His contribution to Italian football through laying the foundations of player training and coaching popularized the sport in the nation, and he was widely considered the model for professional managers in Italy.

Following his arrival, Garbutt restructured training regimes, introduced tactics, and conducted Italy's first ever paid player transfers.

This allowed him to transition the side from a semi-professional outfit into a dominant team, and Garbutt captured three Italian league championships during his fifteen-year reign at Genoa.

Garbutt would depart to join newly formed Roma in 1927, where he secured a Coppa CONI title, and then moved further south to coach Napoli in 1929.

His tenure at both sides saw them finish in their highest ever positions in the league, which prompted interest from foreign clubs, and Garbutt departed Italy for Spain to coach Athletic Bilbao, where he won a La Liga title in 1936.

Although his achievements are not widely known in his home country, Garbutt was instrumental in making Italian football popular, and is credited for laying the groundwork for the nation to secure victory during the 1934 and 1938 FIFA World Cups.

[4] The young winger moved to join Woolwich Arsenal for two seasons, and made his debut in a First Division match away to Preston North End on 23 December 1905, which finished 2–2.

He was part of the Arsenal side that reached two FA Cup semi-finals in successive seasons; however he was eventually displaced by Jackie Mordue and after spending much of 1907–08 in the reserves he left for Blackburn Rovers in May 1908.

He may have returned to Woolwich Arsenal briefly for a second spell in 1911–12,[2] but this is not recorded in official club histories and he definitely did not play a senior-level match during this time.

Garbutt restructured the training regimes, putting a heavy emphasis on players physical fitness and tactics.

He stayed there for only two years but captured a tournament named Coppa CONI with them, as well as helping them reach third in group A of the Italian Football Championship.