This trajectory starts with Charles Miller, who brought football to Brazil at the end of the 19th century, and goes to the beginning of the sport professionalization and the acceptance of black and mestizos athletes in football teams in the 1920s. One of the big aces of this period was Arthur Friedenreich, a player from São Paulo who was grandson of Germans. The images show from coffee barons to the most humble people who conquered football… and reinvented it! 

Surprise yourself with the Brazilian Football History and search for the football references in Rio de Janeiro, indicated by these symbols

23.  The long mustache was Charles Miller’s trademark, the Brazilian who studied in England, the cradle of football, and, in 1894, at 20 years old, returned to Brazil with two balls, a hand pump to blow them up, football boots and a book of rules for the sport. He was the founder of Liga Paulista de Futebol [São Paulo Football League], and a referee. In the image, Miller with his friends from the São Paulo Athletic

 

108.  A player from Internacional, Tupan (wearing the white hat) fights Grêmio for control of the ball. Tupan played between 1933 and 1935, and won Internacional’s second title in the gaúcho championship, in 1934.

 

111.  The S.C. Internacional team, holding the banner for the six-times gaúcho champion, obtained in 1945. The team, which played throughout the 1940s, became known by the nickname “Steamroller,” due to achieving 8 titles in 9 years. A significant presence of black players also led to the Inter being called the “people’s team.” At the time, Internacional already counted with an organized group of supporters, the “DCP” (Departament of Cooperation and Publicity).

 

120.  The Theatro Capitólio cinema, inaugurated in October 12, 1928, emerged from a cinephile wave which had at the time invaded the city of Porto Alegre, with the creation of ten new cinemas in just one decade. Designed by the engineer Domingos Rocco, the Capitólio also offered a programme of ballet and plays.

 

126.  Eurico Lara, the goalkeeper, who began his career in the Uruguaiana army’s soccer team. He was hired by Grêmio in 1920, where he played for 15 years, winning 11 municipal championships and 5 state championships. He was a main player in Rio Grande do Sul’s team and was able to keep the paulista idol Arthur Friedenreich, a player for São Paulo, from scoring goals. One of Grêmio’s heroes, he is even mentioned in the team’s official hymn.

 

128.  Grêmio’s team in 1903–1904. This is believed to be the first photographic record of a team playing for the club.

 

129.  Internacional’s team in 1914, the year it achieved its second municipal championship. The fifth player standing up (from left to right) is Carlos Kluwe, the club’s first great idol. Kluwe played in Internacional from its inception until the 1920s, winning the Porto Alegre Municipal Championship four times.

 

145.  The first stadium in Brazil was Laranjeiras Stadium, where the semifinals of the 1919 South-American Championship took place. Brazil defeated Argentina 3-1 with players from São Paulo such as Neco (Corinthians) and Friedenreich (Paulistano). Rio de Janeiro, 1919.

 

124.  Son of British and an exchange student in a Swiss school, the young Oscar Cox is recognized as one of the introducers of the first football matches with official rules, ball, and field in the State of Rio de Janeiro. In 1900, he participated in the two meetings between the “associations” Rio Cricket and Paisandú. In addition to being the founder, he was the first president in the history of Fluminense Football Club, in 1902.

 

24. Santos Dumont with the 14-Bis. He made the first powered flight in History at the Bagatelle field, Paris, 1906.

 

74. The records say women’s football started in the UK at the end of the 19th century. The Scotch announced in the “Glasgow Evening News,” in April 1881, a match between women’s teams from Scotland and England in the Hibernian Stadium, in Edinburgh. Another important reference is this 1895 poster, the same year in which the first official match took place in Brazil (organized by Charles Miller).

 

119. The Rio de Janeiro team that participated in the 1934 Brazilian championship, at the beginning of football professionalization in Brazil.