My Championship Manager 99/00 adventure with Scotland continues right now on Fuller FM. And let me tell you – things are about to get very, very spicy!
Remember the last chapter, where we had to get out of a World Cup qualifying group with Denmark and Spain? Well… if you’ve read that, you’ll know what’s coming up in today’s post. If not, then please check that out first, because there will be obvious spoilers below…
MARCH 2002
Having successfully for the 2002 World Cup, we would would soon head to East Asia to take on Argentina, Chile and, er, Guinea-Bissau in Group D. Before that, we had a couple more home friendlies to sort the Scottish wheat from the Tartan chaff.
Now… if you’ve followed Fuller FM from the start, you’ll know that 2002 wasn’t a good year for Fiorentina – at least not in reality. It actually began pretty nicely for the virtual Viola, who beat Barcelona 2-0 in the Club World Championship Final.
European champions Real Madrid surprisingly lost the 3rd-Place Play-Off to Kaizer Chiefs, who celebrated by moving to Leeds and starting a rock band. If you’re wondering how Barry Ferguson‘s getting on in Madrid… by the end of February, he’d made 10 appearances for Real and was getting homesick. So, not brilliantly.
One Scot who was enjoying life abroad was Iain Anderson – a 24-year-old former Dundee right-winger who was in hot scoring form for Troyes in France. That earned him a first call-up when we hosted Turkey in March.
Port Vale’s new left-wing dynamo Stephen Glass returned after fleeing Newcastle’s nest, replacing bad boy Allan Johnston, who’d been sent off against Ukraine last time out. Having been reinvented as a midfielder by Watford, Eoin Jess was also back in, along with Bradford playmaker Scot Gemmill. Blackburn midfielder Billy McKinlay was dropped, while injuries had ruled Mark Burchill and Jamie McKenzie out.
In transfer news, winger David Hopkin had just joined Birmingham from Leeds for £1.5million. As Rangers raced away with the Scottish Premier League, Celtic brought out their chequebook and forked out £2.9million for Hearts’ left-back Gary Naysmith.
SCOTLAND 1-1 TURKEY (Friendly)
It wasn’t quite like Archie vs Holland, but Scot Gemmill’s first Scotland goal was a bit special too. In the 16th minute, Scot took an excellent first touch to Paul Lambert‘s pass and took it upfield before powering it past Turkish goalkeeper Rustu.
That was as good as it got in a frustrating evening. Right-back Jackie McNamara made a vital interception to stop Nihat from drawing Turkey level on 61 minutes, but PSV’s Ismael Ayaz did that anyway six years later. I’ve a funny feeling these Turks will do surprisingly well at the World Cu… oh, wait, they didn’t qualify.
APRIL 2002
Our last match before the World Cup was also at Hampden Park, this time against Austria. A resurgent Lee McCulloch and a fit-again Burchill returned to lead our attack, and Johnston would feature in midfield once again.
Grass was relegated to the ‘B’ team – along with Craig Callaghan and Dougie Freedman – for their biennial match. Both Freedman and Glass scored in a resounding 4-1 win over the Austrian reserves, with Reading striker David Cameron scoring TWICE. Calm down, dear!
SCOTLAND 0-2 AUSTRIA (Friendly)
Aldo Duscher didn’t break David Beckham’s foot this month, but the Benfica midfielder did break the deadlock after six minutes. Captain Kevin James clumsily fouled striker Arnold Wetl in the area, gifting Austria a penalty which Duscher converted. Some excellent goalkeeping from Alex Manninger at the other end ensured we stayed behind.
Things didn’t improve in the second half, even after a tactical change from the diamond to a 4-3-3. James came off with a groin strain on the half-hour, and replacement skipper Matt Elliott was unable to stop Harald Cerny from doubling the Austrian lead six minutes later. A head injury to McCulloch completed a miserable afternoon.
2002 WORLD CUP
Before I reveal my World Cup squad, let’s recap the 2001/2002 season. Rangers finished seven points clear of Celtic at the top of the SPL, and then beat Dundee United and St Mirren on penalties in the Scottish Cup and League Cup Finals. Ruud Gullit had completed a domestic treble in his first season at Ibrox.
Manchester United claimed a fourth straight Premiership title, snatching the trophy from under Liverpool’s noses on the final day. Leeds won the FA Cup for the first time since 1972, beating Division 1 Wolves 3-0 in the Final. A second-tier side also reached the League Cup Final, but Ipswich were annihilated 5-1 by Chelsea.
