'78: How Scotland Lost the World Cup Hardcover – April 1, 2006

Overall, I very much enjoyed '78: How Scotland Lost the World Cup by Graham McColl. It is explained in hefty detail what went wrong for Scotland on that campaign and how it impacted future expectations of Scottish soccer fans.Much was expected by Scottish fans from their national team during the 1978 World Cup held in Argentina. This was due to a variety of reasons. These were mainly due to a rise in Scottish patriotism and desire for independence from the UK egged on by the fact that Scotland was the only national team from the British Isles to qualify for this World Cup, a reasonable amount of talent on the national team including Graeme Souness, Archie Gemmill, and Kenny Dalglish, and, perhaps, most importantly, the highly optimistic enthusiasm of coach Ally McLeod, who hinted to the media that Scotland could bring the trophy home.However, Scotland was knocked out in the first round, even though they defeated eventual runners-up, the Netherlands, in their third match. They opened up with a disappointing loss to Peru, which was followed by an unacceptable draw against Iran. Scotland's disappointing performance were due to a number of factors. These include Ally McLeod raising the bar too high in his open enthusiasm, his decision not to study the opponents, particularly Peru and Iran, their player Willie Johnston getting caught using a banned substance, the media allegedly either exaggerating and/or fabricating alleged poor behavior among the Scottish players, lack of agreement between the Scottish Football Association and the players over bonuses, and the poor facilities and housing provided to the Scots.After 1978, expectations of the Scottish team were always held to a low. The fans learned their lesson. Scotland has been to 10 major tournaments, if I am correct, and never made it to the second round in any of them.

Perhaps no other nation has gone into a World Cup with as much hype surrounding it as Scotland did in 1978. This was largely due to manager Alistar McLeod's brash claim that his team could emerge as champions. Instead of dismissing his claim as ridiculous, much of Scotland embraced it and expectations for the team went soaring. Graham McColl's well-written and researched book explores the frenzy surrounding the Scots before, during, and after the tournament in Argentina.McLeod is the central figure through it all. He had a contagious enthusiasm that was refreshing. This was one of the major reasons that he was able to work up the Scottish people with his pre-tournament predictions. In fact, I was surprised to learn that, going into the competition, only three other teams were given better odds of winning it than Scotland so McLeod's prediction was not completely unrealistic. A slight lack of respect for their first two opponents, Peru and Iran, mishandling of some internal affairs, and the drug scandal helped undermine McLeod and co. but I think, in the end, the expectations for the team were simply too high.As a fan of the game and its history, particularly this period of time, I greatly enjoyed this book.Darkhorse86

This was a great read even though I would not describe myself as an ardent football supporter. Firstly, it comes from a time when football was a different game, played in front of a different class of supporter, and when financial motivations were less to the fore. It tells of a time when Scottish football was quite literally on a par with the best in the world. It is the story of hubris leading to disappointment, followed by humiliation and personal tragedy. It is the story of what happens when sport, politics and excessive national pride, meet, mix and combust. if you enjoy the history of the game then you'll enjoy this.

I can remember the incredible hype created by Ally before the 1978 World Cup, his easy going and, in hindsight, ridiculous assertions that Scotland, yes Scotland, were dead certs to win the 1978 World Cup.....in Argentina......in a tournament featuring Brazil, Argentina, West Germany, Italy, Holland...and Peru. Ah yes, Peru, they were to be the easy opening game for `Ally`s Army`, a gentle introduction to the tournament. And indeed for the first part of the match they were just that, and then, Cubillas and co. treated the watching World to a display of all the finest arts of the game. The fall-out from the Peru game, the crummy conditions, the squabbles over bonus payments, the legendary Holland game are all covered in this fabulous book. I read it in a couple of days and I will read it again. Fantastic.

as a 10 year old Scotland over hyped team fascinated me watching Ally McLeod hands in head

an excellent book well worth reading its amazing the class players we had back in the day!buy it its worth it

A1 service! Great Book

totally awesome

Helps you understand how a great team on paper expected to do well but failed

Una bella inchiesta su come è maturata una grande delusione calcistica e non solo. La lingua è molto curata, ottimo ripasso per chi vuole tenere in forma il proprio inglese.