Hampden limelight awaits 17y/o wonderkid but Scotland fans don't want another 'I was there' moment

It won’t get to the stage where even Scotland fans are cheering him, as happened when a teenager called Diego Maradona made such an explosive impact at Hampden Park over 45 years ago.

There is too much riding on the line for that. Scotland host Greece on Sunday evening in the second leg of a Nations League play-off tie where they already hold a slender 1-0 lead. Their hopes of retaining elite status in League A of the competition might be undermined by one of the hottest properties in European football.

Having waved off Ronaldo and Luka Modric for perhaps the last-ever time at Hampden at the end of last year, are Scotland fans about to be properly introduced to a coming star? They caught some glimpses on Thursday when a 17-year-old called Konstantinos Karetsas came on at half-time and changed the flow of the game from right midfield. Not only could he start the second leg, there is talk of him being handed the No.10 role, which says it all considering the fixture is such a significant match.

Up and coming Greece star Konstantinos Karetsas trains at Hampden Park on the eve of the Nations League play-off second leg match against Scotland. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group

It isn’t quite winner-takes-all. In terms of Scotland, who would be happy with a draw, ‘taking all’ means simply continuing life in League A of the Nations League. Greece will receive a more obvious reward if they can overturn Scotland’s slim advantage: jumping up to a place among Europe's finest.

It seems incumbent to note they once sat at the very head of this table when clinching the Euro 2004 title. Karetsas is central to hopes they might return to such a lofty place. Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are among those reportedly fighting over the Genk midfielder’s signature.

He has already made one big career decision by choosing Greece over Belgium. This supremely welcome news was communicated to the Hellenic Football Federation last month.

He explained that, although he was born and brought up in Belgium, “my heart feels Greek” because both his parents were born there. This isn’t the story of someone switching nationality for self-serving reasons. As it stands, Belgium, for whom Karetsas played for several age-group teams, including the Under-21 side as recently as late last year, might be considered a better bet on the international stage. There is some dismay in the country of his birth. One Belgian journalist was even detailed to head to Greece last week to see how he fared.

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke during a training session at the City Stadium, Glasgow, on Saturday, March 22. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group / SFA

The player's father, Vaios, left Serres in northern Greece to work in a mine in Belgium. Karetsas joined the Genk academy and played for several under-age teams before leaving for Anderlecht. He returned to Genk two years ago because he felt he was more likely to make a first-team breakthrough at a club known for blooding youngsters and where he grew up nearby.

The teenager announced himself in some style on Thursday night when he replaced Giorgos Masouras after half-time to spark a Greek revival that the Scots did well to repel. He certainly looks to be living up to the hype. While no one is saying Hampden will again be the scene of a breakthrough moment for a world talent, as was the case in the summer of 1979 when Maradona scored his first international goal for Argentina in a 3-1 win, there’s enough evidence to suggest Karetsas will be a very special player indeed.

Pat Nevin, the former Scotland winger, says he has rarely seen someone leave such an immediate impression at such a young age in international football. It was obvious that even his older teammates were immediately looking to find the young talent with the ball after he came on. “And that doesn’t normally happen at international level, believe me,” Nevin told this writer in Greece.

Karetsas was once again a focus of attention at both pre-match press conferences on Saturday. Greece manager Ivan Jovanovic was pressed on whether the teenager will be handed his first start having already become the youngest-ever player to play for Greece on Thursday. He said it was too early to say. “Ask me tomorrow!”

Clarke, meanwhile, was asked how he was thinking of stopping him. “Obviously, you have a young 17-year-old with that talent,” he said. “He chooses not to play with Belgium, where he played all his underage football, and he’s gone back,” said the Scotland manager.

“He gave the crowd a lift. Certainly, his first couple of touches on the ball made everyone aware that he's a good player. If he plays tomorrow, then hopefully we have the players on the pitch who can deal with it.”

It didn’t seem like they had the players on the pitch initially in Piraeus, when Karetsas made such an eye-opening introduction following half-time. The coming man was up against Andy Robertson, who the previous evening had given such a forceful answer when asked about his future at Liverpool amid constant speculation about the club signing his left-back replacement.

Konstantinos Karetsas in action for Greece during the Nations League play-off first leg against Scotland. (Photo by MENELAOS MYRILLAS/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images) | SOOC/AFP via Getty Images

The last thing he needed with his own age and powers under scrutiny was to have Karetsas running at him. The teenager whipped in a dangerous cross just minutes after coming on that was knocked against the post by Christos Tzolis. "We were there open-mouthed in awe, " a Greek journalist told me as we watched the teenager train at Hampden Park on Saturday evening with his new teammates.

If anything, Karetsas looked younger than his 17 years. He is, though, being primed for greatness. A Scotland defence that has been unchanged for the last four games will be on guard, with Robertson set to be joined by right-back Anthony Ralston and centre-halves John Souttar and Grant Hanley for the fifth successive match. Kieran Tierney could be deployed at left midfield - he came on with 15 minutes left in Greece to help deal with the rampaging teenager. Such an attempt to double-up on the left would be moot if Karetsas plays in the hole behind the striker.

Scotland fans, meanwhile, do not want another ‘I was there’ moment to rival those who still talk about the afternoon Maradona came to Hampden to score the first of 41 international goals. As with Karetsas, he had served notice with a scintillating second-half performance a few days earlier against Republic of Ireland, after being sent on at half-time. Maradona fulfilled a promise and then some. It remains to be seen whether Karetsas can.