‘Super’ Kevin Phillips clinched Sunderland a famous victory against Porto in the UEFA Cup Final. An all-Italian Champions League Final saw Inter follow up their Serie A scudetto with a 1-0 triumph over Roma.
When the time came to announce my World Cup squad, limiting my options to 22 players proved surprisingly difficult. It really hurt me to disappoint the likes of David Weir in particular, but here were those players who had made the cut:
Though Tottenham have been a struggling bottom-half club in recent years, Neil Sullivan is a solid goalkeeper with great agility and positional awareness. The 32-year-old will have stiff competition from Celtic’s Jon Gould, whose ball-handling skills are impressive. Aberdeen’s Robert Douglas is a capable third-choice goalie.
Despite his limited experience, I’m trusting Hearts skipper Kevin James with the national captaincy for this World Cup. The left-footed centre-half scored the goal that effectively secured qualification against Spain. As Scottish leaders go, James looks set to follow in the footsteps of William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and Colin Hendry.
While 33-year-old Matt Elliott of Leicester will be our vice-captain, James’ regular central defensive partner is likely to be Brian McAllister. The 31-year-old from Watford is very brave and a strong man-marker.
Celtic’s new left-back Gary Naysmith has established himself as my first-choice in that position. Though his tackling ability and tactical knowledge could improve significantly, time is definitely on his side. Naysmith’s backup is the injury-prone Dominic Matteo, who’s just joined Tottenham on a free from Liverpool.
We’ve got another Bhoy starting at right-back in Jackie McNamara. The 28-year-old is one of our quickest and most determined players and has steadily become more consistent for the Tartan Army. Russell Anderson signed for Newcastle from Aberdeen in March and is a fast-improving young understudy.
Everton’s John Collins is our most-capped player, and our last survivor from Italia ’90. This will be the veteran set-piece specialist’s Scotland swansong. I’ve been grooming 19-year-old Willie Howie as his long-term successor, though Howie has suffered successive Premiership relegations with Ipswich and Wimbledon.
While he may be struggling at Real Madrid, Barry Ferguson is a magnificent midfield playmaker, and arguably our most important player at the age of just 24. Celtic’s experienced anchor man Paul Lambert is another regular starter, though he’s banned from our group opener against Chile.
Goal-happy left-winger/attacking midfielder Neil McCann was one of the undisputed stars of Rangers’ treble team. The skilful speed merchant is also becoming a Scotland regular, having scored four goals against Cyprus in qualifying. Versatile left-footer Allan Johnston is frustratingly more inconsistent for us than he has been at Liverpool.
If I switch back to the flat 4-4-2, David Hopkin is likely to start on the right wing. The 31-year-old Birmingham attacker is tireless but tends to blow hot and cold. You can also say the same about Don Hutchison, who’s just helped Portsmouth earn promotion to the Premiership.
Mark Burchill has scored 20 goals in back-to-back seasons for Celtic and is now coming alive at international level too. While it may be too early to predict whether Burchill becomes another Kenny Dalglish or Denis Law, his best years are certainly ahead of him.
24-year-olds Marc Anthony and Lee McCulloch have formed a potent strike force at Motherwell of late, though the latter has just left Fir Park as a free agent. McCulloch was the joint-leading Scottish goalscorer in the SPL this season, sharing that distinction with the Dundee poacher Michael Craig (also aged 24).
GROUP STAGE
Saturday 15 June 2002. The time was 3:30pm in Nagoya – Arsène Wenger’s old stomping ground – and 7:30am back home. For those few Scots who hadn’t travelled to Japan, it was time to wake up early and take in our first World Cup group game.
Facing a Chilean frontline of Marcelo Salas and Iván Zamorano was daunting enough, yet we would face them knowing that this was effectively an eliminator. Group D’s hot favourites Argentina had started by thrashing Guinea-Bissau 5-0 (Javier Saviola getting a hat-trick), so we were surely battling La Roja for 2nd place at best.
CHILE vs SCOTLAND (2002 World Cup – Group D, Match 1)
At first, this was looking like a close contest. Anthony agonisingly hit the woodwork twice in the first seven minutes, and Zamorano gave us a scare in the 13th minute when he headed Fabián Estay’s left-wing cross against the post.
