Six thousand miles from home, the stage is set for another instalment in world football’s oldest rivalry – Scotland v England. It doesn’t matter what age group, what level, this is a fixture that stirs the soul. In this particular instance, on a paradise island in Thailand, it is two teams of over-50s players – most in the nae hair or grey hair category – who are preparing to do battle in what is effectively a world semi-final. For Scotland, a draw would be enough to clinch a place in the prestigious Koh Samui International Masters final against tournament favourites Iran. But in the build-up, in the dressing room, and now in the tunnel, not one of these pumped-up Scots is willing to countenance a draw. In the veteran ranks, victory has never been secured against England – a frustrating run stretching back to 2011. Now looks the perfect time to put that record straight. Scotland can be proud of their efforts this far, having dug deep in hot and humid conditions to win two and draw one of their group fixtures. They have one foot in the showpiece final, but their old foes stand in the way, and as the teams prepare to head out in unrelenting monsoon rain behind their respective flag-bearers for the national anthems, the atmosphere is tense and uncomfortable. That is until the sober silence is pierced by a loud salvo of: “We’ll be coming, we’ll be coming, we’ll be coming down the road,” from defender Stuart Cameron. Immediately, you can hear the noise of his fellow Tartan Army boys and, as the battle cry gathers momentum, excitement and determination are coursing through the whole squad’s veins. It’s the perfect ice-breaker and the Scotland squad stride out to the centre-circle brimming with renewed confidence. Twenty yards to the left, the opposition look a little unnerved. Pre-match mind games don’t always translate into results, but Scotland capitalise, winning 3-1. Not only will the team go home with a medal, but they have finally secured that elusive win against England. With adrenaline still flowing, captain Jim Rae assembles a pitch-side huddle to tell his tired but thrilled teammates what they have just achieved. This is his seventh tournament and this long-awaited win means the world. Alas, 24 hours later, the final against Iran proves a game too far. Scotland are edged out 2-1 by an impressive team packed with former top professionals, some of whom have graced the actual World Cup. “Although we were beaten by an excellent Iran team in the final, we ran them very close and can be very satisfied with our achievements,” says Rae, who started his career at Dundee, and also turned out for Spartans and Whitburn. “The players who participated for the first time were all outstanding and as a group. This was the best I have played with, in terms of working for each other and our commitment to looking after each other.” It has been an amazing journey and the same can be said about the evolution of the Scotland Seniors football team. Credit must go to Alan McTurk – absent from this latest adventure due to health reasons – but still very much the driving force behind the national squad. McTurk, who played for Ayr United, then in Australia and Singapore before returning to Kilwinning Rangers, formed the idea in 2009 when he went on a family holiday in Australia and caught up with some of his old teammates. He was fascinated to hear they had been representing Australia at the annual over-38s Seniors World Cup in Thailand, created to promote tourism and international sport in the wake of the tsunami that devastated the country in 2004. They assured him the standard was high, underlined by the fact Germany – led by Felix Magath – had recently lifted the trophy. “But we’d had a few beers and the banter was flowing, so my natural reaction was to tell them I could put a Scotland team in the tournament that would come over and hammer them,” laughs McTurk, now 53. He and former Dunfermline midfielder Paul Donnelly, who he played alongside in Australia, headed out on a fact-finding mission to the 2010 tournament in Thailand, and it convinced them that Scotland should form a team and enter the following year. “It was a brutal eye-opener for us,” says McTurk. “No disrespect to any of the lads that went on that first trip in 2011 but, as a team, we just weren’t at the level needed, and we got thrashed 9-0 in our first game. We did get a bit better as the tournament went on, but it was a reality check and we knew if we were going to come back each year and do ourselves justice, then we needed to recruit some top-quality players.” Co-managers Donnelly and McTurk cast their net far and wide to attract the right calibre of player, and the list of those who have answered the call over the past decade includes Steve Tosh, Charlie Christie, Jason and Lee Dair, Gary Clark, Barry Wilson, Scott Walker, Marvin Andrews, Colin Cameron and Gary Holt. There has also been an enduring core group of experienced players – Rae, Scott Burnside, Mark “Branco” Cameron and Grant Tierney – who remain involved to this day and ensure that any new additions to the squad feel welcome. With a potent mix of ex-professionals and successful semi-pros from the Juniors and East of Scotland League, Scotland soon became serious contenders and twice came agonisingly close to winning the Seniors World Cup – losing finals in 2014 and 2018 to England, the first time in a penalty shootout. England, meanwhile, have had talents such as Peter Beagrie, Barry Hayles and Lee Trundle at the heart of some of their success. In 2019, a controversial last-gasp penalty in the semi-final (against England, who else?) denied Scotland another