“Just as they attempted to whiten their physical appearance, soccer players of color consciously cultivated decorous personalities in order to fit in with white-dominant social groups (Bigalke, 2017)”
This quote highlights the key component of the article being the myth of “racial democracy” in early Brazilian soccer. Racial democracy is a phrase or idea that refers to the idea that racism and racial discrimination was gone in Brazil. Racial democracy ignores that this idea would be completely dependent on whitening the populace. The article focuses on non-white football players’ struggles with racial and class discrimination in early 20th century Brazil. Francisco Carregal was an important player that would provide a roadmap for players to whiten themselves. Carregal was one of the first Afro-Brazilian players that adopted a eurocentric appearance and persona to assimilate into white culture and move up in class. Many players would follow suit, altering their appearance and developing personas to make a living in the sport and attempt to move past social barriers and prejudices. Carlos Alberto was another black player who also whitened themself, applying rice powder on his skin to appear white during games. For many Afro-Brazilian players in the early 20th century, whitening themselves was key in gaining status, respect, and being able to make a living off of playing football, and this would continue to hold true in the years to come.
In the subsequent amateur era, the need for Afro-Brazilian players to whiten themselves persisted as Brazil would begin to compete in national tournaments against countries like Argentina and Uruguay. Sports and government officials would continuously alternate between including and excluding black and mulatto players from the national team. Arthur Friedenreich is another legendary player who was a victim of this system. Friedenreich was a mixed race player who was key to Brazil winning their first South American Championship in 1919. In subsequent tournaments Friedenreich and other Afro-Brazilian players were often excluded from participating in key tournaments due to their race. The need to assimilate into white eurocentric culture remained key for Afro-Brazilian players to maintain a good image and to gain status and success in Brazil. The idea of racial democracy within Brazilian soccer was not reflective of reality for Afro-Brazilian players such as Carregal and Friedenreich, who were forced to assimilate into eurocentric cultural practices.
