shannon2007

If the summer of '74, when Duncan had been a starry eyed nine year old boy with his whole life before him had been the golden year of his childhood, then perhaps 1986 could be considered the golden year of his adulthood. Children have more concept of imagination than adults, to them everything looks bigger and more awesome. As adults we tend to lose the ability for awe, and combined with the actual fact that our 'innocence' has long gone, things are never quite as magical as they were when we were kids. That, I think, is the whole point in Steven's Kings 'It'.

Yet perhaps at just approaching twenty one, Duncan still retained just a hint of that childhood awe and innocence before it was swept completely away as the often harsh, more times mundane and boring realities of adulthood finally settled in. Whatever the psychological concepts, 1986 was one of those pivotal years in the life of Duncan MacLeod. It started with discovering his long time girlfriend, lover, fiancee was pregnant, and it ended with the birth of their first child, Mhairi, named after Alyson's paternal grandmother who died just two weeks before the birth of what would have been her thirteenth great grandchild.

Duncan and Alyson had no plans to get married as 1986 approached. They were happy, as Alyson's granny called it, living in sin. They planned that perhaps one day they would make their commitment a more legal one – or a more religious one, but Duncan MacLeod did not believe in God. If he did exist, he must have one hell of a wicked sense of humour. It was Duncan's belief that, if God did exist, he was surely far more evil than he could ever have been good. Yet in March of 1986, when Alyson told him she was expecting their first child, pressure from her side of the family dictated they should get married. As Granny Mhairi, after whom this child would unknowingly be named, put it,

'We don't want another little bastard in the family.'

The problem with a wedding was twofold. When to have it, and the fact that Duncan would feel obliged to invite his mother. When to have it – because footballing commitments at that time of the year made it very tough to find a date and as the year went on so the summer was ruled out, when Duncan was named in the Scotland Squad for the 1986 World Finals in Mexico. The World Cup started on May 31st, so there was little time after the season to fit in a wedding. May 10th was finally agreed on – until Kilmarnock reached the Final of the Scottish Cup. The wedding was hastily rearranged for a week later, and the honeymoon would take place in Mexico. It would, of course, be a working honeymoon and would be paid for in reality by the Scottish Football Association, which was very kind of them. In the end, Duncan's mother did not come to the wedding. He never found out the reason why, and he never spoke to her again apart from the couple of occasions she phoned him in Liverpool begging him for money. He didn't send her any.

During the World Cup qualifying campaign, Duncan had made three starts and three substitute appearances for his country, bagging three goals as Scotland pipped Spain to top the group, and so missing out on having to go all the way to Australia for a play off match. It was no surprise then that he had been named in the squad for the Finals themselves, even though he was one of the players rumoured to have been dropped from the squad when it was reduced to its twenty two man state. In fact it was an injury to Dundee United striker Paul Sturrock that probably opened a place for Duncan to be the youngest player in that squad, but he wasn't about to complain about that. These things happen in football and sometimes you have to take advantage of pure blind luck, because you never know when fate will rise up and kick you squarely and firmly in the balls.

And so, newly married, expectant father Duncan MacLeod headed off into the sunset of Mexico, where his life was about to take another dramatic, and not too unkind change of direction. Duncan MacLeod was about to become the hottest young talent in British football.

Possibly.

shannon2007

Coincidences can be strange things, and as coincidence would have it Duncan MacLeod would room at the 1986 World Cup with Rangers' Davie Cooper and Liverpool's Stevie Nicol. Transfer speculation was rife concerning the young Scot, but it was Rangers and Liverpool who emerged as the frontrunners in the race to sign Scotland's hottest property of the summer. Of course Duncan had known Nicol from the short time he had spent at Ayr United and he knew both players well enough by now from his involvement in the Scotland squad.

