Jim Leighton jousted for prominence.

"I have known Allan since youth level, he was only a few years younger than me, and he has gone on and done it the hard way," said Ferguson. "To play for Rangers you need to be mentally strong. It will come down to who is in the best form at the time and Allan has a chance to stake a claim. We have two quality goalkeepers vying for one position. I suppose the last time we had that kind of top-quality competition was Jim Leighton and Andy Goram."

The retirement of Kris Boyd has deprived Burley of similar competition at the sharp end. Ferguson, a regular columnist for The Sun, has been conspicuous by his absence from the Boyd v Burley debate. It has been a deliberate act of diplomacy.

"It is not my place to interfere," he said. "I was in a Catch-22 because I was captain of Rangers and Scotland. It doesn't matter if it is a team-mate or my mate who works for a housing agency and wants to change jobs: it is not my place to tell them what they should do."