THEY were all part of the so-called "golden generation," the Hibs kids who set the SPL alight as they made the Easter Road outfit's conveyor belt of young talent the envy of every club in the country.
Their names trip off the tongue, Garry O'Connor, Derek Riordan, Kevin Thomson, Scott Brown and Steven Whittaker. But few will remember Kirk Broadfoot, handed a shock Scotland call-up for tomorrow's World Cup qualifying clash with Macedonia, in the sa
me breath.
And yet the Rangers star was very much part of that promising youth team until homesickness got the better of him and he headed back to Ayr, signing for First Division St Mirren six years ago and, seemingly, a career as a journeyman player.
As he prepared to fly out to Skopje today along with the rest of George Burley's Scotland squad, the rugged defender admitted he could hardly envisage the remarkable change in his fortunes since making the switch from Love Street to Ibrox.
He said: "I started with Hibs, the youth team then had guys like Kevin, Scott, Whitty, David Proctor, who is now with Inverness, Ryan Harding, who is at Morton, and although Deek and Garry were a year older, they were also part of the side.
"How we didn't win the Youth Cup I don't know. It's quite staggering to think so many came through at the one time at one club but that, I think, is all credit to John Park and Donald Park.
"I left because I didn't take to life in Edinburgh if I'm being honest. I was 16, from Ayr, didn't like being in digs and I wanted to get closer to home. St Mirren offered me a contract and I travelled from there."
Broadfoot's career, however, was turned on its head when Rangers boss Walter Smith swooped to take the 24-year-old to Ibrox on a free transfer. While many saw him as no more than a squad player, Broadfoot confounded everyone and went on to appear in the UEFA Cup final against Zenit St Petersburg. Now he is on another high following his shock summons to the Scotland team hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond following team-mate Davie Weir's withdrawal with a groin problem.
The call came barely 24 hours after Broadfoot had played his part in Rangers' 4-2 Old Firm win over Celtic, although he thought it was a wind-up from Ibrox striker Kris Boyd purporting to be an SFA official.
He said: "I was sitting at home on Monday night when I got the call, I thought it was Boydy. Then Ally McCoist phoned but I still thought they were at it. Then Coisty called again and convinced me it was true. I honestly wasn't expecting anything like this, it was a huge surprise."
Cancelling a weekend holiday in Marbella was a small price to pay as he picked up his boots and reported for duty, admitting that even to be part of the squad was a massive boost to his confidence.
He said: "Obviously beating Celtic on their own patch was an amazing day but to get the call up for Scotland was magnificent.
"I couldn't pick between them, it was my first win as a Rangers player at Parkhead and then a dream came true.
"I've had text messages from the likes of David Van Zanten, Gus MacPherson and Andy Millen from Saints and, of course, all the boys at Ibrox letting me know they are right behind me.
"I've come a long way in the last couple of years, fighting a relegation battle with St Mirrren, signing for Rangers, playing in the UEFA Cup final and now, four months after that, I might get a Scotland cap."
While desperate to play his part both tomorrow and again in Wednesday night's clash in Iceland, Broadfoot accepts he isn't Burley's first choice but insisted he wasn't content now just to be a squad member.
He said: "I'm happy to be here and it will be a great experience to see how it all works at full international level.
"If I don't get a cap this time then I'll go back to Rangers, continue to work hard, hope to do well for them and hopefully a cap will come my way.
"I have to admit I could never envisage anything like this happening to me when I went down into the First Division with St Mirren."
The full article contains 749 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
