And for the day that’s in it we give you Scotland v England and museum pieces.
Tonight’s Euros meeting at Wembley is after all the 114th iteration of the oldest international football rivalry of them all.
Next year will be the 150th year since the first fixture.
Howzat!
Oddly enough played at a cricket ground, Hamilton Crescent, in Glasgow.
They took the stumps out first!
The story of this match, which finished 0-0 and the history of the game in Scotland, can be found in Glasgow.
Glasgow to Manchester
At the Scottish Football Museum at Hampden Park.
And from the England perspective at the National Football Museum in Manchester.
The chronicles of the time relate that Scotland had a goal chalked off.
When the umpires deemed that the ball had cleared the tape, the early crossbar.
And that that was the moment the Scotland hard luck story was formed.
Kings and Queens
For those Scots looking for omens tonight.
The Scotland team of 1872 was wholly represented by players from Queen’s Park.
And their captain tonight is Liverpool’s Andy Robertson whose career began at Queen’s Park.
For many a visit to a new city is an opportunity to check out its sporting cathedral.
A Real Treat
Madrid is synonymous with its, and Europe’s, most successful club, Real.
The 13-times European Cup/Champions League winners’ history is a storied one.
And with football being a small village the highpoint among many peaks was Real’s 7-3 European Cup Final victory over Hampden in 1960.
When Hungarian hero Ferenc Puskas scored a hat-trick.
You’ll already have had a glimpse of the Hungarians’ appetite for football already these Euros.
Hungary for Puskas
When 60,000 Hungarians packed in the Ferenc Puskas Arena in Budapest.
And they became the first country to host such a crowd post-Covid.
Puskas, the Galloping Major, is one of the game’s enduring figures.
He was the fulcrum of the Mighty Magyars who won 6-3 at Wembley.
Puskas fled his native land and Communist aggression.
He forged an illustrious career at Real and is said to have poo-pood the hoo-ha over Peke’s 1,000 goals.
When he told Bobby Charlton he had reached that goal in considerably less time and in more meaningful matches.
And his pal Slim Jim
All of which Scotland great Jim Baxter regaled to me.
When his agent and myself went to collect him for a speaking engagement in Aberdeen.
Now Slim Jim’s performance at Wembley against the-then World Champion English was up there with Puskas.
As he played keepie-uppie in front of the English players as Scotland toyed with the opposition on their way to a 3-2 win.
Slim Jim alas is performing football tricks now up there in the clouds.
But tonight it is time for new heroes to join him.
And take their place in the lexicon of Scotland v England and museum pieces.