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I'd rather Scotland never reached another final than play a fraud like Cacau, blasts Colin Hendry
Colin Hendry watched Cacau running away in celebration after scoring for Germany against Australia - and his blood ran cold.
Braveheart would rather Craig Levein failed to qualify for the finals with a team drawn from a tartan bloodline than end our 12-year wait with imitation Scots.
Cacau qualified to play for the Germans because their rules allow for naturalisation after two years' residence in the country.
The SFA's stance, in keeping with the other Home Nations, is that such a rule dilutes national identity.
An SFA spokesman said: "England, Wales, Northern Ireland and ourselves believe the two-year rule is too lenient.
"We believe in the integrity of the jersey and we won't be accused of diluting national identity.
"We might have a higher regard for national identity than others with different rules."
History
The SFA stands by the grandparent rule that enables someone like Derby's Kris Commons to wear a Scotland jersey.
And they have recently revised the school rule to include further education, making Hearts' Andy Driver a contender for Levein's next squad.
Hendry, who captained Scotland at France '98, would rather go down in history with the distinction of being the last man to do that than see his homeland become a haven for uncapped players.
He said: "You can't become a Scot in two years. I played for my country 51 times and there was nothing more important to me than pulling that dark blue jersey on.
"Every time I went out on the park to play for Scotland I regarded it as going to war for my country.
"When you're in the trenches you want to know the man next to you feels the national cause as strongly as you do.
"I played the majority of my international appearances cast in the role of underdog.
"That meant there was no hiding place on the pitch and the outcome was that we qualified for European Championship finals and the World Cup itself.
"I was lucky that the Braveheart movie was out at the time and gave birth to my alter ego but I always felt there was a fervour attached to playing for Scotland at that time. But I couldn't get my head round guys in Scotland's colours speaking with English accents."
The sight of a German team with one Brazilian and three other players who were born in Poland beating Australia was unappealing to Hendry.
He said: "When I saw Cacau score I thought to myself, 'Brazilian body inside a German shirt'.
"The Germans' policy is entirely their affair and they are doing nothing wrong because their own football federation created the two-year rule.
"But for me the grandparent rule takes naturalisation far enough."
The issue of national identity has split the country with those who are fed up with non-qualification eager to go down the German route and widen Levein's choice.
Hendry, with his Highland upbringing, represents tradition, heritage and refusal to make nationality an admin matter.
He said: "I don't doubt that fishing for foreign conscripts would make Scotland stronger but that's not the point.
"National identity has to be affected if you become a rubber-stamped Scot on the basis that you have lived in the country for two years and haven't played for anybody else at full international level.
"If the SFA call it the integrity of the jersey then I'll go along with that attitude. I'll take integrity over qualification.
Adoption
"A German called Cacau is not the real McCoy in my eyes."
Hendry spent long enough playing for Rangers to know that an adoption of the German policy could be helpful to the Old Firm in the long run.
But that's not his problem either and he said: "Major players were once attracted to the idea of playing for Rangers and Celtic because there was every likelihood it would result in winning trophies and qualifying for the Champions League. But that route to the biggest platform in Europe is being gradually closed off because of the co-efficient table and the need to play qualifiers.
"If you enticed a player on the basis that he could be in the Scotland squad two years later it might re-activate the market.
"But that doesn't make it right in my eyes. I got into the SFA's Hall of Fame and that was a personal triumph for me.
"And I don't think I'm alone in believing pride in your country's football team is something to be treasured.
"I played in the same title-winning Blackburn side as Alan Shearer and I know he valued the three lions on his England shirt as much as I did the Lion Rampant on my Scotland strip.
"He was born to wear his national colours and I was born to wear mine.
"We didn't get the caps after the paperwork had been completed in an office somewhere."
Former Scotland boss George Burley was interested in making Rangers' Nacho Novo eligible to be part of his squad.
But Burley last night refused to take sides over national identity.
He said: "I don't want to be drawn into that one. As far as I'm concerned it's up to individual associations. I'm not getting involved."
He might not be but Hendry has nailed his colours firmly to the mast.
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Originally Posted by Dave Angel
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