JOHN GREIG is the only Scotsman to have scored a winning goal against Italy - but he is desperate to relinquish that honour tomorrow.
The Rangers legend wrote his name into the history books back in 1965 when he netted a late goal in a World Cup qualifier at Hampden to hand Scotland their one and only victory over the Azzurri in nine attempts.
This weekend, Alex McLeish's men k
now a similar result against the Italians would guarantee their place at Euro 2008 and end a decade-long wait to grace a major tournament.
"I would be over the moon if someone takes over from as the next Scot to score a winning goal against Italy," said Greig. "I didn't think that 42 years after I did it, I would still be sitting talking about it. I would be delighted if someone else does it."
The Scotland team of the 60s was blessed with world-class talent in the shape of players like Jim Baxter, Billy Bremner, Denis Law, Jimmy Johnstone and Willie Henderson.
The class of 2007 may not be able to boast such quality within their ranks but Greig insists there is no reason why they should fear their opponents this weekend.
"It will be difficult to beat the Italians, we know that," he said.
"We have to respect them but don't fear them. They are the world champions but I don't think we should be afraid of them.
"We know how they are going to approach the match - they never murder a team. If we were playing Brazil or Argentina, the unexpected could come from a flair player but the Italians play to a system.
"It's a game of football and I would be looking at the guy I am playing against in the tunnel beforehand and I would be making sure I am a better player than he is in this game.
"If enough of our players win their individual battles then we've got a chance. The Italians are all good players but they won't have 15 out there against our 11."
