In the spring of 1928, the men of Motherwell Football Club packed their boots, their hopes, and their good suits into canvas trunks and boarded a ship bound for history.

They left the chill of Lanarkshire behind for the furnace of the southern hemisphere. Over six weeks, they travelled by ocean liner, steam train, tram and foot across Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. They played thirteen games, endured injuries, newspaper ridicule, and culture shock. They won admiration, silverware, and friendships. And in one unforgettable moment, they would run through the streets of Rio de Janeiro – mud-soaked, kit-clad, and desperate to catch the last ship home.

This was more than a tour. It was an epic. A tale of pride, pain, and amber glory beneath foreign skies.

A Departure in Claret and Class

April 20, 1928 – and the platform at Waterloo Station in London echoed with steam and expectation. A crowd gathered to wave off seventeen footballers, club officials, and their manager – John “Sailor” Hunter – one of Scottish football’s most respected minds.

The players were smartly turned out in club-issued three-piece suits, wool overcoats, and flat caps. The blazers bore the crest of Motherwell FC, stitched in gold thread. Inside their trunks were heavy leather boots, a few spare shirts, shaving kits – and the now-iconic matchday uniform of amber jerseys with a bold claret hoop, white shorts, and thick woollen socks with amber flashes.

Their destination was the port of Southampton, and from there, the RMS Almanzora, a Royal Mail liner that would carry them to the South American continent over 21 long days at sea.

On board, the Scots trained like soldiers. They jogged laps of the deck, swung medicine balls, and kept their touch with a football tethered to a rope to stop it flying into the Atlantic. Below decks, they swapped stories and played cards, the drone of engines and clink of dinnerware their nightly soundtrack.

Motherwell FC had just finished third in the Scottish First Division, with no borrowed players. This was a proud, tight-knit team – and they were heading into the unknown with boots polished and heads held high.

Arrival in Buenos Aires

When they stepped ashore in Argentina on May 10, the press was waiting. The locals were curious, respectful, but also sceptical. The South American public, fresh from watching their national sides excel at the Amsterdam Olympics, didn’t quite buy the idea of being “taught” football by visitors from a grey, distant land.

The Motherwell team was housed in a grand city hotel, likely one of the belle époque giants on Avenida de Mayo, where palm-lined courtyards and marble stairwells replaced the cold stone streets of Lanarkshire. Their hosts were gracious, but the schedule was relentless: games, training, appearances, dinners.

The first match came just three days after arrival. No time for excuses.

The Fall from Grace

May 13 – Buenos Aires
Combinado Capital 1–0 Motherwell

The opening fixture was against Combinado Capital – a selection of the city’s top players. River Plate’s Alvear y Tagle stadium was packed with over 35,000 spectators. Women waved parasols and men twirled white handkerchiefs, a local tradition mixing respect and bravado.

The pitch was hard and dusty. The sun was fierce. And Motherwell were sluggish.

In the 12th minute, a low cross skidded behind the defence and Sposito buried it. The Scots pressed for an equaliser, but the crowd’s whistles only grew louder. The hosts held firm.

The local headline the next day said it all: “Los Profesionales Fracasaron” – The Professionals Have Failed.

May 17 – Buenos Aires
Combinado Provincia 2–1 Motherwell

Next came a team drawn from Buenos Aires’ suburban clubs. Ferrier opened the scoring with a clipped finish, but the locals roared back with goals from Morgada and Baragnano. Morgada’s strike, a searing volley from outside the box, left McClory rooted.

Two games. Two defeats. The “masters” were wobbling.

May 20 – Sportivo Barracas
Combinado Capital 3–2 Motherwell

A rematch followed, in the rain. The pitch turned to mud, seemingly favouring the Scots. But again, the locals adapted quicker.

Stevenson and Maglio exchanged goals. Then came the turning point. With five minutes to go, Sposito – again – sliced through the defence and slid home the winner.

Three games, three defeats. And yet, the press did not gloat. They began to notice the structure, the teamwork, the flashes of brilliance. A nation that prided itself on flair was seeing something different.

The Turning Point

May 25 – Avellaneda
Liga Rosarina 3-4 Motherwell

The match took place at Independiente’s brand-new stadium, a marvel of concrete and steel. The streets outside were a quagmire. Locals joked that some officials had dumped manure instead of gravel out of political spite. Inside, 20,000 packed the terraces for a thrilling contest.

