Arthur Friedenreich

Arthur Friedenreich

Friedenreich with the Brazilian national team .
Personal information
Date of birthJuly 18, 1892
Place of birthSão Paulo, Brazil
Date of deathSeptember 6, 1969 (aged 77)
Place of deathSão Paulo, Brazil
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing positionStriker
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1909Germânia
1910Ypiranga
1911SC Germania
1912Mackenzie College
1913–1915Ypiranga
1916Paulistano
1917Ypiranga
1918–1929Paulistano
1930–1933São Paulo
1933Atlético Mineiro
1933–1935São Paulo
1935Flamengo
National team
1914-1925Brazil23(10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Arthur Friedenreich (July 18, 1892 – September 6, 1969) was a Brazilian football player. Nicknamed The Tiger, he was arguably the sport's first outstanding black player.[1]

Biography

Friedenreich was born in São Paulo to Oscar Friedenreich, a German businessman whose father immigrated to Brazil, and Mathilde, an African Brazilian washerwoman and the daughter of freed slaves. Friedenreich was the first professional football player of Afro-Brazilian origin, because at that time football was dominated by Whites and Blacks were not accepted. He faced many barriers because of racism, and he could not attend the same places where white players were, such as swimming pools, tennis courts and parties.[1]

He started his career influenced by his father, playing for SC Germânia, a Brazilian football team composed of German immigrants. After playing with a succession of São Paulo club sides from 1910 onwards, Friedenreich made his debut with the national team in 1914. He played twenty-two internationals, including wins in the 1919 and 1922 editions of the Copa América, scoring ten goals. On Brazil's 1925 tour of Europe, he was feted as the King of Football.

He was not picked by Brazil for the 1930 FIFA World Cup because there was a serious misunderstanding between the football Leagues of the States of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo; only players from Rio travelled. São Paulo stars, like him (who was 38 years old), Filó (who would be 1934 FIFA World Cup champion with Italy) and Feitiço, did not go to Uruguay.

Playing record

Clubs

*) just for one match.
clubs with "?" are not definitively identified.

Top scorer

He was top scorer of the Liga Paulista in the following years:[2]

Year Club Goals
1912 Mackenzie College 12
1914 Paulistano 12
1917 Ypiranga 15
1918 Paulistano 25
1919 Ypiranga 26
1921 Paulistano 33
1927 Paulistano 13
1928 Paulistano 29
1929 Paulistano 16

Because of the internal quarrels and the ensuing split of the league into the LPF and APEA he had to share the top scorer title with the following players in the following years:[2]

Year Player Club Goals
1914 Neco Corinthians 12
1927 Araken Santos 31
1928 Heitor Palestra Itália 16
1929 Feitiço Santos 12

Friedenreich retired while playing for Flamengo in 1935 at the age of 43. He died on September 6, 1969 at the age of 77. His exact number of games and goals is not known. Friedenreich is reported to have scored 1329 goals in 1239 games. However, Pelé fans argue he scored 1239 in 1329 games.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Curi, Martin (2014). "Arthur Friedenreich (1892–1969): a Brazilian biography". Soccer & Society 15 (1): 19–28. doi:10.1080/14660970.2013.854540. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Campeonato Paulista: Artilheiros da história". Folha Online. 11 February 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  3. ↑ Gannon, Willie (October 19, 2008). "Profiles Of The Great and Good: Arthur Friedenreich: The Original "Black" Pearl.". Bleacher Report, Inc. Retrieved June 15, 2010.

External links