I've Learned So Much From My Amazing Adventures

I've Learned So Much From My Amazing Adventures

- Chris Dunlavy

STEVE Archibald at Barcelona. Alan McInally with Bayern Munich. John Collins at Monaco. Until 2015, only three Scots had ever won a title on foreign soil.

Then, with nary a hint of recognition or fanfare, Barry Douglas made it four. When the 28-year-old won the Polish championship with Lech Poznan three years ago, almost 100,000 fans lined the ancient streets outside Ostrow Cathedral to welcome their heroes home.

The mayor gave a speech. National newspapers and state television heralded Poznan’s achievement for weeks on end.

A Polish Super Cup was followed by a move to Konyaspor in Turkey’s Asian hinterland. There, an unprecedented thirdplace finish was capped by the club’s first silverware in 95 years when they won the Turkish Cup after a penalty shoot-out. This time, Douglas was chaired from the pitch by 30,000 flare-wielding fans.

Yet ask the average Brit if they’ve heard of the intrepid Glaswegian and most will shrug their shoulders. Not that he’s bothered.

“I’ve made friends with people I might never have known and seen parts of the world I might never have seen,” says the Wolves full-back. “I won things I never dreamed of winning. If people didn’t notice, I don’t care. I wouldn’t change those times for anything.”

Douglas is that rare breed; a British footballer who not only thrived abroad but embraced the language and culture. Yet his move to Poland in 2013 was, to all intents and purposes, a fluke.

“I was playing for Dundee United at the time and Poznan had sent scouts over to watch Johnny Russell (now Derby),” he recalls. “Luckily, I was in a rich vein of form and they got in touch.