MacFadyen, now redeployed as a centre-forward, opened his tour tally with a poacher’s goal. Tennant added another. But the Rosarians struck back again and again.

With the score 3-3 and minutes remaining, MacFadyen scored again with a long-range shot, swerving wickedly, beating the goalkeeper’s outstretched arm.

A win. A breath. A turning tide.

June 2 – La Boca
Amateurs XI 0-3 Motherwell

On a rain-drenched pitch at Boca Juniors’ wooden stadium, Motherwell played with fury and grace.

The Argentine selection, thrown together and tactically naïve, were undone by movement and muscle. MacFadyen scored two: one from a solo sprint, another after a Ferrier cutback. Tennant added the third after a chaotic scramble.

The press was finally kind: “Táctica y Fuerza” – Tactics and Strength.

June 3 – River Plate
Rioplatense XI 0-3 Motherwell

The very next day, they faced a combined Argentine-Uruguayan side. Despite tired legs, Motherwell dominated. MacFadyen and Tennant struck again. The final goal, a precise daisy-cutter from MacFadyen, capped off the performance.

They were no longer visitors. They were respected rivals.

The Mid-Tour March

June 5 – Avellaneda
Combinado del Interior 1-4 Motherwell

The provincial players were fiery and ambitious, but the Scots had found their stride. Ferrier scored two with elegant finishes. MacFadyen and Stevenson added their names to the sheet. The rhythm of victory was now familiar.

June 7 – Rosario
Liga Rosarina 2–3 Motherwell

A rematch with Rosario and the stadium buzzed with tension.

Stevenson opened with a header. Keenan dribbled through three defenders for the second. McMurtrie added the third.

The locals fought back, but it finished 3-2. The handkerchiefs waved again, not in mockery this time, but in acknowledgment.

June 9 – Buenos Aires
Boca Juniors 2-0 Motherwell

The tour’s final Argentine fixture brought the Scots face-to-face with Boca’s full strength.

Boca were hard, direct, and dangerous. Penella and Kuko scored, the second after a whipped free-kick that ricocheted in a flurry of bodies.

Motherwell fought hard, but the better side won. Still, they walked off to polite applause.

Montevideo: The Uruguayan Chapter

June 10 – Montevideo
Peñarol 0-1 Motherwell

The Gran Parque Central was alive with drums and flags. Peñarol, champions of Uruguay, were fierce and organised.

But Stevenson, ever the artist, lofted a curling pass into Tennant’s stride in the 65th minute. One touch. One goal.

The defence held. McClory made two brave saves in the dying minutes. A famous win.

June 14 –  Montevideo
Peñarol 2-1 Motherwell

A rematch at Estacion Pocitos – Peñarol struck twice early. Suffiotti’s second was a screamer from the edge of the area.

Motherwell pulled one back through Stevenson, but the comeback ran out of time.

Rio de Janeiro: The Final Act

June 21 – Estadio das Laranjeiras
Combinado Carioca 1-1 Motherwell

The humidity in Rio was suffocating. The ball moved quickly, the locals even quicker.

Oswaldinho scored early with a flicked finish. Tennant responded with a delicate chip over the keeper after Stevenson’s pinpoint pass.

The match ended level, and the crowd showed their appreciation.

June 24 – Rio de Janeiro
Scratch Brasileiro 5-0 Motherwell

The final test was a brutal one. The best of São Paulo and Rio played like a symphony of speed and precision.

Feitico scored four—one an audacious backheel, another a bending shot that drew gasps. De Maria added a fifth.

Injuries had left Motherwell down to nine men on the field. They held on as long as they could – but when the whistle finally blew, the Steelmen had lost 5-0.

The Final Dash

But there was no time for regrets. The Almanzora was preparing to leave.

Still in their amber and claret kits, boots squelching, the players ran from the stadium through Rio’s cobbled streets. Past café windows, trams, startled pedestrians. They ran not for glory, but for home.

They reached the port just as the gangway began to rise. Breathless, laughing, mud-streaked – they clambered aboard.

The ship steamed off as the lights of Rio faded behind them.

