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Charly MillerFather of Brazilian Football
Country:
 Brazil |
Content:
Father of Brazilian Football
The history of Brazilian football began in 1894 when a 20-year-old Charles Miller returned to his native São Paulo after spending ten years in England. During his time in foggy Albion, he naturally became a football fan. Upon discovering that this game was completely unknown in his homeland, he was surprised and immediately took action. Ten years later, in a letter to his friends in England, he wrote, "You will be amazed to learn how popular football has become now. In São Paulo alone, there are no less than 50-60 clubs, and 2-3 thousand people attend each match. Every village has its own team..." When the renowned businessman and patron Charles Miller passed away in 1953, the whole of Brazil called him the "father of Brazilian football".
Biography of Charles Miller
Charles Miller was born in Brazil to British subjects. After returning from his studies in England, he began working for the São Paulo Railway Company. It was there that he founded the first football team and became its captain. In December 1901, the first Brazilian championship, the Paulista Football League, was organized. Miller captained the team that became the champion of the inaugural season in 1901/02 and scored ten goals, making him the top scorer. These were not his first achievements on the football field. In Banister Court School in England, his team was the strongest in the district. Newspapers wrote about him as the "best forward... superb dribbler... scoring outstanding goals... made a breakthrough in half the field, ending with a powerful shot." By the way, he also played several games for the professional club "Southampton St. Mary," now simply known as "Southampton."
In 1990, the São Paulo newspaper "Village Voice" conducted a study, which revealed that a heel shot on goal was previously called a "Charlie" in honor of Miller, and then transformed into the Portuguese word "chaleira," as it is still called today. Apparently, the fact that Miller not only taught Brazilians how to play football but also influenced the development of the game through his talent was not a mere coincidence.
Miller spent the rest of his life in São Paulo, where he married pianist Hélène Raj. For several years, he worked as a vice-consul at the British Embassy. Unfortunately, he passed away five years before Brazil's victory in the World Cup. However, his name was not forgotten, and after the triumph in Sweden, he was celebrated as much as those who achieved that victory.
