Messi, Batistuta and the great Maradona have all worn the shirt, but the shape of Argentinian football wouldn't be the same without a lesser known English name – Isaac Newell.

Strood-born Isaac left his Medway home at the age of 16 to seek adventure abroad in 1869, and ended up pioneering the beautiful game in Argentina.

Fast forward a century and a half, and Taylors Lane in Strood is now a site of pilgrimage for fans of Newells Old Boys, the club named in his honour based in Rosario, Santa Fe; and the latest of those pilgrims is the author of a new book on the history of the club.

Dr Pablo Cerra, whose book Lealtad Leprosa (Loyalty of the Lepers) has even won praise from the Pope, arrived last week and spent what would have been Isaac Newell's 169th birthday, on Sunday April 24, on a fact finding mission in Medway.

"The book was well received, and even prompted Pope Francis to send the author a handwritten letter," explained Gills fan Adrian Pope, who has long campaigned for a statue of Newell in Medway.

He added: "'Lepers' in this context are fans of Newell's Old Boys. They are thus named because of the club's willingness to play a charity match for leprosy sufferers, and they are so fanatical that 30,000 of them recently turned up to watch the team bus leave for the derby versus fellow Rosario team, Central."

Dr Cerra's book looks in detail at the religious, political and community values ingrained in the Newell's club and its fanbase - and no doubt those values struck a chord with the Argentine Pope, who's known to be a fan of the Argentine side San Lorenzo.

"We had an amazing day on Sunday," added Adrian. "Higham historian Andrew Rootes took us to St Mary's Church, in Lower Higham, where Isaac's parents were married. He also took us to a slip road off Gravesend Road where Isaac's home in later childhood had stood, after the family moved from Taylor's Lane in Strood.

"His home was a stone's throw from Gad's Hill Place, where Charles Dickens lived at the same time, and Mr Rootes believes that they could have had multiple social interactions, including Isaac playing cricket on the author's private cricket pitch."

Another highlight of the tour was a livestream from St Nicholas Church, in Strood, where Isaac was christened. Churchgoer Len Feist, also a historian, spoke to people in Rosario, on the stream, which was broadcast on the Newell's fans channel Identidad Leprosa.

And Adrian added: "Sunday also saw Newell's Old Boys play an away match versus Racing, which was the same fixture 20 years ago that inspired my interest."

The story all began with Isaac Newell's birth in Strood on April 24, 1853.

Having moved to Higham, Newell travelled to Argentina at the age of 16 and settled in Rosario, 200 miles northwest of Buenos Aires.

Having become a teacher, he also remained a keen footballer, and was one of the British expatriates who were the pioneers of football in the country.
Newell himself is credited with bringing the rules of football and the first footballs to Argentina, and in 1903 his son Claudio formed Newell’s Old Boys, named in honour of his father.

The club colours of red and black were taken from the emblem of the Argentine Commercial Anglican School that Isaac Newell had founded in 1884.

Newell’s went on to win six League Championships and have twice reached the final of the Copa Libertadores, but in Europe they are more famous as Lionel Messi's first club - and one of Maradona's last.

Adrian said the recent trip had been inspirational for the Argentine delegation - and businessman Diego Gindin was even planning to produce a gin called Strood.

"For all three men the trip has exceeded their expectations," he added. "They will leave with great memories, not just of Rochester, Strood, and Higham, but also places on their road trip like Rye, Reculver, Broadstairs where they met up with Gillingham stadium announcer Doug Hudson."