"I don’t breathe ... I’m so nervous" - a dad's-eye view of Josh Doig’s Serie A promotion
Papa Tommy blends family values with Italian style as Sassuolo’s Scotsman basks in glory
This article was originally published in full on Destination Calcio, a site dedicated to all things Italian football. Not only can you read about everything from Serie A’s heyday of the Nineties to Curva Culture, but you can watch it too, with Serie B exclusively live on their dedicated channel. Check them out at destinationcalcio.com.
By Harry Slavin
It’s 10.45am in Modena on a sunny Saturday in April and the Piazza Grande is bustling with activity. Visitors are searching out the best vantage point from which to take in the imposing Duomo, jostling for space with local activists preparing their soap boxes and football fans already milling around ahead of this evening’s big match.
Cutting through the throng is a man dressed in white — from his polo shirt down to his trainers. In self-professed “full-on tourist mode”, Tommy Doig is perhaps the most un-Scotsman-looking Scotsman going — the sunglasses and Andrea Pirlo-esque locks finishing the look that belies his Edinburgh roots.
He is in town, as he is most weekends, to watch his son Josh. The 22-year-old has been in Italy for almost three years now, initially joining Hellas Verona before moving to Sassuolo in January 2024. Despite playing for Sassuolo and their ground being in Reggio Emilia, Josh has picked Modena, the home of balsamic vinegar, Luciano Pavarotti and Ferrari, as the place to lay his hat.
Sassuolo’s clash with Modena at the Stadio Braglia is a derby, with less than 20km separating the two, and victory will edge the Neroverdi closer to a top-flight return at the first attempt.
Tommy has offered to show Destination Calcio what the authentic Italian matchday experience looks like through the eyes of those closest to the stars on the pitch.
11am
There’s a spanner in the works. Josh has to go and see the club physio over a slight hamstring issue and his place in the squad for the match this evening is under threat.
As we await news, there’s time to dip into one of the busy bars to grab a late breakfast. In Maison Livre, Tommy describes his son’s rise to prominence.
“The day he got picked up, he was six or seven,” says the 51-year-old. “The Hearts scout came to watch him. He hit the post from the halfway line and he was running around, beating everyone.
“After the game, they said, ‘Look, we’d like him to go to Hearts’. At the time I was a Hearts fan — it was the best thing ever.”
Josh threw himself into football at Hearts over the next 10 years. However, much to even his coaches’ dismay, the hard work failed to win over those in charge when it came to handing out professional deals.
“They were going around the boys’ houses, so we were eighth or ninth to be told,” Tommy explains.
“He’d done really well up to this point. But at the time, [manager] Craig Levein didn’t want to sign him, didn’t rate him. So they told him as he was sitting on our sofa that he wasn’t getting a contract. It was pretty cruel to watch your son have his dreams crushed.
“But that’s football. We moved on.
“I said to Josh, ‘Keep going to training, wait until the end of the season and apply yourself the best you can’. And he did.
“I’ve never been back to Tynecastle. Once Josh signed for Hibs, it was all Hibs for the family.”
1pm
It’s time for Tommy to catch up with his wife Lynda and their friends from Edinburgh who have joined them for the weekend.
Tommy has a bank of calcio memories — and he shares his favourite with me.
“The best one was his first start for Verona against Sampdoria. It was my birthday and he scored his first ever goal.
“The Verona fans were so passionate, so wild. It was a proper football match in a proper stadium.
“It was surreal to watch him play Sampdoria. I’d watched them at Wembley against Barcelona in the 1992 European Cup final. To see my son play and then score against them was a dream come true.
“I was going to burst. I’m so proud of him, proud of everything he’s done, everything he does. But that was over and above anything I could have dreamed of.”
3pm
Tommy’s own career took him across the semi-professional and amateur rungs of Scottish football, from Queen’s Park to Civil Service Strollers. The high point came in 1998, when he was part of the Edinburgh City side that reached the third round of the Scottish Cup and earned a tie with then-Premier Division side Dunfermline. Today, the Doig household is once again up for the cup. It’s not just Josh who has a season-defining game ahead.
