IF Pep Guardiola can gift wrap World Cup glory for Spain and Germany, why can't Brendan Rodgers deliver Scotland to their first major finals in 20 years?
When it comes to the transformative effect one club manager can have on a nation's hopes of success on the international stage, Gary Caldwell sees a parallel between the confidence Scotland's Celtic players bring with them on international duty and the World Cup-winning inspiration which Pep helped instil into the players of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, even if it remains to be seen how many of the Scottish champions take to the field against Slovakia on Thursday after Scott Brown and Stuart Armstrong pulled out through injury.
“With the Celtic guys now, it’s easier because they know each other’s games so well, they know their strengths, their weaknesses," said the former Wigan and Chesterfield manager. “When they come here, it's a case of the gaffer putting in his stamp on how he wants Scotland to play, and they have to adjust slightly, but they understand each other because they train day in day out. That's a huge advantage for an international team to have. The last two World Cup winners were full of Bayern Munich players and Barcelona players, and that has to have a huge bearing.
“I had this chat when I was playing alongside Christophe Berra at the back under Craig Levein. We were conceding goals and just not playing that well. But I was coming from Wigan, playing 3-4-3, total football, I was back-foot defending where I was the middle man, I didn't go and engage everyone. I stepped off because of my lack of pace. Meanwhile Christophe was at Wolves, playing route one football for a team who were very much front-foot defenders, they came and attacked everything. Then we came together and had a week to learn how to play together for Scotland. Do we go my way, do we go his way, do we meet somewhere in the middle?”
Caldwell knows how it feels to be the match winner in a huge Hampden showdown for Scotland. Eleven years ago this month, he was guiding Paul Hartley’s corner into the net as a French side who had reached the World Cup final just months earlier were sent packing. Now he hopes someone else gets to experience the same sensation next Thursday.
“At the time you don't know what you're feeling,” he said. “You’re ecstatic, excited, the noise is huge - but you then have to get back into game mode quickly because you still have to focus. When it finishes and you've won a game for Scotland, it always feels bigger to do it for your country because everyone is on your side. There's no bigger feeling for me in football, especially in a game of this size when it can impact the group so much and give us that opportunity to qualify, considering how long it's been.”
**Gary Caldwell was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is a proud sponsor of the Scotland national team.
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