Jambos ready to bid farewell to their cup-winning heroes

Published on Saturday 4 May 2002 01:00

NOSTALGIA will be thick in the air at Tynecastle tomorrow as Hearts’ Scottish Cup heroes of 1998 gather for a special commemorative evening.

The occasion has been organised by the Federation of Hearts Supporters Clubs as a special thank-you to Thomas Flogel and Stephane Adam, who will be leaving the club in the summer.

The pair were key members of the team which defeated Rangers 2-1 at Celtic Park four years ago, Adam earning himself a place in Gorgie folklore with his winning strike.

Flogel believes he will never again experience anything like that afternoon in May, despite the prospect of winning the championship with Austria Vienna next season. The 30-year-old Austrian internationalist will head home following next weekend’s final game of the season against Livingston after finding his former team’s contract offer too tempting as he reached the end of his deal in Gorgie.

Hearts simply could not meet the cash on offer as they successfully cut costs at Tynecastle and Flogel will leave Edinburgh after five years with a heavy heart, admitting the Jambos gave him the best time of his career.

However, he knows it is simply the way of modern-day football to move on and he will relish the new challenge of trying to steer Vienna to the championship, something he was never able to do in Scotland because of the Old Firm’s dominance of the game north of the border.

Speaking as he helped open the new Hearts superstore at the ground earlier this week, Flogel said: "It’s a sad thing for me because I really enjoyed it here. I loved the club and the city and I settled down really well here.

"I always said I would rather stay here than go back home but that’s the nature of the business.

"I have to look after myself and my family and I have an 18-month-old son that my family don’t know well, so there are some good reasons why I’m going home. Now I’m going back I’m looking forward to it. I feel as if I have to prove myself and hopefully we can win something there.

"We’re getting a new team and we want to win the championship. It’s good to know that we can win the championship.

"It’s a little bit strange here because everybody other than Celtic and Rangers is looking for third place and third place would be the same as the championship.

"But I never minded that. The first season we won the cup and the league run was tremendous. I won so many championships in Austria but nothing compares to that."

All that remains is for the only two teams of his career to meet on European business.

He added: "That would be great if we could meet each other one time, but there’s not a lot of time left for me to see that happen!"

With the exit of Flogel and Adam, midfielder Steve Fulton is the only survivor from the squad from that historic day in the east end of Glasgow - and his future is currently shrouded in uncertainty.

All squad members have been invited tomorrow, with the only absentees likely to be Paul Ritchie, who is on holiday in Dubai, and Gilles Rousset, who has business commitments in France.

The likes of Stefano Salvatori, Jose Quitongo and John Robertson as well as former boss Jim Jefferies and his assistant Billy Brown will be among the special guests at the farewell function which will also be attended by current manager Craig Levein.

The board of directors at the time of the cup win have also been invited, with Colin Wilson flying in from Spain.

"When it became clear that Stephane and Thomas would be leaving the club at the end of the season, we decided to arrange a presentation for them," said John Borthwick, secretary of the Federation.

"We thought it would be a good idea to try to reunite as many of the cup-winning squad as possible and the response has been overwhelming with a number of people travelling quite a distance to make the night."

THE Federation of Hearts Supporters Clubs has also organised a sportsman’s dinner in aid of youth development for Friday, May 10.

George McNeill and John Gahagan will be the speakers on the night in the Gorgie Suite, while there will also be a sporting forum involving Craig Levein, Eamonn Bannon, Lawrie Reilly, Alan Gordon and John Haggart.

Partners are welcome and tickets costing 10 are available from Robin Beith (01875 810604).