In an eerie, Covid-decimated football stadium in Belgrade, Scotland returned from the international wilderness by winning a penalty shoot-out against Serbia to qualify for a first major tournament in 22 years.
Contrary to popular belief, Ryan Christie was not the only one to bawl his eyes out that night.
Scorer of the opening goal, the midfielder famously broke down on the pitch during an emotional post-match interview. As the tears flowed, he was reflecting the relief, the joy, the release of the monkey from the back felt across the nation
Even Sir Alex Ferguson felt something in his eye that night, and if Steve Clarke’s side make history by securing the point they need to claim a place in the last 32 of the World Cup finals, Christie expects the tears to flow once again.
This time, he hopes, in a more private and confined setting. “You’re about the third person to ask me that question,” he says with a grin. “How will I react? Probably equally as emotional, but this time I will be staying well away from the cameras.
“It would be an absolute dream come true. It’s a dream come true to even be playing in a World Cup and after that you have to kind of quickly adjust your targets and adjust your mindset to ensure that you’re not just happy to be here.
“You want to go and create more and keep pushing the bar, and it is probably something that this squad has done so well. And the manager as well has kind of kept the foot to the floor a little bit with the whole squad. So we are desperate to get out of a group and really create some history.”
Growing up in Inverness, the son of Highland League legend Charlie, Christie was a Lionel Messi fanatic. Reclining in a seat in Scotland’s hotel watching the old boy claim a stunning hat-trick for World Champions Argentina against Algeria, the penny dropped that he was in with the big boys now.
Playing for serious stakes against players who know how and when to play their hand to perfection. “When I was younger, I idolised Messi growing up,” Christie explained.
“So to think you’re playing on the same kind of stage as him now, it’s pretty cool. And especially at the age he’s at, watching him do his thing on [Tuesday] night was unbelievable. I think everybody has that feeling now when you’re playing on the stage that literally all the eyes across the globe are watching you.
“So yeah, you’re just desperate to try and make a name for yourself. I’m getting to play it and participate in it, but obviously you get the days when you kind of chill out a bit, and you turn back into a spectator a little bit, and you’re chilling with the boys watching the games.
“Like watching Messi kind of do his thing – stuff like that was just incredible. Whether you’re playing or not, to watch that kind of stuff happen is pretty immense and plays a massive part in why this tournament is so special. So it’s pretty surreal, to be honest.”
Growing up in the Scottish Highlands, he never expected to be here. It never crossed his mind that, one day, he might play in a World Cup finals or, for that matter, in any finals at all. For the first 25 years of his life, Scotland spent every tournament standing on the pavement pawing at the glass as the bouncers extended a hand and said, ‘Not tonight lads’.
Now, all of a sudden, Christie is 31 and playing in his third tournament. Asked how high, how feasible, that scenario seemed when he was breaking through at Inverness Caledonian Thistle, he almost laughs out loud. “If I am honest, it was non-existent,” he said.
“I don’t know if it sounds bad to say that because I obviously had aspirations of playing for Scotland when I was growing up. It was my kind of pinnacle, but you didn’t ever think further than that.
“Probably because when I was growing up, I didn’t get to watch Scotland play in a major tournament. That just wasn’t really a possibility at that point. That’s probably why all those years down line, when we had that night in Serbia, it kind of hit home so much.
“It probably felt so out of reach for me and a few of the other boys, so to be doing this and to be here is incredible, and now we have to try and take our opportunity in and show everybody how good a team we are.”
Read more
-
Lyndon Dykes: Striker on his trademark shaved head, tattoo plans and Morocco test
-
Lyndon Dykes eager to use post-Haiti criticism to fuel Scotland's World Cup hopes
-
Tartan Army winning on and off field as Naismith hails 'brilliant' Boston experience
There’s a common perception that, for many of these Scotland players, this is pretty much it when it comes to the World Cup finals. Captain Andy Robertson, Kenny McLean, Grant Hanley, John McGinn, Jack Hendry and Christie are just some of the players well into their thirties now.
And for footballers, a 30th birthday feels like the sound of a starter’s gun cracking in the sky. They know their race will soon be over.
Watching Messi turn it on precisely 20 years after his Argentina debut as an 18-year-old kid, you began to wonder if some of these Scotland players might have a bit more lead in the pencil yet.
Just this week, Christie signed a new three-year contract with English Premier League side Bournemouth and shows no sign at all of losing his youthful looks. If Messi, Ronaldo and Modric can live their lives like footballing Peter Pans, why can’t some of this successful generation of Scotland internationalists do the same?
“I hope I’m playing at their age,” he laughs. “But yes, 100 per cent. You look at these guys that are still doing it on the biggest stage. Even some of the names that I’m playing against week in and week out in the Premier League.
"They are pushing into their high 30s and still turning out performances week in and week out. It certainly gives us up a hope that we can kick on and, fingers crossed we can make another World Cup.
“Football in general has come on in leaps and bounds on that side of things. Even though there is a younger generation constantly pushing the kind of athletic limits if you want, we’ve got everything in place to try and prolong our careers as long as we possibly can.
“You see how across football now, especially on the biggest kind of stage like this, the amount of guys are doing to kind of prolong their careers off the pitch.
"Everything is in place for us to do well.”
Before thinking about the World Cups of the future and pulling a Messi, Scotland players need to train their sights on this one first.
Christie barely remembers being a three-year-old kid watching Craig Burley score against Norway at France 1998, but he does remember the house being a little quieter than usual. “I think my dad went to France and my sister had just been born, so I don’t know how he managed to get the all-clear for that one,” he said.
“I have heard from the older generations now how good it was, which makes it so cool now to be part of a generation watching my mates go and come over and be in Boston and have the time of their lives.”
Lyndon Dykes wants Christie to join him in acquiring a tattoo to show that they were here in the United States. While he will stop short of signing up for a tatt on his neck, he would probably prefer that to spilling tears on the nation’s screens this time.
Been there, done that.
