Arthur Friendereich

Charles Miller, brazilian,
brought soccer from England to Brazil

Not to leave black soccer players join to the game brought to Fluminense his nickname as it´s known still today: rice´s powder, or that powder used by women on make-up. This history begins on 1914, when soccer still was white business. A black player of Fluminense, called Carlos Alberto, who was brown-skinned, was a little worried in entering field, specially with big-contrast uniform, all white. Thus, during a game, he decided to diminish his skin color, and spread a mount of rice´s powder on his body. During the game, his sweat started to leave him with a threshed aspect. All people then had started to shout:"rice´s powder, rice´s powder!" The nickname then was put on Fluminense and until today, when it enters in field, a cloud of rice´s powder goes up on the stadium...

Everybody thinks of soccer, when talking about Brazil. It´s an effect, most of times, of Edson Arantes do Nascimento fame. Don´t you know who is he? This is the real name of brazilian player Pelé, perhaps the most shining football player that has already existed. Pelé´s talent was so incredible, that some years ago the Olimpic Committee chose him on first place on five bigger athletes of all the times list. In good company: side-by-side him, there were athletes as boxer Muhammad Ali, velocist Carl Lewis, the basquete player Michael "Air" Jordan and the olimpic swimmer Mark Spitz.

Beyond Pelé, other great cracker-jacker helped to make soccer main brazilian sport, as Sócrates, Rivelino, Zico, Jairzinho and many others. Today, almost all children of Brazil knows these cracker-jackers and has their own team of heart. Moreover, it´s almost a rule for brazilian children to play soccer on "peladas", children ball playings with friends of the street and block, with leather or stocking ball. There are on these joyful games that still are discovered some of the biggest players of the present time, as Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and others.

A little bit of Brazilian soccer history

When it came to Brazil, in the beginning of 20th Century, brought of England, soccer was a sport for few: the ball, uniforms and tennis were very expensive for brazilian people. Introduced officially in 1894, in São Paulo, by Charles Miller, gradually soccer turned on a national passion. On 1902, was established on Rio de Janeiro the oldest soccer club of Brazil, the Fluminense Football Club. On 1906, new clubs had appeared on São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Almost all of it exists until today, as Botafogo Football Club (now Botafogo de Futebol and Regatas), Flamengo and Vasco, all on Rio. At this time, black soccer players were not accepted on teams. Vasco was the first club to contract them. Soccer was also almost full amateur. It means, the players played almost only for love to the game.

In these first times, one of great soccer crackerjacker on Brazil was a Brazilian athlete, but with German name: Arthur Friedenreich. Born in 1892, in Sao Paulo -SP, from a German with Brazilian couple, the brown-skinned Friedenreich received the nickname of El Tiger. He was absolute on first soccer years on Brazil and became the greatest goalmaker of soccer history, more than Pelé, when FIFA recognized, officially, that he had marked 1.329 gols in his 26 years career. Later, other great names had appeared, as Domingos da Guia or Leônidas da Silva, the Black Diamond. Later, between sixties and eighties, there were players like Zico, Sócrates, Jairzinho, Tostão, Gerson, Carlos Alberto Torres and Garrincha, between many others. In the present time, players as Ronaldinho, Romário, Rivaldo and Robert Carlos are the great idols of brazilian soccer. Today it started to be a million dollar business, but for brazilian children the most important thing still is to make the ball "estufar o filó", or make the goal, as brazilian musician Chico Buarque says on his music "The Soccer", below. It´s a few hard to translate it, but there are below some parts.

The soccer
Chico Buarque/1989

To "estufar this filó"
As I dreamed
Only If I was the King
to take off equal effect
Player as a Composer
to apply one accurate firula (…)
To screw some João on the lateral
When it is fatal to inform the feint at last (…)
But what king I am
Stop annulling natural catimba of the singer
Paralyzing this leg-broken song, (…)
A kick of goal and the emotion (…)
(for Mané for Didi for Mané, Mané for Didi for Mané, Didi, Pagão, Pelé and Canhoteiro)

1989 © - Marola Musical Editions Ltda. All burst the Right all rights reserved of Public Execution for ECAD (AMAR) International Copyright Secured

Hear this music in the official site of Chico Buarque: http://www.uol.com.br/chicobuarque/ra/ofutebol_89.ram

Glossary:

• Estufar o filó: to mark the goal
• To take off effect: to beat in the ball of a form where it gains a path unexpected
• The King: Pelé
• Firula: a pretty soccer play that shows player´ talent
• To screw some João: paralyze the player adversary.
• João: It´s one of histories on Garrincha, spectacular crackerjacker of 50 decade. Garrincha, a very simple person, usually didn´t knew or couldn´t spell his adversary foreign players names, and then used to call all of them as "joão" or John, a very common name on Brazil.
• Feint: a body game that deludes the adversary to give dribbles
• Catimba: to "make wax", or " fazer cera". Means play slowly, to gain time on game or to annoy the adversary.
• For mané, for Didi…: Chico, on a joke, on the songs end simulates a swap of ball between several great crackers, finishing with himself, the "Canhoteiro" - a left handed player.

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