Football is the national identity for Brazil. It is the most important sport of the nation. Whether people are playing real football or online fantasy football, they are just breathing the sport.
When the Brazilians are not associated with the real football, fantasy football leagues are their rescue and their link to the actual football game. But today we are here to focus on a tale of how this game arrived to Brazil.
We all know that in the modern world, soccer or football began in England. But in Brazil, it began with the emigrant named Miller. He worked on a construction project of the railway in Sao Paulo together with nearly 3000 other immigrant families from the British Isles during the last decade of the 19th century. During those days the Sao Paulo City had the population of 300,000. That was the golden age for industrial development. Today Sao Paulo is the third largest with over 10 million dwellers in the world.
But how Mr. Miller contributed in bringing football to Brazil?
Miller decided to send his young boy of 10 years, Charlie, to England for high-end education. Back to Mr. Miller who decided to send his young boy Charlie to England for a good all-round education. Charlie duly arrived at a school in Southampton named as Bannisters in 1884. This was the start of a soccer apprenticeship by Brazil’s first player. Charles was a natural who swiftly picked up the arts of this popular college game in England.
The football association was being formed at the time. Eton, Rugby, Charterhouse and other colleges all had formed their own rules to the game. To be sure Rugby refused to drop the ball handling and went on to plan their separate game.
The game began played in diverse styles in the entire country. In the south where the ground was dry and hard, a dribbling game developed in which a faster football played with fewer passes. This was against the passing game more admired up north where it was practised on muddy fields at a slower speed.
Young Miller thus became skilled at the dribble, swerve, feign, use of rapid speed and in taking freekicks and heading. As a talented winger and striker he held school honours that were to gain him entry first into the Southampton Club team and then into the County team of Hampshire.
The first invitation to play:
In 1892 a couple of years prior to his return to Brazil, Charlie was invited to play a game for the Corinthian Football Club a team formed of players invited from public schools and universities. This Club played football using the Greek Olimpian spirits of true sportmanship in the purest form. If a fine was voted for by the team the goal keeper would not try to shield it. They were a team of ambassadors to the game that toured around the world and stay up until today where they play still under the Corinthian Casuals name, as amateurs.
On his return Charles to Sao Paulo after his education completed, he brought a few football equipments and a rules book with him. He then went on to build up the new rules of the football game amongst the community in Sao Paulo.
Six year before his return in 1888, the first sports club was formed in Sao Paulo naming Sao Paulo Athletic Club (SPAC). And after his return, he was the main contributor to this sports club.
Hence, with him Brazil entered into the world of soccer and made the game its life.
Some Quick facts:
- Brazil is the only team, which has played in all of the World Cups.
- Pelé is the only player who has ever won 3 World Cups in 1958, 1962, and 1970.
- Ronaldo holds the record for all time top scorer with 15 goals at a World Cup.
- The two greatest defeats for Brazil was in 1920 when they played Uruguay and lost 6-0 and 2014 when they played against Germany and lost 7-1.
- In 1950, while being the host for the World Cup, Brazil suffered the equal of a national disaster. Brazil lost to Uruguay in the final match. After this, Brazil’s national team chose to change their colours from white to yellow.
- Brazil national team has been nicknamed Canarinho and Verde-Amarela, in line with the colours of the team, which is green and yellow.
Happy reading and playing fantasy football!