Then, two minutes later, everything changed. Channeling the spirit of another British teenager from the last World Cup, Howie collected the ball in his own half, dribbled past a couple of South Americans, and drilled in a superb finish! Willie had put us ahead, and when he smashed in another goal on 20 minutes, we were in control!
Buoyed by Howie’s howitzers, we launched a full-scale attack on La Roja, and Anthony got a brace of his own just before half-time! With a four-goal advantage, Scotland were in dreamland – and that dream was about to get even more wild!
Anthony secured his hat-trick in the 59th minute, only for an envious Howie to say six minutes later, “Oi! I want a match ball too!” Using his exceptional dribbling abilities once again, Willie made mugs of the Chileans before making it 6-0!
That’s right, folks: it was Chile NIL, Scotland SIX!!
I immediately took Anthony and Howie off to receive their standing ovations. They had humiliated Chile goalkeeper Nelson Tapia, who got a rating of 3. His namesake striker Hector Urdile Tapia did head in a consolation three minutes from time, but a famous Scottish victory had long been secured.
That could’ve been the biggest win of the World Cup… but it wasn’t even the biggest of the night. Just hours later, Holland burst our bubble by destroying China 8-1, with Barcelona’s ex-Rangers winger Giovanni Van Bronckhorst scoring a hat-trick.
Now let’s see how my beloved England got on in their opening match against Ghana…
Sadly, before our next match, McCann twisted his ankle in training and was sidelined for the rest of the World Cup. However, in CM99/00, you can replace an injured player in the middle of the tournament. McCann’s heartache opened up an opportunity for French-based winger Iain Anderson to establish himself.
The following Saturday, we headed to Yokohama for a meeting with group minnows Guinea-Bissau. As Argentina had beaten Chile 3-1 earlier that day, a victory would confirm our place in the knockout phase.
SCOTLAND vs GUINEA-BISSAU (2002 World Cup – Group D, Match 2)
We showed no mercy. Barely a minute had passed when Ferguson – who set up three goals against Chile – delivered his fourth assist of the World Cup for Anthony’s fourth goal. Fergie joined Anthony on the scoresheet in the 6th minute before Burchill stretched our lead further in the 13th.
Four minutes later, though, we got a reminder that – even at 3-0 up – we could still mess things up. Guinea-Bissau launched an attack through Guingamp’s Nando, whose cross was headed in by Elliott. Not the kind of defending I’d expect to see from my vice-captain!
That own goal gave us a needed kick up the backside. By the 45th minute, we’d restored our three-goal cushion through Anthony’s header from another killer Ferguson pass. As Barry was on a booking, I decided to rest him for the second half.
Guinea-Bissau’s left-back Kenedy twisted his knee in the 51st minute, just before Howie drove in our fifth goal of the night – his fourth of the tournament. Anthony followed that up by completing back-to-back hat-tricks with a header from Lambert’s long ball just before the hour mark.
Scotland were leading 6-1 once again, but we weren’t satisfied with that. Collins came off the bench to roll back the years with a stunning free-kick on 79 minutes. SEVEN-ONE!
Scotland had progressed to the knockout stages of a major tournament for the first time – and in some style too! Our midweek meeting with Argentina in Kobe would therefore be the group decider.
Another attacker dropped out of the squad beforehand, as McCulloch had twisted his knee and was sent home to begin his search for a new club. Interrupting a family holiday to take his place was Watford’s Eoin Jess.
SCOTLAND vs ARGENTINA (2002 World Cup – Group D, Match 3)
I rested some of my key players for our first knockout game, which meant six-goal Anthony was dropped to the bench and Ferguson was left out completely. It was a gamble that backfired after just two minutes. Argentina right-back Jorge Martínez delivered an excellent ball into the box that Javier Saviola headed past Gould.
Martínez wreaked more havoc on our defence in the 23rd minute. His corner delivery was converted by Sevilla’s holding midfielder Federico Lussenhoff, and the Albiceleste led 2-0 at the break.
Anthony came on at half-time to try and restore some pride. Though we did put up more a fight in the second half, there was to be no fightback. Saviola completed a 3-0 Argentine victory in the final minute and secured them top spot.
And what was the state of play elsewhere?
A huge shock in Group A saw holders France make an early exit after dramatic late defeats to Uruguay and eventual group winners Yugoslavia. The USA were sent home with three defeats – again.
