The first players in Derby County’s history to appear at the FIFA World Cup were Bruce Rioch and Don Masson exactly 44 years ago today.
The pair turned out for Scotland in their opening Group 4 game against Peru on 3rd June 1978 to become the first players in the club’s illustrious history to feature at the finals.
The 1978 tournament was held in Argentina and Rioch, who captained Scotland, and Masson played 75 minutes of the Tartan Army’s 3-1 defeat against Peru before being replaced.
The loss was inflicted despite Ally MacLeod’s side taking the lead early on and Masson, unfortunately, had a penalty well saved by Ramon Quiroga in the second half with the scoreline at 1-1 after Rioch had been fouled in the penalty box.
Neither player featured in the 1-1 draw against Iran four days later, but Rioch was back in the starting line-up, once again wearing the captain’s armband, for the final group clash against the Netherlands on 11th June.
Scotland knew they needed to win the game and hope that Peru lost to Iran in order to qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament.
Rioch was restored to the starting line-up as Scotland registered a memorable 3-2 victory, with former Rams midfielder Archie Gemmill scoring twice.
Peru, however, thrashed Iran 4-1 and the therefore left Scotland in third place, on goal difference, after three games and quickly on their way back home.
Rioch, a midfielder by trade, joined Derby from Aston Villa in 1974 and after two seasons he moved to Everton, but he returned to the Baseball Ground for a second spell between 1977 and 1979. In total he made 184 appearances for Derby and found the net on 54 occasions.
He won two major honours whilst on the books with the Rams, the 1974/75 First Division title and the 1975 Charity Shield.
Midfielder Masson’s time at Derby was short by comparation.
He spent the 1977/78 season with the Rams after signing from Queens Park Rangers and made 23 appearances in the league, scoring once. Masson departed the Baseball Ground to move across the A52 to Notts County, where he enjoyed a fine spell in the late 1960s and early 1970s, for the second time in his career.
Rioch claimed 24 caps for Scotland and scored six times, while Masson recorded a respectable five goals from 17 international outings.
