Scotland not ready to say goodbye to luxury Euros base - 'you don't want devil on your shoulder'

It must be presumed that the Obermuhle Alpin Spa Hotel, Scotland’s luxury base in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps, has a flexible check-out policy. 

Staff charged with making-up the rooms of players after they leave this morning for Stuttgart may have reviewed Scotland’s major finals history, and concluded: Nah, they won’t be back. 

Who knows what they will do with the clothes still hanging in the wardrobes and the pictures of loved ones, which the players were encouraged to bring, sitting on side tables. There might still be some phone and laptop chargers plugged into sockets. 

There’s certainly still footballs and other training paraphernalia stuffed into storage rooms at Stadion am Groben. The temporary gym remains in place behind one goal. The exercise bikes are sitting waiting to be used by footballers preparing for a last 16 assignment.  

Scotland are not saying goodbye to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Garmisch-Partenkirchen is not ready to say goodbye to Scotland, where the signs greeting the visiting team are still tied to lampposts and pasted to walls around a town that has embraced their temporary – but hopefully not too temporary – guests.  

Scotland have based themselves in the Alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. | AFP via Getty Images

However, mayor Elisabeth Koch did betray a lack of faith yesterday when she made an unscheduled appearance at the Scottish press conference to present Scotland assistant manager John Carver with some sausages. It suggested she did not share the Scotland coaching staff’s confidence that they will be back. Again, few could blame her. 

She has also probably checked the Scotland major tournament history page on Wikipedia and calculated that after 11 successive failed attempts to reach the second stage, she should head to the butcher for those sausages pronto. 

Carver was appreciative, but he was also firm in his contention that there will be plenty of time to receive a farewell gift, if that’s what it was designed to be. He revealed that their training pitch groundsman, an Englishman on hire from RB Leipzig, had left yesterday for the weekend and made a point of not saying goodbye. “He said ‘I’m coming back on Monday, I’ll see you on Monday’,” reported Carver. “And I said ‘absolutely, I can’t wait to see you’.”

So many are waiting for the outcome of Scotland v Hungary on Sunday night in Stuttgart. So much rests on it. With history at stake, it’s easy to forget the humdrum, practical details, such as what will Scotland do in the event of a defeat, which is the one result that leaves Scotland with no chance of qualification. 

That thought is not to be borne. It has certainly not been mentioned at the team hotel, where the squad fully intend to be on Monday. They head to Stuttgart as another group of Scottish footballers savouring the prospect of achieving something none of their predecessors have managed. They intend to return to base as history makers. 

Koch might throw open the doors of the Bayerhalle, where the original welcome reception was held, for a second time. Perhaps John McGinn will perform another dance for the locals. Whatever happens, no one in the Scotland party is handing back their room keycard and settling bills for sundry items yet. 

“We’ve not even spoken about packing our bags, don’t worry about that,” said Carver. “Nobody has spoken about packing our bags. We’re not interested in that. That is mentally important. You don’t want the devil on your shoulder saying ‘get upstairs and pack your bags’. Nobody has even dropped it into the conversation. Nobody has spoken about going home.”

Even Carver’s wife has not mentioned when he might be back. “Which is a good thing,” he said. “I am being genuine. We’re just planning for the going and getting the right result. Why wouldn’t you want to stay here?”

Carver has acclimatised to life in this mountain retreat, even leading an excursion to the top of the Zugspitze, Germany's highest peak, earlier this week. It later emerged that he was a trembling wreck in the cable car. Still, he happily admits it’s nothing compared to what he was like in midweek, when one of the most passionately sung versions of Flower of Scotland resounded around the Cologne Stadium before the crucial 1-1 draw with Switzerland. 

“Listen, I’m an emotional type of guy,” he said. “I can be aggressive and lively but I am quite emotional inside. I only get emotional about football when it comes to Newcastle United, because that’s my club. But it hit me the other night because I had friends in the stand from Newcastle who have family who are Scottish and have season tickets for Hearts. They were sitting behind us . I felt what they were feeling during Flower of Scotland. It was emotional, I have to be honest, I can’t hide the fact. The noise was incredible.”

Scotland don't have plans to pack their bags just yet. | AFP via Getty Images

He relived the reception the players were afforded when they returned to their Cologne hotel after the Switzerland game. “We get to bed and eventually get to sleep and when we get up in the morning the fans are still there!” he said. “They were applauding the players and the staff on to the bus again.” 

They passed supporters still recovering from the night before on the steps of Cologne's main train station. “They were applauding again, with beers in their hand,” said Carver.  

It’s trite to talk about doing it for the supporters but it’s hard to escape such sentiments when the support in Germany has been so ardent. In any case, Carver is English. He doesn’t have to buy into the emotion. But he does. And as an Englishman, he also knows how dangerous Hungary are. They defeated Gareth Southgate’s side home and away two years ago, including a 4-0 win at Molineux.  

“They are very similar to us,” said Carver. “They are more of a team without superstars, although they have the guy from Liverpool, (Dominik) Szoboszlai. He is a top player. But then we have top players and we are a team.” One with an appointment with a groundsman to keep on Monday morning.