Author: Igor

Alastair Borthwick was a known war veteran, broadcaster, and author. He served his country by joining the military and defending it during the world war. Borthwick also contributed to the country’s literature by writing and publishing two books which are now both considered as classics. Later on, Borthwick did the thing that he loved the most: working on journalism until his death.

Borthwick was born in Rutherglen, a small town in South Lanarkshire. However, he spent most of his childhood in Troon. He and his family would later move to Glasgow, where he attended the Glasgow High School. Borthwick left the high school in 1929 when at the age of 16, he decided to join the Glasgow Herald to work. At first, he was the one in charge of taking down answers from respondents through the phone. Later on, he was given the authority to post in the paper’s “Open Air”, where any topic can be featured. His topics revolved around hillwalking and climbing, which had drawn the interest of the working class people. Later on, Borthwick also wrote on the newspaper’s front page leads, in the crossword section, and both in women’s and children’s pages.

After working for a couple of years in the Glasgow Herald, Alastair Borthwick joined the Daily Mirror in 1935. This new job was a very big opportunity for him in terms of growing his career in journalism. However, because the London life did not appeal to him, he was back in Glasgow after a year. But instead of returning to writing in the newspaper, he decided to venture into another part of journalism and became a radio correspondent at BBC.

Four years later, Alastair Borthwick released his first ever book titled “Always a Little Further”, which was published by Fabers. The book is a compilation of classic tales of camping, hiking, and climbing during the 1930s. “Always a Little Further” succeeded in documenting the social changes that rock climbing and hiking have done to the country. The book is still currently published in Scotland up to this day and is one of the best books about Scotland’s outdoor activity. His career as an author will be put into a halt when World War II arrived in their country.

Joining the 5th Battalion, the Seaforth Highlanders, Alastair Borthwick served as an Intelligence officer during World War II. He was deployed to a lot of places and fought a lot of battles, including those that took place in North Africa, Sicily, France, Holland, and Germany. Ultimately, he reached the second lieutenant rank in 1939. After the war, he was asked to write the history of the 5th Batallion, which he released in 1946, titled “Sans Peur, The History of the 5th (Caithness and Sutherland) Batallion, the Seaforth Highlanders.” It received positive feedbacks due to Borthwick’s brilliant idea of using the point of view of an infantryman for his story.

After the war, Alastair Borthwick and his wife Anne moved from Glasgow to Jura, where he found another job at the form of crofting and fishing while resuming his job at BBC. Borthwick helped during the 1951 Festival of Britain. During the 1960s, he ventured into television via Grampian TV, where he produced programs involving a wide range of subjects. The Borthwicks stayed in Ayrshire starting 1970s until 1998 where Alastair was moved to a nursing home at Beith. He died on September 25, 2003.

Football feels more than just a sport now but a way of life. Anywhere around the globe, if people don’t play the sport, they avidly support a team. Footballers have become celebrities who bring in a lot of dough for the clubs they play for. It takes a remarkable eye to spot these young footballers brimming with passion for kicking around the ball. Gino Pozzo, the Watford Football Club owner in England, is one such man with a keen eye. He has actually developed a brilliant reputation for taking less than stellar lower-division football clubs and leading them to greater heights.

 A Family Affair

Influenced by his family who breathed football, especially his father, Gianpaolo who purchased the family’s first football club more than 30 years ago, it is not surprising that Gino Pozzo has followed suit. Currently, he is one of the most popular figures in the sports scene all across Europe. Educated in the United States, and with a Masters degree from Harvard, this guy eventually settled down in Barcelona, and then in London with his own family and children, to keep a more hands on approach to managing the family’s many clubs. Originally focused in the woodworking industry, their family has branched out into various industries from electrical appliance business, property management, finance mergers, and of course, club ownership.

Expansion

This busy man said, they may have their hand in many endeavors, but football continues to be a favorite fueled by passion. They follow a scouting-driven model, wherein they actively look for new talents, in managing their clubs. Gino has been the one handling that family’s sports ownership, paying close attention to international expansion. They have acquired Udinese and Granda FC years ago, which helped the clubs rise in division level in spite of struggling in the beginning.

The Watford Club

A heavily indebted club struggling to climb their way up was purchased in 2012. This was the Watford Club, which has now proven that long-term plans can see fruition and meet with success. The acquisition of the Watford F.C. paved the way for the Pozzo family to be known as the only family worldwide to own three football clubs simultaneously in Italy, Spain, and England. This tidbit prompted the prestigious Wall Street Journal to run a breaking feature on the Pozzos, dubbed by the magazine as the European Soccer’s Ascendant Family. As the only family in the world to own three football clubs simultaneously in Italy, Spain, and England, prompting the Wall Street Journal to run a story naming the Pozzos “European Soccer’s Ascendant Family” in 2015.

Vision

Gino explained that vision is necessary in making his clubs, and any other business endeavors for that matter, propel forward. At times, depending on how things develop, he deemed that it may even be necessary to tweak his vision. A long term approach that’s flexible is what’s essential in making the businesses grow. Gino Pozzo is the type of man who unafraid to walk the talk when it comes to running his football clubs. Apart of the evolving vision is exemplified when he freely trades his players between the family owned clubs; this, of course, is for the benefit of each one. Noteworthy, the Watford Club has gone over 8 different head coaches and managers, but the club’s track record is enough proof that this dynamic style works.

Changing the Game

 Aside from passion, running a football club also requires perseverance and a good head on ones shoulders. After all, football is a multi-million dollar industry, where the Pozzo family has invested aplenty. As much as Gino’s reason for purchasing the club is emotional and sentimental, he has to ensure to give way to the more serious side of business. After all, no one goes into business intending to lose. The goal of just about anyone has always been to make a profit. There are millions of dollars in profit waiting to be made in a Premier League. Gino and his family are certainly one step ahead of all of us in this game.