Pip Yeates has been there and done it when it comes to Scotland and opening games at major tournaments.
He’s worn the kilt, met the prime minister and had a ringside seat as the opposition fret over the fitness of their star player.
Yeates spent 14 years as physio to the national team, with his stint just so happening to coincide with two eulogised finals in the 1990s.
Euro 96 was on the Tartan Army’s doorstep and involved a clash with the Auld Enemy at Wembley.
Two years later, Yeates was back racking up memories to last a lifetime as part of Craig Brown’s backroom team at the World Cup in France.
That, of course, all kicked off with a glamorous opening game against Brazil in Paris as the Scots suffered yet another hard luck story in a plucky 2-1 defeat.
But, forget the scoreline, the experiences live on for Yeates to this day – even if that first-match tartan ensemble may no longer fit.
“I only started with the national team in 1994 when Craig took over from Andy Roxburgh, so I was really fortunate,” said Yeates, who spent 25 years as Dunfermline’s physio.
“I had just joined and then we went to Euro 96 and France 98.
“The experience of the two tournaments was totally different to anything else. It was just fantastic.
Such an iconic game
“To be involved in the first game of the World Cup, in such an iconic game, was incredible.
“We had friends who were out for the game and they still talk about being there. Regardless of the result, it was all about the whole atmosphere surrounding the game.
“In ’98, the SFA had set up uniforms for the tournament and I think I’m right in saying it was Craig and the players who initiated the kilts.
“Just wee touches like that helped reinforce the connection with the fans.
“I was in a kilt – everybody wore one. Craig was very attentive to everybody, the players and the backroom staff. He always went out his way to include everybody.
“As a result, it was a really close group and so we all wore kilts.
“I’ve still got mine from that day, the whole outfit. I don’t know if I’d still fit in it mind you! But it’s still there and I’ll never let it go.”
Scotland were based in Saint Remy for the tournament in France and flew up to Paris the day before the meeting with Brazil.
Their high-profile visitor the night before the game hit home the enormity of what they were about to encounter.
Prime ministerial visit
“Craig did everything in his power to keep the focus on the game and what was coming,” added Yeates.
“But, the night before, Tony Blair came into the hotel and spoke to the players and it was all a big deal.
“Then, when we got the stadium, there was a hullabaloo about Ronaldo and whether he was going to play or not.
“That was all going on even before the boys went out onto the pitch.
“Apart from the magnitude of the game, it was a bit of a free hit for Scotland, because Brazil were expected to win.
“But the boys never thought that way. There was a good mindset before they went out onto the pitch.
“And, barring a freak own goal off Tom Boyd’s shoulder, they would have come away with a result.
“The players were brilliant on the day and so unlucky not to get a result – typical of Scotland!”
Hitting all the right notes
What is also characteristic of the Scots at major tournaments is making friends with the locals.
From John McGinn on a stage with traditional Bavarian dancers to the Tartan Army’s bagpipes, kilts and a party atmosphere, Steve Clarke’s men are likely to earn new followers off the pitch.
That is something else that will stay with Yeates from Scotland’s last major tournament appearance overseas.
“We went to see France play South Africa in Marseille, and we were sat in the stand at the Velodrome opposite the main stand,” explained Yeates, who runs his Philip Yeates Physiotherapy clinic at Dunfermline’s East End Park stadium.
“At half-time, I think it was Billy McKinlay and Darren Jackson went away, and when they came back they had the French tricolore painted on their faces.
“So, of course, all the France supporters thought this was brilliant, because there was us with our Scotland tracksuits on and everything.
“Suddenly, we were the best thing in their eyes. It just hits all the right notes and gets the locals on your side.
“I know the current players would have been giving John McGinn absolute dog’s abuse for his dancing the other day.
“But it was brilliant because it just gets that connection with the local community. They’ll like that and be supportive of that, and it all helps the team on the pitch as well.”
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