Weir clocks up a half-century and still aiming high

The Everton defender’s greatest wish is to play in another leading tournament before he hangs up his boots but, at 36, time is not on his side. Weir celebrates his half-century of appearances in Kaunas against Lithuania, and is captain for the evening. It is a landmark that allows him membership of the Scottish Football Association’s Hall of Fame, but he would much rather be on a plane to Austria and Switzerland for the European Championship finals.

It is well documented how Weir has rebuilt his international career under Walter Smith, who bought him from Heart of Midlothian in his previous incarnation as manager at Goodison Park. Weir quit after the debacle in the Faeroe Isles in 2002 and being singled out by Berti Vogts as a scapegoat. He returned again in 2005, when the German had left and his old club manager had taken over.

While there is no sense of raking over those lost years by Weir, the centre back knows that his own timing, in terms of Scotland, has been poor. He was just establishing himself in the squad when he went to the World Cup finals in France in 1998 but the Scots’ long exile from any finals since then has robbed the defender of the stage every player dreams of.

“I know I am only captain because Barry Ferguson is injured,” Weir said yesterday. “But I will enjoy it while it lasts. Qualifying for Euro 2008 would be the icing on the cake for my career. If we reach the finals, it will be ten years since Scotland last appeared in one. That is a long time to wait.

“In that time, you realise what you are missing, but it would be nice to make up for all those missed occasions. Given the strength of our group this time, with two World Cup finalists and another who got to the quarter-finals, this would be Scotland’s best achievement if we made the finals.”

When Weir was a boy, Scotland reached the World Cup finals with regularity: five times in succession, in fact. He is one of the few players in Smith’s squad who can remember that era of plenty. “I don’t like to be seen as the elder statesman,” he said. “The younger boys do not ask me about playing in the World Cup finals, they can see it for themselves on television. I don’t like to appear as a Mr Know-It-All.

“At France 98, I was one of the younger boys in the squad. I only played a brief part but I did come on against Norway in Bordeaux and set up Craig Burley’s equaliser in the 1-1 draw.

“Those were good memories for me. A lot of the younger guys in the squad have a few more opportunities to reach finals, but they should also realise that such chances don’t come along often and you have to grab them when you can.

“The good thing about our squad now, compared to previous ones that I have been involved in, is that it is more balanced. We have had good players in the past, people who were stand-outs, but there is more depth to this squad. There is also a good atmosphere around it.”

That is something Smith has cultivated in the wake of the Vogts era and Weir does not hide his admiration for the manager. “He gave me my chance in the Premiership by taking me to Everton from Hearts,” Weir said. “It was a big break for me and I’m still playing at 36. I will always be grateful to Walter for that. Then he brought me back into the Scotland fold. He gave me two of the biggest moments in my career.

“Making my 50th appearance is special. Perhaps it is more for my family than for me right now. But in years to come, my children can see their father’s name alongside guys like Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness. It is something I can be proud of.”

Weir is planning for that day when he stops playing and moves into coaching. He has taken his Uefa B Licence and has noted Smith’s methods, yet he will try to squeeze out as much playing time as he can. “I still want to play,” he said.

Reaching the finals will depend very much on Weir’s team securing some points in Kaunas. “It is going to be a hard game,” he said. “The Lithuanians will be on a high after drawing in Italy and we have to keep things tight and hit them on the break.

“However, I never thought I would get to this stage. To captain my country at 36 is great. It is what every kid dreams of when they start to play football.

“Going to France 98 was the obvious highlight but there have been a lot of one-off occasions, such as when we we beat Holland, and England at Wembley in the Euro 200 play-off. Those were great experiences but I hope I have room for one more.”

Taken from timesonline.co.uk