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Highlander Ryan Christie's TV tears come from early years watching Scotland with dad Charlie


By Alasdair Fraser

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Picture - Ken Macpherson, Inverness. UEFA Nations League Group C League 1. Scotland(3) v Israel(2). 20.11.18. Scotland's Ryan Christie takes a shot on goal.
Picture - Ken Macpherson, Inverness. UEFA Nations League Group C League 1. Scotland(3) v Israel(2). 20.11.18. Scotland's Ryan Christie takes a shot on goal.

It promises to go down as one of the great iconic moments in Scottish football history.

Ryan Christie’s heartfelt tears before the nation, live on television, after Scotland ended a 22-year exile from major finals, mirrored the outpouring of raw emotion in living rooms across the country on Thursday night.

It came after a stunning opening goal from Christie was wiped out cruelly late on by Luka Jovic’s 90th minute equaliser, only for Scotland to triumph on penalties.

For dad Charlie Christie, the Caley Thistle legend, it was almost – almost, but not quite – enough to finally crack open a very special bottle: his man of the match champagne from the famous February 2000 victory over Celtic.

Corks certainly popped in the Christie household amid the pride of this latest milestone in the former Caley Thistle attacker’s dizzying ascent, but the Celtic Park bubbly survived – just.

It is now set to remain on ice, at least until Scotland face the Auld Enemy at Wembley on June 18.

“Believe it or not, my daughter Paige had the man of the match bottle in her hand after the game and got told to put it down!” Christie revealed.

“We had two bottles between me, Paige and my wife Sharon, and one of them was actually Ryan’s man of the match bubbly from Parkhead.

“We were half-thinking we would open mine, but I managed to stop that.

“What will it take to open that one? If Ryan scores the winner against England next summer, it will happen.”

Christie senior, himself a past Tartan Army foot soldier at World Cup 1998 in France, Scotland’s last finals appearance, watched in wonder at home with his family.

“Ryan phoned me afterwards, but only after a long wait for a drug test. UEFA select boys at random for a drug test and he and John McGinn got taken off for that,” he said.

“But at about 2am Ryan sent me a video of the celebrations from the hotel. The whole squad, Stevie Clarke and the backroom staff were up.

“It is just one of those moments in football that will live with him forever.

“Ryan’s interview, for me, summed it up. It was straight from the heart.

ICT Hall of Fame Awards..Charlie Christie inducted into Hall of Fame... Picture: Gary Anthony. Image No..
ICT Hall of Fame Awards..Charlie Christie inducted into Hall of Fame... Picture: Gary Anthony. Image No..

“There has been criticism of whether the players care enough.

“Obviously, I know Ryan better than almost anyone on the planet. Since the moment he first pulled on a short at under 19 level and made the under 21s, it has meant the world to him.

“I hear the buzz in his voice when he speaks about Scotland trips. When he scored his first-ever goal against Cyprus, he was just over the moon.

“The interview showed us all, not just what it means to him but to squad.

“I don’t speak much to him before games like that, but I gave him a quick call the night before and I could tell, then, just how much he was up for it.

“While he was isolating last time around because of Covid, he had a treadmill delivered to his flat in Glasgow by Celtic to stay fit.

“He put a poster above it and on it he wrote ‘Euros 2020/21’ - and when he was doing his hours of running, it was that keeping him going.

“Football means everything to him as does his country. I was there in France in 1998 and he has grown up in a house where football was his life.

“We used to sit together with family and watch every Scotland game together. He has been brought up that way.

“For him to now play a part in a major stepping stone for Scotland, back to where we belong, is just fantastic.

“As a team, Scotland really have stepped on a mark and the respect that Steve Clarke and the boys deserve and should get can’t be overstated.

“I’ve had so many texts and messages and Ryan is the same. Even Liam Gallagher tweeted about Ryan last night!

“It is far-reaching. And I think what Ryan said was right.

“It has been a nightmare year not just in Scotland, but all around the world.

“We were looking for Scotland to put a smile on our faces. I’ve been there with them at the Champs Elysees and the Tartan Army are the best fans in the world.

“They’ve not had much to cheer about for 20 years.

“Touchwood we’ll get over this Covid nightmare and the two games at Hampden next year will be played before 50,000.

“Then we’ll go down and whip England at Hampden.”

With the SFA set to reap at least £10 million from qualification, Christie feels the entire Scottish game will receive a massive shot in the arm.

More than that, though, he reckons the team has shown it is ready to hit heights not seen in a generation.

“What probably surprised us all was just how well Scotland played and how much of the ball they had,” Christie said.

“We started the game brilliantly and the Serbs sat off them. I thought the front three of Lyndon Dykes, John McGinn and Ryan were full of energy and caused them problems.

“We get the goal after the chance for Andy Robertson, and Ryan was then not far off getting a second one.

“They were always going to have a period in the game and the last-minute equaliser was a huge body-blow.

“We were on the back foot in extra-time but Serbia didn’t create too much.

“We couldn’t have asked for any better and I don’t think you can over-state just what this means for football in this country.

“Before the game, I thought if we were going to win it, it would be through a bit of luck, or David Marshall being superby and us nicking a goal.

“But the game wasn’t like that at all. We out-performed them

“Football is so fickle and had luck deserted us in the shoot-out, the whole mood the morning after would have been the polar opposite.

“But for once we can honestly say our performance deserved the win and, to a man, the players were brilliant.”

Related: This is for everyone in Scotland - it has been a horrible year


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