Brazil slipped up against Sweden early in Group B, but recovered to beat Jamaica 6-2 en route to topping the group. Despite losing to Croatia, Sweden qualified ahead of the Vatreni on goal difference.
Co-hosts Japan were eliminated, along with Morocco, in a surprisingly goal-shy Group C. Colombia finished top with two wins and would await us in Round 2, while boring Belgium set up a meeting with Argentina.
Despite their 8-1 win over China, Holland only just scraped through Group E with a draw against Cameroon. Denmark had sauntered to the top with three consecutive clean-sheet wins.
After a humbling defeat to debutants Ghana, England revived their Group F hopes by putting three goals past Austria. Alas, a draw with group winners Romania saw the Three Lions eliminated, as Ghana had recorded a second win over the Austrians.
The Republic of Ireland started slowly but went on to qualify from Group G as winners, with Portugal joining them after beating Mexico 3-1. South Korea lost all three of their games.
Russia surprisingly headed Group H, taking maximum points against Saudi Arabia, Italy and plucky newcomers Zimbabwe. Six goals from Christian Vieri helped the Azzurri to finish 2nd in the group.
ROUND 2
Next up were our THIRD South American opponents at this tournament – a madcap Colombia outfit starring Faustino Asprilla, Hamilton Ricard, and Lazio wonderkid Johnnier Montano. What could possibly go wrong?
Ferguson’s tournament ended just a few days before the Colombia game, as he – wait for it – bruised his head. That meant I had to call up Scot Gemmill in Bradford and ask the midfielder to take the next flight to Hiroshima.
COLOMBIA vs SCOTLAND (2002 World Cup – Round 2)
Both teams had chances in the opening stages. Real Sociedad striker Victor Bonilla was denied a 4th-minute Colombian opener by Sullivan, while the woodwork kept Anthony out shortly afterwards.
Then, after 24 minutes, Colombia left-back Iván Córdoba conceded a corner under little pressure. Collins made him pay, as the old-stager delivered an excellent set-piece to Anthony, who outjumped Cafeteros captain Mario Yepes to head home!
We were starting to dream of the Quarter Finals, but the South Americans would put us under pressure for pretty much the rest of the match. That pressure told in the 71st minute, when Córdoba’s free-kick was flicked into the net by substitute left-winger Bonner Mosquera.
Buoyed by their equaliser, the Colombians threw everything at us in the final 20 minutes. Ricard sent a late effort just wide, while Sullivan made a couple of important saves to thwart Asprilla, who clipped the post at the death. We were still alive, but extra-time now beckoned.
Four minutes after the resumption, captain James rose to the occasion. Kevin’s flick-on to the right found our attacking midfield substitute Hutchison, who bore down on goal and then unleashed an excellent shot that sent our fans into ecstasy!
In real-life, that would’ve been the golden goal – but that rule didn’t apply on CM99/00. We still had to preserve our lead for another 25 minutes or so. Thankfully, Sully proved up to the task, and our Asian adventure would continue for a few days yet!
Quarter Finals, here we come! But who would we face next, and what else had happened in Round 2?
Fredrik Ljungberg scored the winner against Uruguay as Sweden became the first team through to the last eight. They would take on favourites Argentina, as Javier Saviola scored twice more in a 3-0 victory over 10-man Belgium.
Portugal wanted to add the world title to their European crown, but Vladimir But ensured they wouldn’t, getting both of Russia’s goals in a shock victory. An even greater surprise saw Denmark fall to Ghana, with England’s nemesis Kwame Ayew getting the winner.
Our win over Colombia had set up a potential Quarter Final meeting with yet another of CONMEBOL’s big guns. However, Brazil’s quest for a record fifth World Cup was halted in extra-time by Yugoslavia, who took advantage after Dédé was dismissed.
Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon also saw red against the Republic of Ireland, but compatriot Gianluca Zambrotta scored twice to win the game in extra-time. Holland went beyond 90 minutes as well before Ruud van Nistelrooy eliminated Romania.
QUARTER FINALS
After four straight games on Japanese soil, we finally got to sample the other co-hosts, as South Korea’s capital Seoul was the venue for our Quarter Final. Standing between us and the last four were a Yugoslavia team bidding to reach their first World Cup Semi since 1962.
Sadly, our Round 2 hero Hutchison was suspended. Otherwise, we had a full compliment of players to choose from, though I only made one change to my starting XI – Gemmill got the nod in midfield over Collins.