shot at glory, and when the pandemic engulfed the world the following year, the Seniors team was faced with a hiatus. It gave the committee time to regroup and prompted a radical change of direction for 2023. While the main Seniors World Cup in June demands a strict age spread of veterans – with rules dictating that there must be no more than three “younger” players aged between 38 and 43 on the pitch, four between 44 and 49, and at least three over-50s on the pitch at all times – the spin-off over-50s version looked a far more straightforward proposition, and Scotland decided to head to Koh Samui for the Masters tournament instead, held at PSG’s academy on the island, Maraleina Sports Resort. “Covid forced us to take a pause anyway, but with some of the guys getting older, and now firmly in the over-50 category, it made sense to consider going down the Masters route instead,” says McTurk, who has had his own personal battles to contend with, first a brain injury that forced him to hang up his boots, and then cancer. With McTurk unable to make the 2023 trip as he recovered encouragingly from treatment, Tierney – the most senior of the group at 62 – was handed the managerial reins for Koh Samui, assisted by his former Pars teammate Donnelly. “It was an honour and I loved doing it,” says Tierney, who still pulled on the boots to play in a 5-1 victory over Thailand during the group stage, lit up by a hat-trick from Paul Gallacher, younger brother of legendary Clydebank goalkeeper Jim. “The squad gelled really well, on and off the pitch, and the harmony was good. You always hope to have a bit of success, and beating England on the way to the final was satisfying for everyone, but that apart, the trip as a whole went really well. The trip went like clockwork and everyone contributed to the results and the enjoyment we shared. I’ve been involved since 2014 and, whatever level you have played at, it’s a special thing to be part of. It leads to great camaraderie and you make friendships and memories for life.” This is a sentiment I can personally vouch for, as I was lucky enough to be included as one of six first-timers in the 2023 squad. At the age of 52 I thought my meaningful 11-a-side days were long behind me, so it was an incredible experience to be back playing in such a competitive environment, alongside a few players I used to smash into 50-50 tackles against back in the day. The quality and fitness of the squad were immediately apparent, with men like Allan Ramsay and Stephen Quigg, who are former Junior internationals and have a bounty of Scottish Junior Cup winners medals to their names, as well as the ex-pros who had played in Scotland, Cyprus, Germany and beyond. For the five matches we played over a gruelling schedule of six days, we were focused and professional, but we also clicked as a group of guys from all walks of life, pitched together thousands of miles from home. To wear your country’s colours, whatever the circumstances, is something to treasure, and I felt a glow of pride when I returned home and showed my old dad, who lives with Alzheimer’s, a picture of me playing for Scotland… then seeing his face beam with delight when I told him we managed to beat England. As McTurk says: “All of the guys who have experienced a trip since 2011 will say the same – it’s a great thing to be part of, and something you will always remember. For the boys who have been professional in the past, it’s a bonus to get a taste of the big occasion again, and for the guys who haven’t, they get to sample what it feels like. At our age, there’s nothing like it.” The special memories are not confined to the pitch. The Scotland Seniors team have always put charitable work at the heart of their values, and etched on the itinerary on each Thailand trip is a visit to a local school to deliver coaching sessions, kit and footballs to youngsters. We continued this tradition in Samui, with the new recruits given the privilege of leading the activities, and it was humbling to see the joy on the young players’ faces. The school in the Chaweng resort was grateful for our time and friendship, and a Scotland flag was left for staff to display in the school as a memento. Trips to week-long tournaments on the other side of the world are expensive, but the players pay their own way, and the squad and committee have unfailingly shown their generosity for local good causes by fundraising and participating in charity matches. In recent years, donations have been made to excellent charities such as Headway, Jak’s Den, Beatson and Calum’s Cabin, while a match at Stark’s Park last October raised more than £4,000 for a sensory garden for a disabled youngster in Kirkcaldy. A sportsman’s dinner is planned in April this year to keep the ball rolling, with further charitable donations in the pipeline. On the pitch, plans for 2024 are starting to take shape, with a number of options under consideration. A home nations tournament against England, Northern Ireland and Wales has been mooted, the over-50s Masters in Thailand would love to welcome Scotland back, and there is also the possibility of an alternative competition in Europe. “It was great to get the team back together and in a tournament again after the pandemic,” says McTurk. “The Over-50s international scene opens up all kinds of possibilities, and we have a good squad of guys who are eligible. There’s also a chance Holty [Grant Holt] will be back soon, and we’ve been in touch with Colin Hendry, who would be up for it if his other commitments allow. Having the ex-Scotland captain on board would be great. There are exciting times ahead for us.”