From the Vancouver Whitecaps blog > Great Scot!!! The Vancouver Whitecaps and the Scottish influenceJuly 21, > 2012 at 6:38 pm | Posted in MLS Season > 2012<http://whitecapsfan.wordpress.com/category/mls-season-2012/> > , Vancouver > Whitecaps<http://whitecapsfan.wordpress.com/category/vancouver-whitecaps/> > | Leave a > comment<http://whitecapsfan.wordpress.com/2012/07/21/great-scot-the-vancouver-whitecaps-and-the-scottish-influence/#respond> > > > With the Vancouver Whitecaps hiring Scots Martin Rennie and Paul Ritchie > to coach the team, and having acquired Scotland internationals and former > Celtic men Barry Robson and Kenny Miller as designated players, the > Whitecaps are taking on a distinctive Scottish flavour. I can’t help but > look back on the influence of Scottish players on the Whitecaps over the > years. > > One of the most beloved Vancouver Whitecaps players in the history of the > team was Willie Johnston, who played for the 1979 NASL Soccer Bowl winning > team. Willie worked his way to legendary status as much for his antics as > for his play. Willie cooled his heels here in Vancouver as the result of a > ban he received for failing a drugs test in the 1978 World Cup in > Argentina, when he was selected to play for Scotland (a truly innocent > mistake, by all accounts). For his short time here, he pulled down his > shorts and mooned the Seattle Sounders bench, swigged beer handed to him by > fans during the match, and got into a massive scrap with a New York Cosmos > player. He also scored some very important goals for the club. Willie was > your classic 1970′s football character, playing the game for fun and doing > outrageous things that modern football players could never dream of doing. > The only guy to approach him in character in the history of the club was > Eric Hassli. Here is a great article from the Guardian about “Wee Willie”: > > http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2008/dec/23/rangers-celtic > > Leeds united and Scotland star David Harvey played for the Whitecaps in > 1980, brought in to replace Phil “Lofty” Parkes, who had moved on to the > Chicago Sting. Harvey broke his neck in a car crash (James Lawton wrote a > newspaper column in which alcohol was blamed), and back up keeper Bruce > Grobbelaar famously took over for him. When Harvey came back from his > injury the following season he was overweight, with a large beer belly > showing prominently from where I was sitting way up high at Empire Stadium. > He only played 19 or so matches for the first team before going back to > Leeds United. While he did not have a distinguished career here in > Vancouver, it was still great having such a footballing giant in our squad. > > Harvey played for Scotland during the 1974 World Cup. He could have played > for England or Scotland but chose his father’s native country because he > had a better chance of playing for Scotland. > > I got the chance to meet David Harvey when I backed him up during a > Whitecaps Reserves Pacific Coast game down in Washington State. That game > sticks in my mind because our coach that day was none other than Nobby > Stiles, who played for Manchester United when they beat Benfica in the 1968 > European Cup final; he also played for England in the 1966 World Cup final. > After the match in Washington state Harvey told me and some other > youngsters about a wild NASL road trip during which he and fellow former > Leeds Man Ray Hankin went on a bender because they knew they were not going > to play. He had more of a Yorkshire accent than a Scots accent because of > all of the time he spent playing for Leeds United from a young age. When we > passed through the Canadian border, he pulled out a large bottle of scotch, > and said “fucking hell lads, that were close!” in a broad Yorkshire accent > before taking a huge swig from the bottle. > > I also played against Harvey once in 1982 at the Norwegian Seaman’s Centre > when I was in the BC under 18 squad, and Harvey was playing for the > Whitecaps reserves team. They beat us 2-0. What a privilege to play against > a football great like him. Come to think of it, Harvey was the best and > most accomplished footballer I ever played against. > > Peter Lorimer, or “Thunderfoot” as he was known because of his booming > shot, also played for the Vancouver Whitecaps, Leeds United and Scotland in > the 1974 World Cup. He played for the Whitecaps in 1981-83 and scored a lot > of goals: 23 in 87 games. Lorimer played wonderful football for the > Whitecaps even if he was a bit tubby at the time, like Harvey was. Back in > those days footballers did not have the strict dietary regimes they have > today. In those days it was pints of bitter with bangers and mash; steak > and chips with pints of lager was added occasionally for variety. > > Will today’s Scottish contingent add their names to the legendary deeds of > Scottish players who have played for the Whitecaps in the past? Barry > Robson played a blinder on his home debut against the Galaxy. Though he > started slowly, (probably because he was trying to get used to our plastic > pitch), he scored a goal early and narrowly missed three more chances in > the second half. With his fiery red hair and crazy facial expressions, he > could well become a Whitecaps legend. As for striker Kenny Miller, we have > not seen him yet, but hope lives in our hearts. > > Lets hope today’s Scottish contingent at the Whitecaps will realize there > is a tremendous history of football in Vancouver, much of which came from > their home nation. I hope the Whitecaps will give them all a recording of > the 1979 NASL Semi-finals and the 1979 Soccer Bowl final itself so they can > see what we can achieve here in Vancouver. > http://whitecapsfan.wordpress.com/2012/07/21/great-scot-the-vancouver-whitecaps-and-the-scottish-influence/?
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