International football has changed plenty since the days of Denis Law and Kenny Dalglish.
With twice the number of active UEFA member nations, not to mention a whole extra tournament, there are many more competitive fixtures now than were available then.
But it is still a noteworthy achievement to break any Scottish goalscoring record held by either of those towering figures, and while it may be some years yet until their overall mark comes under threat, Scotland’s all-time leading scorer in supranational tournament play is now another: John McGinn.
With nine goals in European Championship qualifiers added to four in World Cup qualification and two in the Nations League, no player has ever made so weighty a contribution to Scotland’s efforts to reach major finals.
Injury now being all that can prevent him playing in a second, history will place McGinn, in all measurable terms, amongst special company in our nation’s very top drawer.
It will not be undeserved. For though Steve Clarke’s extraordinary revolution has required contributions of talented players across the pitch, it has always relied upon the drive of McGinn – a starter in 21 consecutive games, 15 of them wins – to bring the energy and personality so emblematic of the transformation.
He may be a cult hero but that is to sell McGinn’s quality short.
This is no rough operator. He may have the street-corner, gallus look possessed by many of Scotland’s less chiselled soccer heroes, but between the glinting eye and the comfortable backside there lives one heck of a footballer.
When eventually the day comes for younger heroes’ names to supplant John McGinn’s in the Tartan Army songbook, all that will remain to judge his legacy are the numbers in the ledger and the footage of his work. It will stand the test of time.
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