Politicians – and millions of voters – complain about the increase in immigration, and give wings to xenophobic and racist parties. What if foreigners take away our jobs, if they saturate social services, if they lower wages, if they dilute cultural identity... More than 600,000 arrived in the United Kingdom last year, without whom the country simply it would stop, because they accept the jobs that the natives do not want, pay taxes and pensions, contribute to Social Security and are decisive for economic growth. In the United States the same thing happens with Latinos, and everywhere the tango is more or less identical, and not by Carlitos Gardel.
Sometimes, however, they are welcomed and given a special entry permit, when truckers are missing or someone needs to pick up the asparagus and strawberries. Or to participate in a domestic soccer tournament, as was the case with the Scottish Motherwell and the Welsh Swansea in the particular Spain of 1927, during the "dictatorship with a king" of Primo de Rivera and Alfonso XIII, after the coup and before of the arrival of the Republic.
That year many strange things happened in Spain, and other more normal ones, such as the debut of Concha Piquer in Barcelona after five years singing on New York's Broadway. In the exotics category, it can be mentioned that there were two Copas del Rey, the "normal" one, which Real Unión de Irún won, beating Arenas de Getxo in the final (the executioner of Barça 4-3 in the semifinals), and a special one or unofficial, which Scottish Motherwell won after first defeating Swansea (the first time in history that two British teams competed in Spanish territory) and then in Chamartín against a Real Madrid team reinforced with players from other teams. Its captain received the trophy from Alfonso XIII, who celebrated the "scientific football" of the Scots. They had a very worthy team and were runners-up for their country (in Spain there would still be no League until two years later).
It was not a summer tour, like the ones now, but a spring one, and the Spanish adventure of Motherwell did not end there. A few days later, they also won the Barcelona Cup after again beating Swansea (twelfth in the English second division) and drawing 2-2 with Barça, neutralizing goals from Samitier and Walter. Back in Scotland, the players were greeted in style as “the kings of Spain”, and in a way they were much more dignified monarchs than the one who had abandoned the constitutional order to embrace the ignominious dictatorship of Primo de Rivera.
Before Motherwell, but without a cup at stake, another Scottish team, Dundee, excelled on tours of Spain. In 1923 –his first outing abroad–, defeating Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid and Valencia, but succumbing 3-1 and 2-0 to Barcelona, in a field in Les Corts that had recently been inaugurated by Saint Look. The success of the expedition was such that it was repeated the following year, when the visitors took their revenge with two unmitigated victories over the Blaugrana.
Several English teams have won Welsh leagues and cups, and vice versa, given the integration of the respective championships, but never has a Scotsman won the FA Cup. The closest was Queen's Park in the 1884 and 1885 seasons , but lost the finals to the powerful Blackburn Rovers. Being a prophet outside your land is not easy either, and foreigners are not usually welcomed with open arms. But once, when Alfonso XIII was king in name at least, the Motherwell had Spain at his feet.
