Fresh from winning the FIFA World Cup last summer, Argentina head into this year’s CONMEBOL Copa America Final looking to clinch a memorable double.
Inspired by their iconic captain and talisman, Lionel Messi, this team’s place in the history books is already cemented.
As is the contribution of the Scotsman who, literally, got the ball rolling in Argentina.
Alexander Watson Hutton is known as ‘the father of Argentine football’, after the Glasgow-born teacher founded their national association in 1893 – South America’s first proper national football association.
Current AFA president Claudio Fabian Tapia paid tribute to the trailblazer last year – putting him on the same pedestal as legendary pair Diego Maradona and Messi.
He said: “In Argentina, today’s hero is Lionel Messi and previously it was Diego Maradona.
“But the real hero of Argentinean football is Alexander Watson Hutton.
“He is the Scotsman who founded football 130 years ago in this country.
“We are in a good place. We are World Champions again and have just played the greatest World Cup Final in history, but it all stems from Watson Hutton and his friends 130 years ago.
“He would not have known it at the time, but the Scotsman helped discover the highest collective cultural expression as a country and by far the most popular pastime for the people here.
“His legacy is we continue to improve and modernise football. We are going to do that with time, with great maturity and responsibility.
“We fulfilled a dream by winning the World Cup again, but we are going for more. And it all started in 1893 in Buenos Aires.”
To mark the 130th anniversary of the foundation of the AFA – and pay tribute to Watson Hutton – adidas unveiled the Argentum 1893 match-ball, which was used domestically in the Copa de la Liga Profesional and by the national team.
Thanks to adidas, we brought the ball back to the southside of Glasgow.
“In Argentina, today’s hero is Lionel Messi and previously it was Diego Maradona. But the real hero of Argentinean football is Alexander Watson Hutton.”
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) July 14, 2024
@adidasfootball’s 'Argentum 1883' match-ball honours the Scot who kicked-off a national obsession: https://t.co/ecHjNsBa4M pic.twitter.com/rgneXGeBV6
The Argentum 1893
The beautifully-designed adidas ball marked 130 years of the AFA and was the first to feature three stars for their three World Cup titles.
Alexander Watson Hutton’s story is told in part by the illustrations embedded in the saltire – featuring a ship, map of South America, image of a school, football pitch, leather football and an inscription that reads ‘padre del futbol Argentina’ (‘father of Argentine football’).
Alexander Watson Hutton
The ‘father of Argentinean football’ was born just two miles from Hampden Park, at Eglinton Street in the Gorbals, on 10 June 1853.
Orphaned at an early age, he was educated in Edinburgh – graduating with an MA in Philosophy before taking on a teaching post at George Watson’s College.
In 1882, he emigrated to Argentina to become rector of St Andrew’s Scots School in Buenos Aires, which was established by a group of Scottish settlers in 1838 and still exists today.
Two years later, Watson Hutton founded the Buenos Aires English High School, which hosted Argentina’s first football pitch.
Notes on the history of the school recalled: “The founder – passionate about football – taught his students how to play the game by taking part in matches that the college played against other schools.”
He was passionate about the importance of exercise, and the power of football – at a time when rugby was the dominant sport amongst expats.
Watson Hutton is credited with having arranged delivery of the first footballs to hit Argentine soil and, in 1891, helped set up the Argentine Association Football League – the first official championship based outside of the UK.
St Andrew’s, with a team made up entirely of Scots, were crowned champions of the initial five-team setup.
Financial constraints led to the league folding at the end of that campaign but, undeterred, Watson Hutton relaunched it in 1893 as president.
The new-look body is regarded as South America’s first national football association and inspired the present-day AFA.
He passed away in 1936, but his legacy lives on and, in 1962, the AFA library was named after him.
The Scottish Football Museum
You can learn more about Alexander Watson Hutton’s story at the Scottish Football Museum, which is based at Hampden Park.
He features in ‘The History Makers’ exhibition, alongside a special plaque that was presented to the Scottish FA by Argentina’s Radio Rivadavia ahead of a match between both nations in 1977.
It notes the contribution he made to the Argentine game, including the later formation of Alumni FC – Argentina’s first great football club.
The History Makers exhibition runs until October 2024.
Football’s Square Mile
The Hampden Collection unveiled the world’s biggest open-air football museum back in June 2021 – Football’s Square Mile.
Regarded as ‘the most important football heritage site on the planet’, the 21 stops on the tour include 29 Eglinton Street – the birthplace of Alexandr Watson Hutton.
Our next stop on 2024's #WeekofFootball is Football's Square Mile.
— Scottish FA (@ScottishFA) May 23, 2024
We're delighted to congratulate @Hampdeners on the official demarcation and opening of the world’s biggest open-air football museum – Football’s Square Mile.#GetOutsideGetInvolved