By IAIN KING CRAIG BROWN has finally unmasked the Portuguese ‘taxi-driver’ who famously wrecked Scotland's World Cup tactics eight years ago — BOBBY ROBSON!

Former national boss Brown has been haunted by sneers that he took the word of a cabbie to mark then boss Andy Roxburgh’s card before an abysmal 5-0 humbling in Lisbon in 1993.

Now he has finally fingered current Newcastle and former England gaffer Robson as the man who gave us a bum steer and made him a figure of fun every time the story was dredged up.

Brown — who even clashed with former Scotland skipper Richard Gough over the taxi-driver row — said: “I was at the Under-21 match the night before the big game and Bobby, who was Sporting Lisbon manager then, was there.

“He offered me a lift to our hotel and told me that their star man Rui Barros wouldn’t play.

“He said he’d been taking anti-biotics for flu and that they’d tested his urine and it came up positive.

“Bobby begged me not to say it was him who leaked the story because it would look disloyal to his adopted nation and they would turn against him.”

Brown thanked Robson for his help and hurried up to the team-talk Roxy was holding with the Scotland squad.

He recalled: “Andy said Barros was playing and I told him that the guy who’d brought me back was well-informed and said Barros wouldn’t play.

“Andy went to the board, scored him off and afterwards I informed him it was Bobby Robson who’d told me.”

But to Brown’s dismay Barros did play.

He sighed: “I went to their manager and asked what was happening. He said they tested him again at 4pm and he passed.”

Brown, who also details the bizarre incident in his new autobiography, insisted: “The story came out afterwards because when you lose 5-0 something and someone has to be blamed — and it was the tactics and the management.

“Yet a full 90 minutes before the game Andy took the team in and told them what had happened.

“He then delegated the responsibilities quite clearly so it has always been wrong to say the taxi-driver gave us our tactics or that the players knew nothing about the change in plan.”

Meanwhile, Brown is facing competition from the man Saudi Arabia SACKED four years ago to land his dream £2.2million ticket to manage the oil state’s side in the World Cup Finals next summer.

Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira — axed at France 98 — is on the Saudis’ four-man shortlist with Brown and two other unidentified candidates.

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2001

Answers

I always knew they were taking the p!$$.

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2001