real madrid starlet makes scotland debut. yeah, i know, scotland.
Jack Harper made his Scotland debut last week for the under-17 side against Belgium and the starlet immediately earned praise from coach Dean Gorre.
The Real Madrid forward, whose parents are from Neilston, bagged 25 goals for the youth side last season and joined up with the squad following a successful training camp in Largs three weeks ago. And Gorre, whose son Kenji plays for Manchester United at their academy, insisted he will protect the hot-shot from the hype surrounding his first cap.
He said: "Obviously it is perfectly normal to have this outside expectation surrounding a player who plays for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
"But with us, we simply want him to feel comfortable with our system which will allow him to develop.
"I realise, as a father of a boy that is at the Manchester United Youth Academy, that there can be pressure on players who are at clubs like this.
"But pressure is part of the game which players have to learn to cope with.
"There is no pressure on Jack here.
"We want him to enjoy the experience.
"He has a sweet left foot and has a very good efficiency of movement in someone so young.
"Jack's attitude and professionalism is spot on.
"We saw moments in the match where his ability shone through.
"I'm looking forward to working with him in the future."
The Malaga-born number 10, who met with SFA performance director Mark Wotte in April, insisted he was loving every minute of his international call-up.
He added: "It's an honour to come over and play for Scotland and put on the dark blue jersey.
"When I was over for the training camp I was stunned at the quality of the coaching.
"The coaches want us to play the right way and I'm sure it will produce better players for the future."
And after the game he tweeted: "Hard Game vs Belgium (0-0), great performace by the team, a bit more luch could have won the game!"
Harper, who is at the same academy that produced Raul and Iker Casillas, also insisted he wants to break into the senior Scotland squad.
After watching Jordan Rhodes star for the Scots against Australia in a recent friendly, he added: "I was really impressed with Jordan.
"This is what Scotland should be doing - having players making it up through the ranks and into the first team.
"This is where I want to be in a couple of years."
(source)
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Really glad we got in before Spain did since, well, he's Spanish. I hope Mou gives him a chance (if he's still boss) to play, even though he hasn't been bringing much youth through. But someone tipped as the new Zidane must be worth a shot? Yes? No? The future is looking so bright (and a tad multicultural!) for Scotland. I know, however, that he might just be young and off his rocker wanting to play for us.
In the meantime, remember the name, Jack Harper.