Tommy’s daughter Hannah is in India living with her partner, Jason Cummings. The Scotland-turned-Australia international is with Mohun Bagan and they are playing in the Indian Super League Final against Bengaluru.
The group head back to the house to catch it on TV. While the distance can be tough on this tight-knit family, exploring new frontiers has always been encouraged.
“Celtic were speaking to his agent, and Chelsea as well when Josh was flying at Hibs, but nothing came of it. It was the season after that the Italian interest came,” says Tommy.
“Most players go down south or go to Celtic and Rangers. I thought, ‘You know what, go out of the box. Go and try something different’.
“He was only 19. So I’m telling him he’s going to be living in a foreign country on his own. He’d never even been to Italy.”
Josh’s adventure nearly ended before it began, however, after his first club Hellas Verona tried to stiff him on his agreed salary, but the Doigs called their bluff and the board backed down.
Parental instincts led to Tommy and Lynda playing a key role in Josh settling down in Italy. He rented a flat from Italy international and team-mate Mattia Zaccagni, with room for his folks to stay when needed.
“We tried to get over as much as we could,” Tommy adds. “He liked us being there. He has moments of loneliness, as you would as a 22-year-old. But he gets on with it. He’s quite mentally strong and he batters on with it.”
5pm
One down, one to go. Cummings has scored to help his side win 2-1 and complete the double in India. As he lifts the cup, congratulatory messages are sent and thoughts in Italy turn to a bite to eat before the match.
The decision is made to take a stroll down to Da Michele’s — the pizza institution that was founded in Naples in 1870 and has since conquered all corners of the globe.
Nothing though, beats coming to Italy, and Modena, for the real thing. And that’s not just down to the food.
“It’s fantastic, a beautiful place,” Tommy says of his son’s adopted home. “The people are wonderful, friendly. I love coming here. It’s like a home from home.”
6.30pm
After a 15-minute walk, Tommy arrives at the ground with his wife and friends. The Stadio Braglia is a throwback of a stadium. The main stand is a towering hunk of concrete, with shrines to former glory days plastered on the concourse inside. Modena are expecting their biggest attendance of the season, with more than 13,000 fans purchasing tickets.
Taking in the view of the pitch, the group are finally greeted with good news on Josh’s condition. He’s in the starting line-up, his earlier trip to the physio giving him the all-clear. “Now is when the nerves kick in,” Tommy says.
Nerves are usually countered with a glass of wine at home in the Doig household. Tonight, a pint from the stadium bar is all that’s on offer.
“Usually, if I’m watching at home, I don’t breathe because I’m so nervous.
“I just care so much and want him to be okay. But he’s strong, he gets on with it. He brushes everything off.”
Tommy takes himself down pitchside to watch the warm-up and get a glimpse of Josh. He stands quietly, watching through the Perspex. Arms behind his back, focusing on his son’s every move.
9.25pm
The nerves no longer exist. Most have been shredded by a pulsating game that has included a chance for left-back Josh to score with a header and a wild lunge which he pulls out of at the last moment.
The rest dissipate with the full-time whistle, as Sassuolo secure a 3-1 victory that all but confirms their return to Serie A.
In the main stand, there are hugs and high fives as Tommy, Lynda and their friends savour the moment.
On the field, Josh celebrates with his team-mates. There is pandemonium in the away end as the players join the 1,500 Sassuolo supporters revelling in their derby win. The Scotsman is front and centre.
“Josh loves the club, loves the people. He absolutely feels at home.”
Sunday 4.05pm
A little under 24 hours later, Tommy and Josh are on the couch in the apartment, having just watched the final minutes of Spezia’s draw with Mantova, a result that confirms Sassuolo’s place in Serie A next season.
A camera catches the moment: father and son with their fists clenched in celebration, while friends Roddy and Grant pose in the tops Josh had worn the night before against Modena.
“Serie A here we come!”, the caption should read. Tommy is ready to activate full-on tourist mode once again.
