Vogts wins vote as Scots opt to study German

Ten years ago, on a cold February night in Aberdeen, Berti Vogts discovered why passion and football go hand-in-hand in Scotland. Now, he will be the one entrusted with wooing a public who appear to have fallen out of love with their national team.

The former manager of Germany is expected to be announced next weekend, after the Euro 2004 qualifying draw in Portugal, as Craig Brown's successor. It might seem an odd marriage, as Vogts is portrayed as lacking charisma, but the other suitors – former Parma manager Nevio Scala and Japan coach Philippe Troussier – have been dismissed and Vogts is deemed to be Mr Right.

Vogts is already betrothed to Kuwait but will cut his ties there when the Gulf Cup tournament in Riyadh ends on 31 January. Then, he will sit down with Brown, who remains with the Scottish FA as technical director, and use their friendship of 15 years to explore how to revive Scotland. Vogts and Brown first met in 1987 in Chile, when both were in charge of teams at the World Under-19 Cup. They shared coaching courses at the German FA (DFB), before Brown scored a notable success over his friend in 1992.

When the countries met in the quarter-finals of the European Under-21 Championship, Germany were already being tipped as the tournament winners. Yet, in front of a sell-out crowd at Pittodrie, it was the young Scots who carved out a remarkable 4-3 victory.

Paul Lambert was Scotland's Under-21 captain that night, and even now the memory is banked away safely alongside his Champions' League success with Borussia Dortmund and Celtic's treble triumph last season. "I don't think it was a case of the Germans under-estimating us," Lambert reflects. "It was just that the atmosphere and the fact we were facing players who already had a European reputation seemed to inspire us to greater heights."

Lambert retired from international football after the 2-0 defeat by Belgium in September, which ended Scotland's hopes of going to the World Cup finals. At 32, he simply recognised the need to conserve his body – shrewd thinking, judging by his impressive season for Celtic – but the truth is that many fans had abandoned Scotland long before the dream died that night in Brussels. Somewhere along the line, the Scots lost their passion. It was probably after France 98, halfway through Brown's reign, and the anaemic football which followed – with the exception of one rousing night at Wembley when England were beaten in November 1999 – proved a turn-off.

The taciturn Vogts experienced a similar scenario in Germany, though for different reasons. His tarnished reputation must now be seen in a very different light, following the 5-1 capitulation to England in Munich and the ignominious exit from Euro 2000 under the management of Rudi Völler and Erich Ribbeck respectively.

Vogts was deemed a failure: that is if you can call winning Euro 96, reaching the final four years earlier and the quarter-finals of two World Cups something to be ashamed of. England would kill for that record. Scotland will settle for hiring its architect, instead. "The players who were in the German national team when I was at Dortmund spoke highly of Vogts," saysLambert, who joined the Bundesliga club in the summer of 1996 just as Germany was recovering from the hangover of the European triumph at Wembley. "Andy Möller said Vogts created a really good team spirit, just like we had at Dortmund then. He is someone whose record, as a coach and player, gets respect from players."

Vogts has always suffered from comparisons with more glamorous peers. Franz Beckenbauer was "Der Kaiser" when the pair played in the German side who won the World Cup in 1974. Vogts was cruelly dubbed "The Corporal", yet the side could not function without his tenacious tackling.

Since being sacked by Germany in the wake of France 98, Vogts has learned English. One of those who has already broken that language barrier, Liverpool's Markus Babbel, speaks volumes for the quiet man. "He was not a favourite with the press or the fans because he did not like to talk," Babbel said recently. "I have worked with some great coaches, such as Ottmar Hitzfeld, but if Scotland get Berti Vogts, they will be very, very lucky."