Alistair Johnston feared he was waking up to the worst news possible when he saw his phone flooded with unexpected messages from family and friends.
It was only when the Celtic right-back started opening them that he discovered they were actually the best. FIFA’s Best, to be precise, with Johnston last week being included on the long list of nominees for the world governing body’s team of the year which will be announced at a glittering ceremony in January.
The 26-year-old found himself in contention for a defensive slot in the Best XI along with luminaries such as German star Mats Hummels, Arsenal’s Brazilian stopper Gabriel and Ruben Dias of Manchester City. Johnston is understandably thrilled by the honour which recognises his outstanding 2024 for both club and country. But the Canadian international admits to a period of panic before he finally realised why his phone became so red hot.
“I wasn’t notified directly by FIFA about it,” said Johnston. “I just woke up and I had messages from people that don’t normally message me.
“My aunts, uncles. I thought ‘what in the world’s going on?’ I thought something had happened. And obviously you think the worst.
“You’re waking up and you click on a photo and then you see, oh, you’re on a long list for a Best Eleven. And you’re like, ‘okay, well that was…’ the heartbeat slowed down a little bit there because I was actually fearing the worst!’.
“But no, it’s a weird thing. You would think that maybe they’d call your agent and pass it through the grapevine a little bit. But no, it’s right on social media. And that’s how you kind of find out. It’s funny. It’s a great accolade.
“It was something I wasn’t expecting but obviously a pleasant surprise. You look at the list of players that are on that, it’s a pretty special list.
“To think that I’m even a name that was thought of for that was obviously a nice honour for myself. And again, you don’t really play for the personal awards. Obviously, we always play for the trophies in the team aspect.
“So this is one that I think is more important for my dad and my family back home. He’ll be probably dropping that one on trivia night at the pub!
“So, it’s good that he’ll have that one in the back pocket. But yeah, it was a pretty cool thing to wake up to one morning to see that. It was a very good calendar year for myself. Both off the field and on the field. So no, it is nice to get some recognition for that.
“But at the same time, I’m not really too worried about those kind of things. We’re just focused on, again, the next match, lifting trophies here. Those kind of things go hand in hand.
“It’s what I’ve learned since I’ve been here. You just focus on doing the little things right and being a good professional. Then you might end up falling into a list like that somehow. So it was a nice little touch.”
Johnston expected to receive some light-hearted ribbing from his Celtic team-mates about the nomination but instead found them sincerely sharing in his delight. “I didn’t get any stick, they were all congratulating me,” he said. “Kasper Schmeichel was the one who was like, ‘do you realise how big this is?’. I was like, ‘it’s a good list for sure’ and he said ‘no, that’s unbelievable’. The guys have all been great with that.
“I don’t think we get a ton of acclaim up here and a ton of, you know, what would it be, worldwide kind of press up in Scotland. Often times we’re a little bit in the shadow of probably down south. So it’s nice to get a little bit of acclaim up here in Scotland just to remind people that there are some very, very good players up here and that we shouldn’t be forgotten about.
“That’s something that this list will hopefully help remind people. It’s great for Scottish football and myself.”
Johnston will cross swords with one of his international team-mates today when Hibs are the visitors to Celtic Park. Junior Hoilett has been one of the better performers in a difficult season for David Gray’s men and Johnston is wary of the threat posed by the 34-year-old winger.
“He’s a great player,” said Johnston. “It’s funny, I was actually talking to him at our last international camp about Hibs and how they struggled at the beginning of the year.
“And him and I both agree that they have quality in that team. There’s no doubt about that.
“He told me that they were feeling a bit of the pressure now and it was going to be big pressure when they came out of that international window to put results together, or there were going to be some serious questions asked. That goes to show that they are a strong team.
“When the pressure’s on, that’s when the real men need to show up and they’ve done that over the past couple of weeks Junior has been at the forefront of it. He’s an unbelievable footballer. Obviously he doesn’t maybe have the legs that he used to have from five years ago or so but in tight spaces he’s a joyous footballer.
“He gave me a right doing in the Scottish Cup semi-final when he was with Aberdeen last year. So he hasn’t let me live that one down and I haven’t forgotten it either!
“But no, he’s a top player and whenever we play small-sided games at national team training, he’s one of the first picks. He’s so good in his space. So he’s someone that we’re going to have to really be aware of, especially if Hibs play him in between the lines, which we might see.”