Scotland boss Alex Ferguson had taken over after the untimely death of another Scottish legend. Jock Stein had died at the pivotal point of the 1986 World Cup qualifying campaign when a 1-1 draw in Wales had secured Scotland the group win, having earlier beaten Wales 2-1 at Hampden thanks to a brace from MacLeod. Ferguson did his best to try and deflect any such transfer dealing during the campaign in Mexico but it was not easy. MacLeod had his future to consider and there would not be much time after the tournament to sort these things out and so inevitably the negotiations would take place when they were least wanted, from an international point of view.

Duncan was in a dilemma. Moving to Rangers would mean less upheaval, Alyson would be near her family. Moving to Liverpool though meant a move away from Kilmarnock completely and Duncan felt a sense of intense relief that he would be able to put some distance between himself and the mother who never had been in reality, a mother. Liverpool also offered the opportunity to play on a bigger stage – and more money. Money was not the main motivation for Duncan, but it certainly was something to be considered now that he had a child on the way. The transfer speculation was played out in the back ground of a quite glorious World Cup Campaign for Scotland, and by the time the tournament was over two more clubs, Arsenal and Barcelona, were allegedly interested in signing the young Scot. By that time though, he had already made his mind up.

The draw for the 1986 World Cup had placed Scotland in the so called 'group of death', with West Germany, Uruguay and Denmark. It was quite possibly the hardest Finals group Scotland had ever faced and there was little confidence at home. The debacle of 1978 had still not been fully erased and the pain of Alan Hansen's blunder to cost Scotland their place in the second stage in 1982 was still very raw. The Tartan Army were in full voice as usual, but underneath there was now a hint of trepidation and scepticism. Scotland would no doubt once more do just enough to fail gloriously and bring heartbreak again to the undying spirit of their magnificent support. An opening match 1-1 draw between West Germany and Uruguay provided little to suggest either of these sides were unbeatable and by the time Scotland's opening match with Denmark kicked off, the Tartan Army were as optimistic as ever.

Duncan was on the bench, but after a dull first half Denmark took the lead on 57 minutes and Alex Ferguson decided to introduce his talented young striker to the foray of World Cup Finals football. It was a decision that Ferguson was later lauded for as MacLeod fired in an 88th minute equalizer and Scotland had at least retained parity with the rest of the group. Denmark's next match against Uruguay would show just what a great team they were at that time, and how significant the Scotland result was, as they ripped the South Americans to shreds in a 6-1 triumph, and they would then go on to defeat West Germany 2-0 to deservedly top the group and set themselves up as one of the dark horses to life the trophy itself. Scotland though were about to make headlines of their own with their best World Cup Finals performance - until even that was eclipsed years later, under the managership of the man who would turn out to be one of the stars of this tournament.

shannon2007

West Germany were not really that good a team. Many people believed that this was the worst West German team in many a long year, and their opening game draw with Uruguay, if not underlining the point, certainly went some way to showing it. Mind you, the Germans often started big tournaments slowly, and they certainly could not be written off. Duncan MacLeod found himself again on the bench as Gordon Strachan – a future managerial adversary – sent Scotland into a stunning lead on eighteen minutes. The Germans though were level by half time, and took the lead shortly into the second half, totally undeserved. With 27 minutes left to play, MacLeod was stripped for action and entered the field of play. Less than 180 seconds later, Scotland were level and MacLeod was the hero again.

The 2-2 draw with West Germany was certainly a decent achievement, although many pundits declared that Scotland should have won. The media was clamouring for Ferguson to give MacLeod a starting place for the vital match with Uruguay where a win would surely guarantee Scotland a place in the last sixteen, even if just as one of the best third placed sides, and a lot would depend on the outcome of the other match. Yet Ferguson did not bow to media pressure, and once more the youngest player in the Scotland squad – and their leading goalscorer in the competition of course – was left sitting on the bench as the match with Uruguay got underway.

