International Career
Ferguson made twelve appearances for Scotland's under-21 team. He made his full international debut at the age of 20 against Lithuania on 5 September 1998. However, an injury-plagued season prevented him from picking up more caps. Indeed, Ferguson did not return to the Scotland set up until a year later, starting in a 2–1 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina on 4 September 1999.
Ferguson played alongside Craig Burley in both legs of Scotland's Euro 2000 play-off aggregate defeat to England. He was appointed captain of the national side in 2004 by then-manager Berti Vogts, following the retirement of Paul Lambert.
Ferguson captained Scotland a total of 28 times. He led the side to a single-goal victory over former World Champions France 1–0 at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 12 September 2007. This completed a double-header of 1–0 wins against the French during the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.
Ferguson has received criticism for being a disruptive influence on the team despite captaining his country for years. On 3 April 2009, he was banned from ever representing Scotland again after serious breaches of squad discipline, and the captain's armband was given to Darren Fletcher. Additionally, his club, Rangers, stripped Ferguson of his captain's role and suspended him for two weeks without pay.
Following the dismissal of George Burley as manager of Scotland, SFA chief executive Gordon Smith confirmed that the incoming manager would be free to select Ferguson should he so wish. On 6 July 2010, Scotland coach Craig Levein confirmed that Ferguson will not play for Scotland again. Levein had hoped he would return, but Ferguson informed him that he wanted to focus on club football instead.
Read more about this topic: Barry Ferguson
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