HAVE you ever heard how the old Edinburgh half-day influenced the format of the Champions League?

Neither had I, but an afternoon in the company of Ged O’Brien, director of the Scottish Football Museum at Hampden, brought up this and many other fascinating theories and facts about our national sport.

Despite being of Irish descent and himself hailing from Southampton, O’Brien has an unbridled passion for Scottish football.

He bristles at any mention of England being the home of the game and claims he is on a mission to rewrite the entire history of the sport.

His aim is simple. He wants to let the world know that football is Scotland’s game and without our tiny country the planet would have been deprived of its most popular obsession.

His Champions League theory is one which dates back to Hibs’ inclusion as the only British side to play in the inaugural European Cup back in 1955.

He can’t prove it yet, but he’s convinced that when the Continent’s powers-that-be sat down to schedule their new project, it was on the Easter Road side’s insistence that all European ties should be played on a Wednesday.

He said: "Most clubs were tied up by their domestic commitments on a Saturday and the scheduling of the new tournament had to be planned around that.

"Hibs suggested a Wednesday afternoon as the half-day closing in the city would allow the people to come along in numbers to support the side.

"Night games were out of the question at that point because Easter Road didn’t yet have floodlights and so the suggestion was taken up.

"At the end of this season, Hampden will host the Champions League final on a Wednesday evening and the roots of that lie in the fact Hibs wanted to play on the Edinburgh half-day.

"We can’t prove that yet, but we’re sure it’s true and, historically, it will go down as another example of how Scotland has been absolutely crucial to the development of football.

"I hope in a decade that half of what we are saying about the game has been proved wrong.

"It might take us 30 years, but people will realise that Scotland gave the world this game.

"We will trawl through the history of every club in Britain and I’m sure we’ll find a Scottish connection at the point of foundation.

"People refer to it as Association Football and Pele talks about the beautiful game but I just call it Scotland’s game.

"People have been playing the sport in one shape or form for about 2000 years.

"But the rules as we know them grew from the way in which the game developed here. The concept of pass and move developed here and it was Scots who took the game to Europe, to North and South America, to India and beyond - it’s been influenced by Scots the whole way through."

After their teams’ recent ignominious cup exits, fans of Hibs and Hearts might not feel too inclined towards visiting the National Stadium, but the museum is a veritable treasure trove of trophies, medals, shirts, boots and other priceless paraphernalia.

There’s video screens showing old footage and you can wander through a reconstructed version of the old Hampden dressing-room and press box.

O’Brien is especially appreciative of Hearts’ contribution to the museum, citing the Tynecastle outfit alongside Queen’s Park as the club with the most profound awareness of its own heritage.

There’s plenty for Jambos to look at. Bobby Walker’s caps are displayed, ranging from 1900 onwards, a lasting testament to a player who remains the most-capped in the club’s history.

There’s also a collection of Tommy Walker’s Scotland badges from the 1930s and a plaque recounting the tale of how he slotted home a penalty against England at Wembley after wind had twice blown the ball off the spot.

Hibs fans can gaze at the jersey worn by the Famous Five’s Bobby Johnstone in 1948 for the British Army side.

Just yesterday, a Hibs select took on the 1st Batallion of Royal Scots, who would doubtless have loved a Johnstone or a Duncan Edwards or a Jimmy Armfield in their side - all team-mates in the side which took on their French Army equivalents.

And there’s also a signed top worn by George Best during his brief spell at Easter Road, displayed alongside the form documenting his transfer from Fulham.

The Scottish Cup - the oldest trophy in existence and described by O’Brien as the most important football object in the world - is displayed and presented in its full glory near the front door.

Sandy McBain has worked as visitor services officer at the museum since it opened last May and he spoke of plans to expand the museum.

He said: "What we have on display is only a fraction of what we have stored away.

"We will be expanding the museum and, specifically, we want to represent every club.

"We’ll also be setting up a special Champions League display in advance of the final here in May.

"That will give us a chance to show off the European Cup and that is in the hands of UEFA at the moment.

"We have to treat the trophies with care and it’s only recently that we have insisted the Scottish Cup is kept on the premises except for the odd bit of promotional work.

"The trophy is priceless and it’s amazing to think that teams were allowed to take it away and risk damage to it. Now, the winners are presented with the original and get to parade it in front of their fans before swapping it for a replica as they leave the stadium."

O’Brien is keen to hear from football fans from all over the country as he continues in his ceaseless quest for the truth and attempts to build up a collection which reflects the full spectrum of Scottish football.

He added: "What we have here is some of the best and most valuable football memorabilia in the world - but we are interested in far more than trophies and medals.

"We want to hear about people’s experiences. Every football fan possesses their own piece of the jigsaw from the memories they have and from how they viewed certain games.

"Books are great and informative, but in general they only deliver statistics - they don’t tell the whole story.

"At the museum we are trying to create an experience which allows people get an actual feel for what it was like in years gone by - this is not just a football exhibition but a museum of social history.

"If anybody out there has any piece of memorabilia or a particular memory they should get in touch.

"I’m for ever hearing people say, ‘we didn’t think this would be of interest and we didn’t want to bother you’, but it doesn’t matter. Often the smallest things can have the greatest impact.

"We realise that we have about 100th of one per cent of the story and it’s a challenge to get closer to revealing the whole picture."

THE Scottish Football Museum is open seven days a week. The hours of opening are 10am-5pm Monday to Saturday and 11am-5pm Sunday. Entrance is £5 for adults and £2.50 for concessions (children, OAPs and the unemployed).

Taken from the Scotsman