Sport
World Cup at the CPH Post: There in Spirit
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June 14th, 2014
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Scotland have been at every World Cup since 1950. When not in person, like this year, they are there in spirit alongside whoever England is playing.
This year’s tournament will take them back to a continent they have fond memories of: South America, where Ally’s Tartan Army in 1978 shocked the world by beating Europe’s top team, the Netherlands.
Sadly they lost to Peru and couldn’t beat Iran – and 36 years later, nobody can get close to their 100 percent record of not advancing from the group stage at seven finals.
Not even fellow UK members Wales (one finals) and Northern Ireland (three), who have made it once and twice respectively.
While our distributions manager Jim Lind, 51, remembers it clearly, trainee journalist Philip Tees, 28, doesn’t recall Scotland’s best ever World Cup moment – a 1982 David Narey toe-bung that saw them briefly lead Brazil before losing 1-4.
He was old enough, however, to savour the pride when the samba boys knocked out England in 2002.
“I'm not a football fan,” he confesses. (Who can blame him?)
“But I will use the World Cup as an opportunity to drink with foreign friends on match days. It's better than Eurovision."
As part of our World Cup coverage this year, our international staff decided it would be fun to dress up in our national shirts for the Copenhagen Post Wallchart, which hit the streets on June 12.
Partly that, and to rub it in the faces of our Danish colleagues that they haven't qualified this time around.
Taking a leaf out of the Jack Charlton guide to national coaching, we sourced a few errant grandfathers and even found room for Scotland.
And just in case you want to 'go local' to watch a game, check out our guide to the best bars in town for finding authentic nationalistic fervour.
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