Hearts legend named alongside Champions League winners in best international XI

Former Hearts and Rangers goalkeeper Antti Niemi has named his greatest XI in a list of star names from throughout his career. The 52-year-old enjoyed spells in his native Finland, Denmark, Scotland and England and also represented his country 67 times. He sifted through his old team-mates to select his best team, and one man from Tynecastle made the line-up.

Craig Gordon, now 42 and still Hearts’ No.1 goalkeeper in his second spell with the club, was chosen in goal by Niemi. He joins Champions League winners like Jari Litmanen and Sami Hyypia, plus the Dutch World Cup stars Arthurn Numan and Giovanni van Bronckhorst, in the Finn’s best team.

Niemi was a popular and consistent performer for Hearts between 1999 and 2002 just as Gordon was emerging from the club’s youth academy. He remembers the youthful protégé well and has followed his career since - from Hearts to Sunderland to Celtic and back to Gorgie, including countless Champions League and international matches. Gordon is a legendary figure at Tynecastle having won the 2006 Scottish Cup with Hearts.

“An up and coming young keeper when I was at Hearts. He was mentally strong and trained hard,” said Niemi in an interview with the football magazine Four Four Two. “It was obvious he had talent. Craig suffered a fair share of injuries but the saves he pulled off at his peak was unbelievable.”

Gordon is still producing remarkable stops on a regular basis for club and country. He expected to be named in the Scotland squad for this month’s Nations League play-off against Greece. Since recovering from a double leg break and regaining full fitness early in 2024, he has regained the No.1 position at Tynecastle from fellow Scotland internationalist Zander Clark.

Contract talks at Hearts with several players due to be free when the transfer window opens

Gordon is out of contract at the end of the season and it remains to be seen if he will agree a new deal to prolong his career. Clark extended his contract in January, signing an agreement to stay in Edinburgh until 2027. That has cast some doubt over Gordon’s long-term future but a final decision has not been made. Hearts are keen to keep both men, although it will be left to Gordon to choose if he wants to play for another year.

Tentative talks over an extension have yet to be followed up and Gordon has been coy when asked about the subject. “It's too early for that,” he remarked back in January. “We'll have a discussion over the next few months but at the moment I'm just happy to be doing everything I can to improve our situation as a club.”

Also out of contract at Hearts this summer are captain Lawrence Shankland, winger Barrie McKay and midfielder Jorge Grant. Talks are due to take place with all three players over the coming weeks. Shankland spoke to the Edinburgh News last week to convey his thoughts on his future.

“I've never said that I wouldn't stay,” he said. “They offered me a contract in January 2024, so that's a long time ago. We've not really spoken about it since and we've just got on with things. At the time, the club and myself were comfortable with the situation going forward and whatever happens, happens. We'll see. It's at that point - there's nothing too deep about it. We'll just see what happens going forward.”

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