Less than a minute had gone when Uruguay's Jose Batista was red carded, and the Scots now would surely never have a better chance of getting out of the group stages. Come half time though, as the Uruguayans played a game of kick the player rather than the ball, the match was all square still. In the other match, Denmark were leading the West Germans by a goal to nil thanks to a 43rd minute penalty, and if things stayed as they were Scotland were through. The second half was as tough a battle as the first, as the Uruguayans seemed intent on putting the boot in whenever possible in a shocking display of bad sportsmanship and hacking, and it was a wonder they actually didn't finish the match with even less men. Scotland were not to be intimidated though, but Ferguson refused to send his young striker into such a pit of hatred and in the end a no score draw, coupled with Germanys 2-0 capitulation, was enough to see them through in second place. The Germans scraped through as the fourth best 3rd placed team. You just couldn't ever count them out, although a 1-0 loss to Argentina in the last sixteen did indeed do just that.

Scotland's task in the last sixteen was overcome Morocco, with group winners Denmark taking on Spain. Many commentated that perhaps, given the Scots record, the Spanish tie would have been much better for them but as the Spanish ripped a pretty good Denmark side apart by an amazing five goals to one, perhaps that was just being silly. Morocco had proved no slouches though, coming through as group winners after goalless draws with Poland and England, before a devastating 3-1 triumph over Portugal. It was a match Scotland were expected to win – but they had been there many times before – and failed. MacLeod was given his first ever start at a World Cup Finals, and just three minutes into the match he volleyed home a Davie Cooper cross and the Scots were in dreamland. Six minutes from half time though, Morocco were level and it was a pretty disappointed group of Scottish players who went into the dressing room, knowing that they should have had this match all sewn up by now.

Scotland though had been the better team, and it was no surprise when MacLeod jinked through the Moroccan defence twelve minutes after the restart to send Scotland on their way to a match with the hosts, Mexico. Three minutes later, MacLeod was upended in the box and he himself slotted home the resultant penalty to seal the triumph. The youngster was taken off with 20 minutes left to play, and Scotland wouldn't be Scotland if they didn't do things the hard way, giving a sloppy goal to the Africans and making the last five minutes a nerve racking time for the Tartan Army. Yet if that was nerve racking, the Quarter Final match with Mexico was heart attack inducing stuff. Twice the Mexicans took the lead, twice Duncan MacLeod pulled the match level, and finally Davie Cooper fired a superb free kick with three minutes left to send the Tartan Army into raptures. Time was running out, with the ninety minutes come and gone when the Mexicans won a corner, a mix up in the Scotland defence and the match was into an extra 30 minutes. With no further scoring, the match went to a penalty shoot out, which descended into farce.

The first six players all missed their spot-kicks. The seventh was MacLeod whose effort skidded off the post and just made it over the line. Mexico also scored with their next effort, Davie Cooper made it 2-1 leaving the Mexicans needing to score to stay in the tournament they were hosting. Real Madrid's Hugo Sanchez faced up to the intimidating sight of Aberdeen's Jim Leighton. Sanchez sent the ball to his left, Leighton dived to his left, the ball bounced of the post and Scotland were into the Semi Finals of the World Cup. This though was to prove a bridge too far for a gallant Scotland side, who eventually went down 3-0 to a talented French side, but it had been a magnificent achievement against all the odds, and Duncan MacLeod, with seven goals, pipped England golden boy Gary Linekar to be the tournaments top scorer. It would be a long, long time before Scotland ever achieved such a run in the World Cup again, and by that time MacLeod would be the man in charge.

shannon2007

On the 26th of November 1986, at 7.30 in the evening, Mhairi Moira MacLeod was born into the world. Duncan had fretted over the birth, not wanting his child to be born in Liverpool in case he grew up to play for England which would simply never do. The fact he might have a girl had never even crossed his mind. Alyson went to stay with her parents, but mainly for the reason that it would be better for her to have family around. The 26th of November was a Wednesday, but Liverpool had no game that night and so Duncan travelled up to Kilmarnock on the Sunday afternoon. Mhairi's birth though was not as straightforward as it might have been, the labour was long and difficult and doctors were concerned about a lack of oxygen reaching the baby. For three weeks, little Mhairi was kept in the hospital for tests, but it would be three years before she was finally diagnosed as having a mild form of Cerebral Palsy, which would affect her balance and co-ordination as she grew.

