The RIP thread...

Dave MacKay, Scotland, Hearts, Spurs, Derby legend. RIP.

"The night before Scotland played Spain in 1963, a talented squad sat in the Bernabéu watching Spain's training session. After 10 minutes they were looking at each other in disbelief and ruefully muttering expletives.

The target of their cursing was a move being practised by Juventus's Luis del Sol, who hit five corners in succession with the outside of his foot. Each cross was met by Real Madrid's great winger Francisco Gento, who ran into the box as fast as the Road Runner, dived forward, executed a perfect hand-spring and belted the ball past the goalkeeper with both his heels. They knew the Scotland players were watching and put on a show of such discipline, skill and arrogance that the Scots assumed, according to Frank McLintock, that it was "largely to make us crap our pants".

An hour before kick-off the following day, both teams were milling around on the pitch when Jim Baxter decided to show them not all British footballers were clod-kicking mugs. "We all knew Dave Mackay's party piece," says McLintock, "and Baxter decided now was the right time to unveil it. Jim called over to his injured captain and shouted, 'Hey Marquis, see if you can catch this!'"

With that he tossed a coin 15 feet up in the air and Mackay thrust out his right leg, bent at the knee, and caught the coin on his toe. He stood there for a second then flipped it back up in the air, caught it on his forehead, knocked it back up and caught it in his left eye socket then rolled it down his shoulder into his open blazer pocket and waltzed off back to the dressing room to thunderous applause. Scotland won the match 6-2, a victory put down to Mackay's ability to fight Spain's psychological warfare in kind".

• Rob Bagchi