Google honors ‘Arthur the Tiger’, first football idol

Arthur FriedenreichO Friedone of the biggest names in Brazilian and world football, receives this Tuesday, July 18th, the reverence of the Doodle, Google’s way of paying homage and positioning itself in the face of some remarkable event.

The former football player would, on this date, be 131 years old. Born in São Paulo in 1892, the son of a merchant of German descent and a black teacher, Arthur condenses in its history a little of the cultural construction of Brazilian football and the problems that surround it.

• He was the first black man to play football professionally in Brazil;
• Arthur the Tigerdied on September 6, 1969, in São Paulo;
• Although the numbers are questioned by researchers, he would be the greatest scorer in world football;
• The striker would have scored 1,329 goals in 26 years with the ball in play;
• FIFA recognizes the number of goals scored by Arthur the Tiger.

fridenreich He started playing for the Germania team from São Paulo, a club he defended in 1909 and 1911. He also played for Ypiranga (1910, 1913, 1914, 1915 and 1917), Mackenzie (1912), Atlas (1914), Clube Brasil-SP (1912 and 1935 ), Paysandu-SP (1915/16), Paulistano (1916/17/18 to 1929), Internacional-SP (1929), Atlético Santista-SP (1929), São Paulo da Floresta (1930 to 35), Santos (1930 and 1935), Dois de Julho-SP (1933) and Atlético Mineiro (1933).

THE NICKNAME

Arthur he had been with the national team since the first game, in 1914, and with it he won the Copa Roca and two editions of the South American Championship. There were 595 goals in 605 games, an incredible average of 0.98 goals per game. For his fierce play, he was nicknamed “The Tiger” by opponents.

Even incredible performance on the field, in 1921, Arthur was left out of the dispute of the most important tournament of the year, the South American Championship. After a recommendation from the president at the time, Epitácio Pessoa, only white athletes should represent Brazil abroad. With this selection, based on institutional racism, Brazil lost the tournament.

recently the rapper Djonga recorded a manifesto video so that more people know and amplify the history of the Tiger.