The comeback Scotland star who can claim one over Luka Modric – ‘I’ll beat him to that one as well’
The shirt with 75 on the back awarded amid great ceremony against Finland in May has already been consigned to history. With Craig Gordon’s Scotland story having extended unexpectedly, the souvenir may well be trumped by one displaying 80.
And then, well, who knows? Gordon will have turned 42 by the time World Cup qualifiers start, which will see him outstrip the likes of Pat Jennings and Dino Zoff, who both stopped playing international football aged 41. Jim Leighton’s last cap was at 40 but he had amassed 91 by then. There’s no telling where Gordon will end up although an added complication is that he might be without a club at the end of this season, with his Hearts contract due to expire in the summer.
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As for the Leighton total, a record for a Scotland goalkeeper, Gordon is realistic. “That still seems a long way away at this moment in time,” he says. “I’ll just concentrate on the next double-header and try and get two, and then (the chance for the) next cap is not until March. I don’t set too many long-term goals at this stage of my career, it’s all much more short-term and trying to keep playing well.”
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Craig Gordon during a Scotland training session this week.
Craig Gordon during a Scotland training session this week. | SNS Group
One can understand why the one-game-at-a-time cliché really does apply in this case. He is simply relishing his international recall and creating some bonus memories such as last month’s comeback game against Croatia. He had been expecting to be sitting at home. Instead, after an injury sustained by Angus Gunn, he was thrust back into the white heat of international football, re-writing his own record as Scotland’s oldest international footballer in the unfortunate 2-1 defeat.
Even Luka Modric, who recently became Real Madrid’s oldest-ever player aged 39, was impressed. He also sounded grateful as he spoke on the eve of the match about not being the oldest player on the pitch for once. Modric had first come across Gordon in England, where they played against each other for Spurs and Sunderland respectively.
“That was the first time in five attempts he managed to beat me, so he eventually got me!” says Gordon. “But it was nice to hear him say what he did and hopefully again this week he won’t be the oldest player on the pitch. I’ll beat him to that one as well.”
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39-year-old Luka Modric will captain Croatia against Scotland on Friday – but he won’t be the oldest player on the pitch.
39-year-old Luka Modric will captain Croatia against Scotland on Friday – but he won’t be the oldest player on the pitch. | SNS Group
Fitness permitting, Gordon will line up to hear the anthems again tomorrow night against Croatia as he wins his 78th cap. It will mean moving outright into the top five capped Scotland players of all-time. A 79th will likely follow three days later against Poland.
He is back in an old routine that began with his international debut against Trinidad and Tobago in 2004. After all this time, it’s hardly surprising that he’s coming up against countries he has played before, several times in some cases. Tomorrow will be the third time Gordon has faced Croatia. The first time was a 1-1 draw in 2008 while winning his 30th cap.
“I can remember that Kenny Miller scored that day for us,” he recalls. “I think Niko Kranjcar open the scoring for them, a kind of squiggly shot, and then, actually, I had a decent game, and made a few saves.”
Craig Gordon is substituted on for Angus Gunn during the friendly match against Finland in June that was expected to be his final Scotland appearance. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)
Craig Gordon is substituted on for Angus Gunn during the friendly match against Finland in June that was expected to be his final Scotland appearance. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group) | SNS Group
It’s nice to think that whenever it does actually happen, Gordon will enjoy a more satisfying ‘farewell’ than against Finland at Hampden in May. Already informed by manager Steve Clarke that he had been omitted from the final squad for Euro 2024, he was big enough to accept the offer of a cameo against Finland, in Scotland’s last pre-tournament warm up. It was designed to be a goodbye and with emotions running high, Gordon replaced Gunn with just over 20 minutes left – and promptly conceded twice as Scotland threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2.
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It wasn’t the way anyone wanted to see him depart the scene and fortunately, it’s proved not to be the case. He has even collected another clean sheet, his 32nd in total, against Portugal, Ronaldo included, last month.
As for the shirt with 75 on the back that he was presented with by Clarke following the Finland game, where is it? “I still have it,” he says. “75 is a great number. We get a medal for 25 and 50. I don’t know, do we get one for 75? 75 is quite a big number to get to.
“It’s still an important one,” he adds. “I probably didn’t foresee how the next few months were going to pan out like this at that particular time. I thought that probably would be the last one.”
Mercifully given Scotland’s lack of goalkeeper options, he chose not to retire from the international scene, stressing he’d always be on hand to help. He might be able to make a difference at both ends.
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Lawrence Shankland during a Scotland training session at the City Stadium.
Lawrence Shankland during a Scotland training session at the City Stadium. | SNS Group
Conversation inevitably turned to club and international teammate Lawrence Shankland’s current troubles in front of goal. The striker’s scoring touch has deserted him this season. He has one just one goal to date – against Ross County in September, when Gordon was closer to the action than might be expected. With Hearts trailing 1-0 deep in injury time, the ‘keeper joined the fray in the opposite box at a corner and helped create some more chaos.
“I know how great he can be, I’ve seen that day-in, day-out for the last number of years,” he says. “I just hope that he remembers that and how good he actually is, because when he is firing and confident then everything he touches turns to goals.
“He’s a fantastic player and I’m sure he’ll get back to scoring goals. I can’t help him with that too much. I went up for a corner and took the defenders away so he got his goal this season, but I can’t help him with much more that….I’m taking that as an assist!”
Related topics:Craig GordonScotlandSteve ClarkeHearts
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