Of course once the baby was home and, at that time, as healthy as she could be, the proud parents doted on her and their life seemed complete. Until around six months later when Alyson announced she was expecting for a second time. There was no time to get to Kilmarnock for this birth as Bethany Marie was born two weeks early, on 6th March 1988. She was a bouncing, healthy baby girl and everything apart from the location of her birth went as well as any birth can. By the time their third, and last, child was born in July of 1992, the MacLeod's were living in Spain as Duncan was now playing for Real Madrid. Duncan really wanted a boy, but his wish was not to come true as Isabella Alyson MacLeod made her way into the world and the MacLeod family was complete. In his autobiography, Duncan said that although he had really wanted a boy he would not have given up his three girls for anything and perhaps, when all was said and done, there would have been so much pressure for a boy to follow in his fathers footsteps that it was probably just as well there wasn't one.

By the time of the 1990 World Cup, Duncan had helped Liverpool to two League titles – a third would follow in 1991, before a move to Madrid – and two FA Cups. Duncan never got to play for Liverpool in Europe because of 'the ban', which was something he would have liked of course but it wasn't as if there much the player could do about it. The 1990 World Cup began against Costa Rica, but Duncan MacLeod was struggling with a knee problem and did not play for Scotland until the last fifteen minutes of the game against Brazil – by which time the sorry Scots had been eliminated. If 1978 had been bad, 1990 didn't even have the saving grace of a glorious last game failure. Scotland had not been glorious, they had simply been abysmal. The memory of four years ago was fading and there were fears that Scotland was slipping into the footballing wilderness.

Ironically, as MacLeod inspired Liverpool to a final day league title, pipping Arsenal at the post, English clubs were once more able to take part in European competition. Duncan though would not figure in the Liverpool assault, as after five years on Merseyside, he was off to one of the giants of world football, and a taste of a very different kind off football.

shannon2007

In his autobiography, Duncan MacLeod re-iterated his love for the Spanish game and claimed that the three years he spent in Madrid were the most enjoyable of his career. Indeed, he went on to say that moving to Milan had been a huge mistake, and he had wished he had spent another couple of years with Madrid, or probably another Spanish club, before returning to the UK. Such was the MacLeod's love of the country that when their third child was born during their stay there, they named her Isabella, which just happened to be the name of Madrid President's wife. The time in Spain though ended when the club changed President's and the new boss decided that MacLeod could be sold for a nice amount of money.

During Duncan's time in Spain, Barcelona had the ascendency, but Madrid did manage to wrest the 1993 title from their grasp, and followed that up the next season – Duncan's last there – with a Champions League triumph. Nineteen ninety four also marked World Cup Finals year, but for the first time in twenty years, Scotland had failed to reach the finals and after the debacle of 1990, questions were starting to be asked about the standards of Scottish football and the apparent lack of world class talent – Duncan MacLeod being the only Scot at that time who could be considered to be of such calibre. Something would have to be done, but as usual the SFA were slow and cumbersome and as the side made their way through the next qualifying campaign successfully, so papering over the cracks, and things seemed to be returning to some sort of normal equilibrium.

Milan was not a happy a time for the MacLeod's though. It wasn't really the clubs fault, as Duncan explained in his autobiography. Indeed a Scudetto was won in 1996, and twice in his three years Duncan was top scorer in Serie A, which is no mean feat in a country renowned for it's defensive playing style. The family though never felt as happy in Milan as they had in Madrid, and it didn't help matters that Mhairi had started to become ill halfway through the spell there and needed a lot of time in hospital for tests and treatment, much of which were carried out in the UK. That of course meant a lot of travelling for Alysson, and it put a huge strain on their marriage at the time. Duncan needed to return to the UK and at the end of the 1997 season, finally won a move back to Liverpool, where he remained for a year. With Mhairi's condition only worsening though, the family decided they would be best off back in Scotland to be near Alysson's parents and so at the age of 33, international Scottish legend Duncan MacLeod signed on a free transfer for Motherwell. This would be his last club as a player, as his career on the park entered it's twilight years.

