Friedrich Nietzsche coined the phrase “what does not kill me, makes me stronger” way back in 1888. While the German philosopher’s much-quoted musing has been hijacked by social media influencers of the current day, it might be better served as the mantra of Craig Gordon’s career.
There aren’t many occasions where Nietzsche can be so closely aligned to the issue of the day in Scottish football without evoking a reaction of “who does he play for?”, but in this case the philosopher’s ideological cogitation fits perfectly with Gordon’s injury-plagued career.
The Scotland internationalist already defeated the odds once before in his trophy-laden career when he returned from a long-running knee injury to make a sensational comeback on the pitch in 2014. A tendon injury in 2011 was followed by knee surgery to repair the tendon and an anterior cruciate ligament injury during his time at Sunderland.
Gordon battled through a lengthy rehab to reclaim his career at Celtic and, since then, he has rightly claimed a spot in the debate over the best goalkeeper in Scotland – and featured as No.1 for the national side.
An emotional return to Hearts in 2020 seemed the perfect way to close out a playing career that could have been curtailed almost a decade earlier. But Gordon hasn’t wound down since his return to Gorgie; in fact, if anything, he’s improved as he continued playing past his 39th birthday.
However, concerns have resurfaced over Gordon’s playing future this week after he suffered a horrific double leg-break after a collision with Dundee United’s Steven Fletcher.
Stretchered off in a leg brace, there were immediate worries his career could be over due to the seriousness of the injury – a far cry from the fairy-tale ending Gordon wants, and deserves, after his footballing journey.
“Why would he even think about packing it in?” was the reaction of former Scotland and Celtic manager Gordon Strachan. Gordon’s former manager is well-versed in the relentless attitude to career revival which the goalkeeper displayed before returning to the top level at Parkhead. And for Strachan – the matter of a double leg-break won’t be the end of Gordon’s career.
“You only pack in playing football when you’re no longer an influence. That’s when you go, ‘Oops! It’s time for me to call it a day’,” he told a national newspaper. “But if you ask every Hearts supporter or every player, ‘Who has been your most influential or significant player over the last couple of years?’, they’ll all say the same. It’s him. So you can’t just go from being the best keeper in Scotland one day, to never playing again the next just because of a broken leg.”
Gordon’s current manager at Hearts, Robbie Neilson, is similarly optimistic that the goalkeeper will again pull on the gloves for his boyhood club. “He’s probably the best player Hearts have ever produced, to be honest with you,” said Neilson. “He came through the academy, became an international, played at the very highest level and he’s also a great guy. He’s suffered a great blow, but I know what he’s like, he’ll be back stronger and fitter than ever.”
Gordon’s latest set-back might be his last under certain circumstances – but when it comes to a player who has shown the determination and spirit to come back from the brink of injury-induced retirement before, it would be of little surprise to see him back on the pitch.
Certainly, all Scottish football fans would support and welcome a comeback for the goalkeeper after a glittering career packed with jaw-dropping saves for club and country.
Gordon is living proof that serious problems can lead to major success – if you have the character to turn a disadvantage into personal improvement.
Focus rightly remains on Gordon’s own medical condition, but it raises a number of questions over the goalkeeping spot in Steve Clarke’s national team and also offers an opportunity at Hearts for Zander Clark. Signed in the summer, Clark has played back-up to Gordon at Tynecastle, but he will now aim to step up and perform to the sky-high standards of his injured team-mate.
Clark would appear a suitable back-up replacement for Gordon at Hearts, but there is more debate to be had in terms of who claims the position between the posts for Scotland.
Liam Kelly and Robby McCrorie were both in the most recent squad and Jon McLaughlin remains the probable favourite to start in goal under Clarke. But unlike Gordon, McLaughlin is not a dead-cert starter at club level and hasn’t truly displayed his quality in an error-ridden season. Team-mate McCrorie is further down the pecking order at Ibrox. Kelly is well-known for producing spectacular saves and will no doubt be in the conversation for Scotland – alongside Clark should he perform for Hearts.
One almost undisputed fact remains, however: Gordon is still the best Scottish goalkeeper – by a considerable distance.
