ALEXANDER WATSON HUTTON: THE SCOTTISH FATHER OF ARGENTINE FOOTBALL

Argentina has given the world of football two of the greatest exponents of the beautiful game in Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, as well as historic, mystical, crumbling stadia; a colorful and noisy ticker-tape wielding fan culture which frequently straddles both sides of the law.

South American football, often overlooked, is possibly the greatest treasure of all; for all of this, a significant tribute is owed to a man from Glasgow's working-class Gorbals.

Alexander Watson Hutton was born in June 1853 and later studied philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with honors.He migrated to Argentina in 1882 and built the Buenos Aires English High School (BAEHS), a bilingual institution with physical education as a fundamental component of the curriculum.

Watson Hutton was far from alone as a foreigner in a strange nation, as immigration transformed Argentina in the late nineteenth century. Following its independence in 1816, Argentina's government aspired to populate the vast, thinly populated country with "enlightened" people - a term for white Europeans. Although the majority of the daring arrivals came from Italy and, to a lesser measure, Spain, the British population was estimated to be 45,000 in 1890. The British established businesses, hospitals, newspapers, and English-language educational institutions, and Watson Hutton was a part of this community.

Watson Hutton was critically important in establishing the Argentine Association Football League (AAFL) in 1893, with five teams vying for the inaugural title. In October 1898, he formed a squad of former BAEHS pupils and entered it into the league. When school names were prohibited from also serving as team names - considered a form of advertisement - the team was renamed Alumni Athletic Club in 1901, and a legend was formed.

Watson Hutton's club dominated the first decade of Argentine football, winning 10 of the first 12 league titles of the twentieth century, with only two interruptions from fierce rivals Belgrano Athletic Club.The team embodied all of the characteristics associated with British players at the time: they played as a unit, were fair and gentlemanly in their conduct, and were energetic and muscular. They did, however, appeal to the fans and were known for their lively and ultimately successful style of football.

Arnoldo, born in Buenos Aires in 1887, was his other contribution to the Argentine game. The 15-year-old made his Alumni debut in 1902 and went on to become the league's best scorer in 1910, earning him an international call-up from Argentina.

While Alumni swept all before them, the cinco grandes - Boca Juniors, River Plate, Independiente, Racing Club, and San Lorenzo - were in their infancy, all of them founded in some way by immigrants. Football, the worldwide language, has formed a relationship for these people, giving them a new sense of belonging hundreds of miles away from their origins. Their new team's colors became their national flag, and their barrio became the new region to defend and support.

Although the game was introduced to Argentina by the British, the criollo and immigrant populations would eventually gain dominance and eventually take over the game in South America's second-largest country.

In 1912, the regulations were changed from English to Spanish, and the Argentine Football Association (AFA) was hispanicized. As the game grew among the rising immigrant and Argentine-born populations, the names of great clubs and players became increasingly Latin, and the British influence disappeared.

Alumni was officially dissolved in April 1913, two years after its last match, due to a variety of issues, some of which were financial in nature. Racing became the first criollo-created Argentine champion the same year, completing the takeover and signaling the end of the British era. The other four members of the big give would follow Racing in winning their first league championships during the next decade.

Alexander Watson Hutton died in 1936, just as Argentina's new professional era was in full swing, with packed stadiums, goal-fests, and free-flowing football. This decade is associated with the romantic notion of La Nuestra, a moment when Argentine football finally developed its own identity.

Given the hazardous status of Scottish football today, it's ironic that a man from Glasgow's Gorbals is credited with introducing the sport to Argentina. Watson Hutton, widely regarded as the father of Argentine football, is buried in the British Cemetery in Chacarita, Buenos Aires. His impact to Argentine and, to a lesser extent, world football cannot be overstated.

He paved the way for the likes of Messi and Maradona. That is the most magnificent legacy anyone could hope for.

The fact that Alumni, despite being out of existence for more than a century, are now the fifth most decorated Argentine club, demonstrates their, and ultimately his, great achievement and enduring influence.