YUGOSLAVIA vs SCOTLAND (2002 World Cup – Quarter Final)
We could not have wished for a worse start. After failing to clear a 4th-minute Kristijan Djordjevic corner, we were punished by a lethal header from Celta’s midfield workhorse Albert Nadj.
Afterwards, Yugoslavia started to make us look more like the Scotland that the fans had become more used to over the years. A rocket from Dejan Stankovic doubled our deficit on 12 minutes, four before Slobodan Komljenovic struck to leave us 3-0 behind!
We had nothing more to lose now, so I went for broke and switched to a 4-3-3, with Jess coming on in Gemmill’s place. Our all-or-nothing strategy reaped a reward in the 24th minute, when Sullivan’s long goal kick was driven home for Anthony’s EIGHTH goal of the World Cup.
With the half-time deficit cut to 3-1, I hoped we still had enough in the tank to launch a full-scale fightback after the restart. Alas, we’d used up all our fuel, and with Ferguson back home in Madrid, we lacked that vital creative spark. There would be no happy ending to this fairytale.
Our best ever World Cup run was over, but how did the rest of the tournament unfold?
Russia led the first Quarter Final at half-time thanks to Milan wideman Dmitrij Aleinitchev. Ghana weren’t beaten just yet, though, as Otto Addo equalised on the hour before Sporting striker Ayew ensured that his team became the first Africans to reach a World Cup Semi Final.
In a repeat of reality, Argentina’s 2002 World Cup was brought to a sudden halt by Sweden – only in different circumstances. The defensively-sold Scandinavians took the Albiceleste to extra-time, where midfielder Daniel Andersson’s strike set up a last-four showdown with Ghana.
Awaiting our conquerors Yugoslavia in the Semis were Italy, who’d battled past Holland – again, in extra-time. Oranje midfielder Edgar Davids was sent off on 91 minutes for headbutting Vieri, who responded by scoring his second goal of the night (his eighth of this World Cup).
SEMI FINALS
Ghana’s goalkeeper Richard Kingston put on a goalkeeping clinic against Sweden, but the Black Stars’ luck ran out in Seoul. The Swedes recorded their third successive 1-0 win, with Kim Källström breaking the deadlock after 109 minutes. Could Tommy Söderberg’s side really go all the way?
If they could, they’d have to beat Italy. Luigi Di Biagio opened the scoring against Yugoslavia, and Vieri bagged his ninth of the tournament before coming off with a hand injury. Though Djordjevic pulled a goal back for the Plavi, it was Dino Zoff’s Azzurri who found themselves on the edge of glory.
3RD-PLACE PLAY-OFF
Be honest. Nobody cares about the 3rd-Place Play-Off. Except Ghana, that is. The Black Stars twice came from behind to take Yugoslavia to a penalty shoot-out, where Emmanuel Duah secured a 4-2 win – and the bronze medals.
FINAL
Tokyo wasn’t expecting a goal-fest when Sweden faced Italy in the World Cup Final, but it perhaps wasn’t expecting such a drab affair as this either. With goalkeepers Mattias Asper and Buffon playing so well for their respective nations, the deadlock remained intact for two hours, so it all came down to penalties.
The advantage shifted first to Italy, then Sweden, and then back to each team before it effectively went to sudden death. Källström held his nerve for the Swedes, but Di Biagio’s fateful fifth penalty for Italy was more like Roberto Baggio’s in 1994!
And so Sweden had won the 2002 World Cup, to become global champions for the first time! Actually, I’ve just remembered… they also won that tournament on my Leverkusen save! Must be all those overpowered Swedish wonderkids.
Though Vieri beat him to the Golden Boot, Marc Anthony was the only Scotsman named in the World Cup’s Dream Team. Mind you, there were no Swedes or Italians in the starting XI, and Marc was named on the left-wing, so I don’t know who on Earth compiled this team. Probably a hungover Andy Goram.
After a historic World Cup for Scotland, thoughts now turn towards the next tournament. Can we qualify for Euro 2004 and reach our first continental Quarter Final?
With my FM17 Counties Championship experiment having come to an end, I’m now going to ramp up the pace. From next week, I will be publishing TWO weekly CM99/00 posts – on Mondays and Fridays. “Fitba’s Coming Home” will still be the main focus, but I’ve also got a couple more posts in the pipeline before I finish revisiting this great game.
Until next time, thanks for reading.
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