The former Partick Thistle, Hibs, Celtic and Scotland No. 1, was capped 53 times and has taken part in three World Cup finals. Join us as Alan Rough shares some of his memories as Scotland's number one.

The Good And Rough Times

The Scotland number one jersey has a history of being in reliable hands. There was David Harvey in 1974, Jim Leighton and Andy Goram battling it out in the 1990’s and, of course, Craig Gordon in the present era with Alan McGregor waiting in reserve. Another man who performed admirably between the sticks was the 53 times capped Alan Rough. Roughy, as he’s affectionately known, kept goal for Scotland at the 1978 and 1982 World Cups and was also in the 1986 squad that went to Mexico. A man proud to keep goal for the National Team, Roughy was only too happy to share his experiences with Tartan Army Magazine. He made his debut in 1976 when Scotland entertained Switzerland in a Hampden Friendly. It was by good fortune Roughy got his first cap, as he explains. “I wasn’t supposed to be playing in the game – David Harvey of Leeds was supposed to be playing. He’d called off a couple of days just after we’d met up so it was a surprise right up until the last minute and that was quite a good thing because it meant you weren’t really worrying about playing, it just got thrown on you right away. I’d already played with a lot of the players that were in that full squad, the likes of Kenny Dalglish and Asa Hartford, we all came up through the Under 23 team so there were quite a lot of us played that night.”

That same year, Roughy played against England for the first time in a 2-1 win at Hampden but it was his first Wembley visit that really stands out in clashes with the Auld Enemy. What a first occasion it turned out to be in 1977 when, not only did Scotland win 2-1, but also delirious fans invaded the pitch to celebrate a momentous win.

Roughy said: “You always remember your first game at Wembley, I think everybody from when they were youngsters always wanted to play at Wembley, that was your ambition to play for Scotland against England particularly at Wembley. I was fortunate in that we won that day 2-1 but also the lasting memory of that day was, again, the eighty or ninety thousand Scotland supporters that were in the stadium that, supposedly, never had tickets for the game but they were there and that was great to have your first game at Wembley and it was just like a home game so that relaxed everybody and that’s, probably, why we won the game.” 

Later that year, Scotland ensured that Ally’s Army would be on their way to the Argentine with another famous win South of the Border, this time against Wales in a tie switched to Anfield. It was to prove a suicidal move by the Welsh FA as, like Wembley, the Tartan Army took over the stadium. Roughy said: “It was an incredible day. We were supposed to be playing Wales in Cardiff and, for some reason, it changed to Anfield, which was obviously a mistake for them because we had the majority of the supporters. The game was evenly balanced, obviously at nil-nil I had a good save from John Toshack then we got the penalty in the second half and Kenny Dalglish’s header just sealed it. It was a fantastic night only because most of Scotland support was in the stadium.”

We all know what happened next, even the youngest member of the Tartan Army could tell you! Scotland drew Peru, Iran and Holland in their group, Ally McLeod believed Scotland could win a medal, and the media frenzy pre-World Cup went into overdrive then BANG – another journey home before the postcards! 

Roughy, of course, was in goal for those three fateful games in Argentina and recalled: “We didn’t play particularly well in the Peru game, they beat us quite comfortably in the end and, after that, everybody was on a bit of a downer because we never started the tournament well. The Iran game, I think if anybody looks at that game they’ll see we should’ve won about 3-0 but it didn’t go well for us on the night and we got a draw, which was a poor result for us. The pressure was on for the Holland game, and we had to turn it on and that’s what the players did. We could’ve beat them by more than three goals as well.” 

In comparison to Argentina 78, Scotland’s next adventure in Spain ’82 provided a more modest and less misleading build up as we prepared to take on a Brazil side containing the class of Socrates, Falcao, Zico and Eder. Despite the four-one defeat, it was a special night for Roughy as he earned his 50^th cap for his country, an honour he is rightly proud of.

“Yeah it was a fantastic game,” he said. “Again, like everyone wants to play against England, you definitely want to play against Brazil, you know the best team in the world. Fortunately enough, I’d played against them the year before in Brazil when we were over there on a pre-season tour so that was the second time I’d played against them. It was just fantastic being on the same field with those incredible players. The Brazilian team that we played that night were the greatest team I ever played against.” 

Unfortunately, it was another chapter of “the glorious failure” story that epitomises Scotland at major tournaments, as a 2-2 draw with Soviet Union wasn’t enough to prevent an early exit on goal difference. That game will forever be remembered for the famous mix-up between Willie Miller and Alan Hansen but Roughy said of that night: “These things happen in football, there’s nothing you can do about it. We again had a chance to win that game as well but we just never took our chances.” 

Roughy made it into his third consecutive World Cup Finals squad when he was selected for Mexico ‘86. However, he was an unused substitute as Jim Leighton was now the number one choice. Roughy though had few complaints and added: “I had ten years at number one in the squad so, like everything, there are up and coming youngsters and certainly, in Jim Leighton and Andy Goram, there were two goalkeepers who proved later on they were the best that was about. I had a fair shot at it but, obviously, age caught up with me.” 

Nowadays, Roughy is a pundit with Real Radio and co-hosts the very popular Real Football Phone In with Ewen Cameron. Unlike many ex-pro’s who go into punditry and become outspoken, Roughy does tend to hold back his criticism of players but the reason is very straightforward, as he explains. “I remember being in that position and, if it happened to me (criticism), I have an insight of how you’re feeling. I’ve been on the park at Hampden, I’ve played in Internationals, I’ve been in games when you haven’t won so I know what it’s like because I’ve been there and that’s, maybe, the thoughts that I create and the ideas that I give out.”

For those who listen regularly to the Real Football Phone In, you will instantly recognise that Ewen and Roughy work very well together and encourage banter though they do have the odd fallout from time to time. Despite the fallouts, Roughy enjoys his job. He said: “It’s fantastic. It’s a privilege to have played football for twenty years and now to get the chance to talk to the people who supported most of the teams you’ve been in, you get a kick out of that. It’s good fun, it’s good banter and I enjoy it.” 

Another reason why Roughy enjoys working on the Real Football Phone In is the opportunity to wind up his co-host on a regular basis, knowing fine well Ewen will bite every time. He added: “It would be a long two hours if I didn’t get the chance to wind him up. He probably is quite easy to wind up, I think that’s the enjoyment we get out of the whole thing and it just keeps us going.” 

The brave attempt by Scotland to qualify from the ultimate Group of Death in the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign proved, in the end, to be another near miss. The memories of each game though will stick with the Tartan Army forever and the Real Football Phone In more than played its part in the build up to each game, as Roughy explains. “We got right behind it, the Sports team were at most of the games, travelled to them all and the climax against Italy when we did the commentary, and that was a bit special as well. Obviously, we were disappointed in the end but if you get a successful Scotland team, everybody goes about with a smile on their face so it’s always good to get behind them.” 

Alan Rough is a man who prides himself on his Scotland career, his 53 caps and three journeys to World Cup Finals with the National team. There is no questioning his passion for his country and you can bet your life he’ll be getting behind the current Scotland squad as we embark on the road to South Africa and end a barren run without qualifying for major tournaments that’s stretches back to France ’98. 

The Real Football Phone In are guaranteed to be backing Scotland’s World Cup adventure – just expect a few fallouts and wind-ups between Ewen and Roughy along the way!

Interview by John Bleasdale