In July, 19 is celebrated, in Brazil, the National Football Day. The date was chosen by the Brazilian Sports Confederation (CBD), current Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), in 1976, in tribute to the oldest active team in the country, Sport Club Rio Grande, from Rio Grande do Sul, founded on July 19, 1900.
Read too: Fun facts from football history
Consolidation of football in Brazil
Football, played as it is today, was created in England in the mid-19th century and came to Brazil in 1894. the paulista Charles W. Miller (1874-1953), considered the “father of Brazilian football”, returning from a season of studies in England, brought to the country a pair of balls and the book with the rules of the game. A year later, the first soccer match ever recorded in Brazil was held: Cia. Railway São Paulo Railway against Employees of the Gas Company. The teams were formed by English people living in São Paulo.
Until the 1920s soccer was an elite sport in Brazil. Black members were rare and suffered prejudice. Little by little, this situation changed. The sport became popular and also became part of poor neighborhoods in large cities, such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre.
With the football professionalization, some clubs were created that today we consider the “great ones in Brazilian football”, such as:
Fluminense (1902),
Corinthians (1910),
Guild (1903),
International (1909),
Atletico Mineiro (1908),
Lecture Italy (1914) - currentpalm trees.
And some rowing clubs, popular sport at the time, created football departments, as is the case with teams like:
Botafogo (1904),
Flamengo (1911) and
Vasco da Gama (1915).
To coordinate the expansion of football, the leagues that were being created and a national team to compete in World Cups and Olympics, in 1916, the Brazilian Sports Confederation was created (CBD). In the same year, the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) was also created.
Glories
At the moment, Brazil is the country with the most world football titles. There are five titles:
1958,
1962,
1970,
1994,
2002.
Our country also has the greatest player of all time, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, the Skin. In addition to the “King of Football”, other important names for national and world football are Garrincha, Leônidas da Silva, Nilton Santos, Didi, Carlos Alberto Torres, Ademir da Guia, Jairzinho, Zico, Rivelino, Gérson, Tostão, Sócrates, Falcão, Careca, Romário, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, to name a few some.
Brazilian clubs have also made history in the world. In the 1960s, the saints de Pelé, Pepe and Coutinho enchanted the planet and won two intercontinental titles, in 1962 and 1963. Other Brazilian teams that conquered the world were Flamengo, Grêmio, Internacional, Corinthians and Sao Paulo, the latter three times.
See too: Football history – all about this national passion
disappointments
But it's not just glories that our football lives on. Some sad moments mark the history of sport in the country, such as the defeats in world Cups 1950 and 2014. In the first World Cup played in Brazil, in 1950, our team lost in the final to Uruguay in full Maracanã. Sixty-four years later, the Brazilian team once again had the chance to be champion at home, but suffered its biggest defeat in history: lost 7-1 to Germany in the semifinal in Belo Horizonte.
Championships
The biggest national football competitions are the Brazilian championship, also known as Brasileirão, and the Brazil's Cup. The first had its origins in 1971, but in 2010 the CBF recognized the Taça Brasil and the Roberto Gomes Pedrosa Tournament, played in the 50s and 60s, as national championships. The first Cup in Brazil took place in 1989.
At the beginning of each year, the state championships are played.. Previously, these competitions attracted a large number of fans and the titles were sought after by clubs. However, the prestige of this competition has fallen in some states, serving today as a pre-season for big clubs to prepare for national and international championships.
Women
Anyone who thinks football is just for men is wrong. Women have also fallen in love with the sport and today there are several competitions around the world that are exclusive to them. In Brazil, the women's championships have not been established yet, but, in 2007, the Brazilian women's soccer team won the world vice-championship.
by Adriano Lesme
Journalist
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/datas-comemorativas/dia-nacional-do-futebol.htm
