Craig Gordon is facing his own long road back from injury but the Scotland no.1 reckons there will be another couple of comeback kings in between the sticks at Hampden on Sunday.
The Hearts hero is laid up as he battles back from a devastating double leg break at Christmas and no one will be betting against the 40-year-old proving the doubters wrong for the umpteenth time. He’ll be watching the Viaplay Cup Final this weekend and he reckons there are similar stories unfolding with his fellow members of the Goalkeeper’s Union.
Celtic star Joe Hart and Rangers main man Allan McGregor might be at opposite ends of the pitch but they have plenty in common. They are not quite both signing up for the SAGA holidays yet but at 35 and 41 years old respectively, the pair of them have around the block a few times – and taken a fair few knocks. Gordon has got that T-shirt as well and he sees a similar steel in the pair of them. Hart hit the huge heights as a Premier League champion with Manchester City and England’s no.1. But he was written off by some after falling down the pecking order at Spurs following spells in Italy and with West Ham and Burnley.
McGregor returned to Rangers in 2018 after his time with Hull City and has ignored constant calls over his retirement to keep defying time as well as the odds. Gordon has admiration for both – even if only one of them will get their gloves on the trophy this weekend.
The Tynecastle ace said: "It's resilience to get back out there. The criticism you had in the past will never go away, it's always something people will go back to right throughout his career.
"People mention it about Joe Hart and when he left Man City. That's what everyone wants to talk about. They don't want to talk about how he has managed to come back via different clubs and all the avenues he had to go down.
“He was a second-choice for a while but he's come back and is now a No.1 playing in a cup final with a great chance of winning the league as well.
“You need to give great credit to both him and Allan for the careers they've had and the number of times they came back and shown what they are worth.”
Gordon’s former Scotland pal McGregor is in the same boat. He said: “Allan’s had an incredible career, a lot of big games and big performances.
"I would expect him to rise to this one. He's a a year older than me but, being of a similar age, I know how much hard work it will take from here on in for him and myself.
"It's great that he's still playing. I thought it might have been his last game ever at the end of last season when he came off the bench for a minute. He has managed to go another season and who knows? We will see at the end of this season whether he goes again.”
There’s still plenty of business to attend to this term – starting Sunday. The Viaplay Cup holds a special place in Gordon’s heart, with a couple of final wins and four winners’ medals from his six glittering years at Celtic.
He said: “It’s a major trophy and you don’t get many chances to win silverware. Players and fans will celebrate because it’s a big deal, some people might put more importance on the Scottish Cup with the history or whatever.
“But it means something when you get your hands on a winners’ medal and there is no better feeling than going up those stairs at Hampden to lift a trophy. The League Cup was my first winners’ medal with Celtic (in 2014).
"I have fond memories of the game against Dundee United. It was my first one back after my knee troubles.
“The adrenaline of coming back and proving people wrong carried me right through that campaign. It was probably to the detriment of the season after that as I had to put so much into the comeback.
“But that first year was incredible and it was great to win a couple of trophies. That final was a big moment in my career.”
The League Cup is special in its our right, but Gordon knows it’s also a stepping stone to greatness. You can’t win a Treble without it, after all.
“That's true,” Gordon said. "I managed to win a few of them as well, which was nice!
“It’s part of Scottish football. You have three trophies to aim for and while sometimes the goal is to try to get one, it’s sometimes the target to win all three.
“It’s difficult to win. You have to win five games or more with the group stages and it’s something you want to have on your CV. It’s a great feeling to win and a horrible feeling to lose in a final.
"I’ve faced that a few times as well, but more often than not it was happy memories for me. We’ll just see what happens this weekend.
“It’s going to be a really close game and it will be down to who performs on the day and manages to impose their style on the opposition. They have slightly different styles in terms of how they want to play, so it will be a really intriguing match.”
