RONNIE McKinnon both played alongside Stevie Chalmers in the dark blue of Scotland and against him in the light blue of Rangers - and was never in any doubt which he preferred.
He found the prolific Celtic striker, who passed away yesterday at the age of 83 after a long illness, a joy to have on the same side, but a nightmare to square up to.
“He was a very intelligent player,” the one-time Ibrox centre half said today after learning his old team mate and opponent had passed away.
“He played with the head, not with the body. And he was fast across the ground. You had to watch him every bloody second of the game or he was away!
“He never used any dirty tactics. At that time, players could get away with a lot more than they can today. There were big bruisers, and wee bruisers too, who would kick you when your back was turned. He was never like that. He was straightforward in that respect.
“But he was a very clever guy. He knew where the ball was going to be placed and he was running away after it before his team mate had even kicked the bloody thing! You had to be on your toes.
“He was always in a place you didn’t want him to be. You would be playing against him and saying: ‘Where’s Stevie?’ Then, bang, he would score. He was very sharp. If he saw a half-chance the ball would be in the net.”
McKinnon added: “He was very good. I actually enjoyed playing against Stevie because you knew he wasn’t going to clog you or anything like that. But you had to be fast to pin him down because he was so smart.
“I was quite fast. At training, I was always first, second or third when it came to the sprints. I was quite deceptive. But when I came up against Stevie I knew I would have to be super fast. He was very quick and agile and slippery. He was a good all-round player to have in any team.
“He was a real gentleman off the park. He was a nice guy. But when he was on the field he was always sniffing for goals – and he nearly always got them because he would position himself in a place where the ball was going to arrive. He was one step ahead of everyone in the thinking department.”
Chalmers and McKinnon joined forces when Scotland took on Brazil, Gerson, Jairzinho, Pele et al, for the first time in their history at Hampden in front of 74,933 supporters back in 1966.
The Parkhead centre forward gave the home favourites the perfect start by netting in the very first minute. The national team would go on to draw against the South Americans 1-1.
“Brazil were a great team,” said McKinnon. “They had a lot of excellent players who could all score goals. They were world-class actually. Pele was probably the best player on the planet. He could score with his head, his feet, his body. He could certainly jump. He was elastic.
“I can remember wee Billy (Bremner) kicking Pele up and down the park that day. Fair tackles of course – if you were a Scotland fan that is!
“Any team that could compete and draw with Brazil at that time was pretty good. Stevie was very important to that result. As I say, he was a very intelligent player. He used his brain a lot, not his brawn. He had a lot of strengths. He was always on the lookout for a goal.”
McKinnon, who is now 78 and living just outside Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, admitted he had been upset to learn to the deaths of Chalmers and Billy McNeill, who were both Lisbon Lions, in the space of a week.
“I was very sad to hear that big Billy had passed away,” he said. “Now Stevie has gone as well. And both from dementia. It has claimed the lives of a lot of players.
In my day you thought it was safe enough to header a ball. But a lot of players have gone under because of this terrible disease. Hopefully there will be more research done into finding a cure now.”
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