The Edinburgh teacher who introduced football to…

The Edinburgh teacher who introduced football to Argentina in the 1800s

The footballing world rejoiced as Lionel Messi lifted his first World Cup aloft after an enthralling final with previous winners France, but the country of Argentina may have an Edinburgh teacher to thank for their moment of glory.

Alexander Watson Hutton, known as “The Father of Argentine football”, is the man credited with bringing the beautiful game to their South American shores back in the 1800s.

Born in the Gorbals in Glasgow, Watson Hutton moved to Edinburgh after the death of both of his parents. He was educated at Daniel Stewart’s College, now Stewart’s Melville, where he would go on to teach later in life.

Following independence from Spain in 1818, Argentina was keen to welcome white Europeans into their country to fill the vast and sparsely populated country.

Watson Hutton was one of the many Scots who made the voyage to pastures new, taking up a post in the St Andrew’s school in Buenos Aires.

Armed with a degree in philosophy, he had big ideas about how to implement physical exercise into the curriculum, and quickly got to work in putting football at the forefront.

After opening his own English language school in the Argentine capital, Watson Hutton brought the very first footballs into the country in 1886, received from a ship that travelled from Liverpool.

Seeing his students fall in love with the sport only spurred the Scot on, leading him to form the Argentine Association Football League in 1893, where he spearheaded a team of alumni from his school.

Watson Hutton’s side would go on to the most dominant of their era, winning a total of 22 titles both domestically and in continental competition.

In 1902, Argentina played their first ever official international match with neighbouring Uruguay, with five members of the Scot’s team making the starting 11, the majority of whom were Scottish born or had Scottish parents.

Names like Buchanan, Leslie and Duggan took gto the field as La Selección ran out 6-0 winners, adopting a similarly silky style of play to the one Watson Hutton introduced at a club level.

The Alumni team was dissolved in 1911, sending the teacher into retirement, before he passed away at the age of 82 in 1936.

Scotland’s great affiliation with Argentina continues to this day, with Brighton midfielder Alexis Mac Allister – whose family roots trace back to Fife – grabbing an assist for his side’s second goal in their stunning World Cup win on Sunday.

Although Argentina is now one of the countries most synonymous with the sport, some of Watson Hutton’s colleagues though the Scot was mad for having children run around chasing a leather ball in the searing heat.

Without him though, there may have been no Messi, no Maradona, and no magic for the millions of Argentinians who celebrated their country’s third World Cup title in the most dizzyingly dramatic fashion.

While all the plaudits will go to Lionel Messi, the little boy from Rosario, those World Cup winners have an Edinburgh teacher from the Gorbals to say gracias to as well.