Legacy

• 13 matches
• 6 wins • 1 draw • 6 defeats
• 28 goals scored • 25 conceded

Motherwell lifted the Copa Argentina and was awarded the Banco Popular do Brazil sponsor’s trophy.

William MacFadyen scored nine goals and redefined himself as a centre-forward.
George Stevenson was a creative metronome.
Bob Ferrier dazzled on the left wing,
Alan McClory, tall as a lighthouse, guarded the net with stoic brilliance.

The Steelmen left not with a perfect record, but with something more precious – respect. From jeers to cheers, from mockery to admiration, they had earned every handshake.

Final Thoughts

They came expecting to be teachers, but they became students, rivals, and ultimately legends.

In every tackle, every pass, every long train journey under starlight, a new line was written into football’s story. The 1928 Motherwell tour wasn’t just about sport. It was about courage, culture, and connection.

VENUE	DATE	TEAM	RES	I	C	SCORERS
Estadio Alvear y Tagle (River Plate FC, Buenos Aires)	13 May ‘28	Combinado Capital (combined team of 1st Div clubs based within city limits of Buenos Aires)	0-1			J. Sposito (12th). 35,000
Estadio Alvear y Tagle (River Plate FC, Buenos Aires)	17 May ‘28	Combinado Provincia (combined team of 1st Div clubs based in the periphery of the city of Buenos Aires)	1-2			I. Morgada (4th), M. Baragnano (69th); Ferrier 36th. 30,000
Estadio Sportivo Barracas (Buenos Aires)	20 May ‘28	Combinado Capital	2-3			J.Maglio (19th), P. Marasi (25th), J. Sposito (81st); MacFadyen (41st), Keenan (75th). 15,000
Estadio Alsina y Cordero (Independiente FC, Avellaneda, Buenos Aires)	25 May ‘28	Liga Rosarina (combined team of Rosario league players)	4-3			L. Indaco (4th), F. Bussolini (36th), A. Peruch (75th); MacFadyen (14th, 61st, 81st), Stevenson (77th). 20,000
Estadio Brandsen y Del Crucero (Boca Juniors FC, Buenos Aires)	2 June ‘28	Combinado Asociacion Amateurs Argentina	3-0			MacFadyen (4th, 71st) H. Recanatini (og 77th). 5,000
Estadio Alvear y Tagle (River Plate FC, Buenos Aires)	3 June ‘28	Combinado Rioplatense (combined team of Argentine/Uruguayan players)	3-0			MacFadyen (10th, 65th), Tennant (32nd). 25,000
Estadio Alsina y Colon (Racing Club FC Avellaneda, Buenos Aires)	5 June ‘28	Combinado del Interior	4-1			B. Ferreyra (89th); MacFadyen (13th, 26th), Ferrier (86th, 88th). 5,000
Estadio Parque Independencia (Newell’s Old Boys FC, Rosario, Buenos Aires)	7 June ‘28	Liga Rosaria (Rosarina)	3-2			F. Bussolini (60th), M. Morosano (62nd); Stevenson (17th, 64th), McMurtie (71st). 15,000
Brandsen y Del Crucero (Boca Juniors FC, Buenos Aires)	9 June ‘28	Boca Juniors	0-2			D. Penella (12th), J. Kuko (40th). 15,000
Estadio Gran Parque Central (National FC, Montevideo, Uruguay)	10 June ‘28	Penerol (Uruguay)	1-0			Tennant (55th). 15,000
Estadio Estacion Pocitos (Penarol FC, Montevideo, Uruguay)	14 June ‘28	Penarol (Uruguay)	1-2			Suffiotti (13th, 70th); Stevenson (80th). 10,000
Estadio das Laranjeiras (Fluminense FC, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)	21 June ‘28	Combinado Carioca (combined players from the Carioca League Rio de Janeiro)	1-1			Oswaldinho (83rd), Tennant (76th). 20,000
Estadio das Laranjeiras (Fluminense FC, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)	24 June ‘28	Scratch Brasileno (combined players from Rio de Janeiro & Sao Paulo leagues)	0-5			Feitico (10th, 25th, 80th, 86th), De Maria (60th). 20,000

With special thanks to Pablo Ciullini who provided invaluable research.