The Scots who shocked Germany on home soil in 1999 including six future managers

SCOTLAND don’t win against Germany very often.

And winning against Germany IN Germany, well that’s a serious collector’s item.

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But a quarter of a century ago – on April 28 1999 – a hardy group of Scottish players clad in a strange salmon coloured strip DID manage to achieve something that most observers thought was improbable, if not downright impossible.

This was a simple friendly between a Scotland side under the charge of Craig Brown, and the venue was Bremen’s Weserstadion.

And the late Tartan Army legend would be proud of the fact that no fewer than SIX of his starters on the night have more than decent managerial careers of their own to look back on.

This Germany side were no mugs – packed with household names.

Erich Ribbeck had taken over from a certain Berti Vogts after the future Scotland boss took them to Euro 96 glory in England.

And they still featured the likes of Oliver Bierhoff, Lothar Matthaus and Dieter Hamann.

Future Chelsea superstar Michael Ballack climbed off the bench during the course of the match.

But Scotland’s heroes – building towards a heroic if ultimately fruitless play-off clash against England later in the year – got the job done for a famous victory.

SunSport thought it was worth catching up with what they’re up to NOW as the nation bids to party like it’s 1999.

No-one would love the thought of that more than Tartan Army hero and national team mastermind Brown, who passed away at the age of 82 last June.

Neil Sullivan

Infamously beaten from the halfway line by David Beckham, Sullivan graced some big clubs and was part of the Scotland squad at France 1998.

Spent 12 unbroken seasons in the Premier League in England – including stints at Tottenham and Chelsea.

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A man with the distinction of appearing for both Wimbledon and AFC Wimbledon, recent years have seen ‘Sully’ passing on his experience as an academy coach at first Leeds Utd and then Hull City.

David Weir

Needs little introduction after capturing EIGHT major honours with Rangers, in addition to the Scottish Cup with Hearts.

Inseparable from the late Walter Smith, whom he played for in the Uefa Cup final in Manchester in 2008, and at Everton – where he spent eight years.

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Now technical director at Brighton and Hove Albion, Weir is passing on tips to aspiring pro footballers in his family Lucas, Jenson and Kenzie.

Jensen, currently at Brighton, has represented both Scotland and England at youth level while Kenzie plays for Everton.

Tom Boyd

Winning three more caps (72) to Weir (69), Boyd famously won the Scottish Cup with Motherwell before writing his name into Celtic folklore.

Helped bridge the gap from the Tommy Burns era into the Martin O’Neill phase, winning eight major titles along the way.

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Still employed by the club as an ambassador, after regular recent stints appearing on the club’s in-house TV channel.

Paul Lambert

Endeared himself to German fans by helping bring the European Cup to Dortmund, less so when inflicting this defeat on their home patch.

Under-rated star who won the Scottish Cup at 17 with St Mirren before taking advantage of the Bosman ruling.

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Has had nine major clubs as a manager to his name already – including managing in the top flight with Norwich and Aston Villa.

His most recent role came at Ipswich Town.

Colin Hendry

Those famous ‘Braveheart’ locks have gone now, but this product of Keith in the Highlands was another member of a hugely experienced backline.

A Premier League winner with Blackburn Rovers in 1994-95, Hendry completed a domestic treble with Rangers under Dick Advocaat in 1998-99.

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Suffered tragedy in his personal life with the death of wife Denise back in 2009 after complications caused by cosmetic surgery.

Formerly a manager at Blackpool and Clyde, Hendry is now a motivational speaker.

Has four kids including former St Johnstone striker Callum, who is now at Salford City.

Callum Davidson

Uber-talented multi sportsman who holds the course record at Dunblane New, Davidson has quietly performed miracles as a manager.

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Decent playing career began and ended in Perth either side of 13 years at the sharp end in England

Took St Johnstone to a cup DOUBLE – only to be shown the door and is now plying his trade at ambitious Queen‘s Park.

Billy Dodds

Hard-working and intelligent striker who had entered the golden years of his career at this point.

Move to Dundee Utd in controversial swap deal with Aberdeen for Robbie Winters but Dodds excelled, promptly earning a move to Rangers.

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Collected all the major honours at Ibrox and made himself a Scotland regular.

Plenty of success as a manager too, taking Inverness CT to the Scottish Cup final after a stint as Jim McIntyre‘s assistant at Ross County when they won the League Cup.

Also a regular BBC pundit.

Scot Gemmill

Son of Scotland hero Archie, Gemmill has been the man in charge of the Scotland Under-21s for EIGHT years now.

Part of the national squad for Euro 1996 and 1998 World Cup – without making a single appearance in either.

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Spent the best years of his career at Nottingham Forest and Everton.

Ian Durrant

Part of Rangers royalty – who won 13 senior honours as a player – the talented homegrown midfielder won 20 caps for his country in all.

This was during his Indian summer as he rebuilt his career following the serious knee injury sustained in a horror tackle by Aberdeen’s Neil Simpson.

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Part of Ally McCoist’s management team at the Ibrox men and spent one match as Ibrox caretaker – he’s now part of Chris Aitken’s backroom team at Kilwinning Rangers.

Don Hutchison

Great servant for his country who bagged the winner here and another huge goal against England at Wembley.

Snapped up by Kenny Dalglish for Liverpool, he became more famous as a player at their city rivals Everton, where he worked under Walter Smith.

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Got his goal here with a precise finish under Jens Lehmann after Lambert had released Davidson and he had found him in space at the end of the box with a cute layoff.

Also had two spells at West Ham and is now a pundit for TalkSPORT and ESPN FC. Son Max plays for Finn Harps out in Ireland.

Allan Johnston

Wicked winger with a wiry frame which earned him the ‘sticky’ nickname.

Unplayable on his day – such as the occasion he scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for Hearts at Ibrox – Johnston was a Sunderland player at this point, en route to claiming the Football League first division crown.

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Moved on-loan to Bolton before joining Rangers then Kilmarnock and has tasted success as a manager too, winning league titles with Queen of the South and Dunfermline.

Out of work since the end of his second spell in Dumfries, his son Max currently plays for Sturm Graz and has an outside chance of making it to Germany this summer.

Germany 0 Scotland 1 (Hutchison 66)

Germany XI: Lehmann, Nowotny, Heinrich, Worns, Strunz, Jeremies, Neuville, Hamann, Bierhoff, Matthaus, Heldt. Subs: Butt, Kirsten, Preetz, Rehmer, Ballack, Ramelow, Janker.

Scotland: Sullivan, Weir, Boyd, Lambert, Hendry, Davidson, Dodds, Gemmill, Durrant, Hutchison, Johnston. Subs: Main, Whyte, Ritchie, O’Neil, Jess, Cameron, Winters.

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