By the summer of 1998, Mhairi, who had entered her teenage years, was seeming to have progressed and spent most of her time at home now. The World Cup Finals took place in France and the whole family, including Alysson's parents, travelled to see the action. It would be the last time they would ever take a holiday together, although they did not of course know that at the time. With matches against Brazil, Norway and Morocco, Scotland's progress to the 2nd round was not guaranteed but there was a feeling that whilst 1986 could almost certainly not be repeated, the Scots would surely get out of this group. This though, being Scotland, was not something they would do with any great ease.

BarryLFC

Good stuff, as ever!

shannon2007

Thanks Iain!

shannon2007

Scotland, being Scotland, intended to make things as tough as possible for themselves, and went behind to Brazil after just four minutes of their opening match of the 1998 World Cup Finals. A John Collins penalty saw Scotland level before half time and when Duncan MacLeod sent the Scots into a sensational lead on the hour, it seemed that a first ever win against the worlds greatest footballing nation was finally in order. Tom Boyd though put paid to that as he put the ball into his own net, and Scotland had to settle for a draw. Against Norway though, Scotland put in performance that was beyond belief from a side who at times struggled to know how to play the game. Duncan MacLeod's first half hattrick took him to eleven World Cup Finals goals, Craig Burley added 4th in the second half and although Norway pulled a goal back, they were never going to salvage this match.

Yet if Scotland had been brilliant against Norway, there were painfully woeful against Morocco. MacLeod it was true did bag his 12th Finals goal, but the Africans were surprising strong and Scotland had no answer they went down by 3-1. In the other match, Norway stunned Brazil with a 2-1 victory but for both them and Morocco the wins had come too late and it was Scotland who proceeded to the last sixteen along with Brazil. Italy were Scotland's opponents at this stage, and at no time did the Scots ever look like winning as Italy strolled to an all too easy 3-0 triumph and Scotland's impossible dream was over once more. There were rumours in the press that this would be Duncan MacLeod's last World Cup. By the time of the next tournament – and even supposing Scotland could get there – the great man would be 36 years old. The media though were to be proven quite wrong about that.

Three weeks after Scotland had been sent packing from the World Cup Finals of 1998, double tragedy hit the family. Mhairi took a turn for the worse, was rushed to hospital where she lapsed into a coma. For three days the family surrounded her bedside, but Mhairi never regained consciousness and four months short of her 13th birthday she died. Just over a week later, Alysson's father suffered a massive heart attack, from which he never recovered. It was a time of great pain and suffering in the MacLeod household. Duncan had never known his father, and although a lot of his time during his marriage had been spent abroad, he had developed a close relationship with both Alysson's parents. The loss of one of their precious daughters, compounded by her grandfathers own death, nearly tore the family apart and it was only their incredible love for each other that kept them going in those dark days.

The start of the 1998-1999 football season was upon them, but Duncan did not have the heart to do any training and was seriously contemplating giving up the game entirely. It was not guaranteed that Ted's death had been related to the inevitable stress brought on by his granddaughters illness, but of course that had surely played it's part. Duncan was in turmoil, because he could not help but wonder if he had stayed in the UK Mhairi might have still been alive. This, of course, was not true but as he explained in his autobiography it was something he just could not get out of his mind, and it took him a long time to come to terms with his eldest daughters demise and even in his later life, long after his other two children had grown up with children of their own, and Alysson had passed over to the other side, he would still look back and wonder if things would have been different. Grief is a very hard emotion to understand.

Eventually though, the family gained some kind of recovery and it would four more years before Duncan MacLeod would finally hang up his footballing boots, and rather fittingly, would do so at the 2002 World Cup Finals.....

shannon2007

The final three years of Duncan MacLeod's footballing career would see no further medals come his way, and when the curtain came down on the 2001-2002 football season, MacLeod announced he was retiring from football. In his career he had won only one European medal, the Champions League with Real, but that fact was blurred by the five years he spent in Liverpool where Europe had not been an option. A haul of five domestic league titles and five domestic cups does not seem overly magnificent, but few players – and certainly no Scots – can have won a domestic title in all three of Europe's top leagues. Of course if MacLeod had chosen Rangers in 1986 instead of Liverpool, then things would have be different, a lot more medals would be hanging on walls of his study. But then, as he explained in a remarkable swipe at the domestic game, the medals he had won in England, Spain and Italy were worth many such in a poor league like Scotland. Which, needless to say, did not go down well with the media or fans. It was nevertheless, the harsh truth of the matter.

The qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup Finals, to be held in Japan and South Korea, was a tight affair for Scotland as they battled it out with Croatia and Belgium. It could have gone either way, but in the end Scotland did enough to edge out Belgium for second place and a play off against the Czech Republic. After a goalless draw in Prague, the return in Glasgow – which was Duncan MacLeod's 100th match for his country – saw the veteran striker grab the only goal of the match and Scotland were on their way to the Orient. There they would face up to the potential hazard of joint hosts Japan, as well as Russia and Tunisia. If all went well for MacLeod, the final group match with Russia would see him surpass Kenny Dalglish and become the most capped Scot of all time.

As well as helping Scotland to get as far as possible in the tournament of course, there was one more record the 36 year had to chase. Sitting on 12 all time World Cup Finals goals, he just needed two more to equal the record held by Germany's Gerdh Muller, although to be fair the German had achieved his total over just two tournaments. MacLeod did not deny that to achieve such a record would be up there with his best achievements, but if Scotland won the tournament and Duncan MacLeod did not score a single goal he would be much happier. Scotland though had little chance of winning this event, unless some incredible disaster befell all the favourites.

Japan were the first opponents and with a vociferous home support they battled hard to try and win their opening match and set themselves up for a successful tournament. In the end, they had to settle for a two all draw as Scotland twice came from behind thanks to goals from Don Hutchison and Duncan MacLeod. Whether this was a good or bad result the Scottish press could not decide but in the end they would agree it was probably the best that could be hoped for in such a match. Especially after Tunisia were seen off by three goals to nil, Hutchinson, MacLeod and Billy Dodds grabbing the goals that virtually secured a place in the last sixteen. Russia though stood in the way, as they had done in 1982, and with three minutes left they led 1-0 and Scotland were in danger once more of blowing it big time. It would of course be so typical, but cometh the hour cometh the man, and from a corner Scotland legend Duncan MacLeod rose majestically to head the ball home for the goal that not only sent Scotland to a match with Brazil, but sent the striker into the World Cup record books.

As it would turn out, the match with Brazil, Duncan MacLeod's 104th cap for his country, would be his last competitive football match. He would in later years appear in occasional charity matches, but they of course do not count for anything. Brazil would go on to win the 2002 World Cup, but not before Scotland gave them the fright of their lives. At 2-0 up after just 20 minutes, the slick Brazilians were well on their way to their date with destiny, but they had not banked on the fighting spirit which the Scots had just about hung on to. Billy Dodds scored three minutes from half time, and from a corner six minutes into the second half, Colin Henry headed home the equilizer. For long periods of the second half, Scotland were in control and this did not look like a Brazil side who were going to meet with success. Nine minutes from time, Billy Dodds was brought down inside the area and as the Italian referee pointed to the spot, there was only one man who was going to take this kick – and he did not miss.

It was all to be in vain though. Brazil suddenly realized what the score was, sent the ball past Scotland keeper Sullivan twice in the last three minutes and in typical Scottish fashion the adventure was over. The adventure for Duncan MacLeod was over too as he swapped shirts at the end with the man who would just narrowly fail to match his World Cup goals record. Scotland were out of a tournament that few people had even expected them to reach, and the career of one of the countries true legends had drawn to a close. But as one door closes so another slams shut, but the doors for Duncan MacLeod were all well and truly opened and he would one day be back at the World Cup Finals.

Before that though, there was a whole lot of water to flow under the bridge....

retired_shaneltolbert

Class story Pm7. Again... KUTGW :thup: