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In 1874, the chaplain of St Paul’s, the British church in
São Paulo, registered the birth of a boy. The father was
Scottish; the mother was English; the boy’s name was Charles
William Miller. Like many sons of British expatriates, Charles
Miller went “back home” for his education. At the frail
age of nine, he was put on a ship at Santos and sent to boarding-school
in Southampton.
At that time, São Paulo was a small town with a few shambolic
streets, whereas Southampton was one of the greatest ports on the
planet. Travelling from one to the other meant moving from a sleepy
hamlet to a thriving metropolis.
Charles Miller went to a small boarding school on the outskirts
of Southampton. From his education, he had learnt only one lesson
that really mattered to him: the rules of football. He was a fast,
skilful player. He played for the Corinthians (the greatest amateur
team of all time) and St Mary’s (now better known as Southampton
Football Club).
In 1894, Charles Miller sailed back to Brazil. In his luggage,
he carried a book of rules and a deflated football.
When Charles
Miller arrived in Brazil, he discovered to his horror that no-one
knew how to play the beautiful game. The expatriate
community had retained many British customs - cricket on Saturdays,
afternoon tea at four, visiting-cards on silver trays - but not
football.
Charles had found his mission. He pumped up the football, summoned
his friends and colleagues to a patch of wasteland near the railway
station, divided them into two teams and explained the rules.
He wasn’t prepared for the amazing success of his game.
Within months, people were playing football all over São
Paulo. Within a few years, the game had conquered the entire country.Fifty
years after his death, Charles Miller has been forgotten.
In Brazil, people know his name and a few inaccurate myths about
his life, but nothing more. In Britain, hardly anyone even knows
his name.
The British influence in Brazil has dwindled to a few language
schools and a dribble of investment. And when British footballers
are confronted by Brazilian opponents, they pray that the score
doesn’t reach double figures.
The story of Charles Miller’s life isn’t just a tale
of one man’s fascinating life. Nor is it merely an intriguing
episode in the history of football. The spread of football from
Britain to Brazil is a neat riposte to anyone who is fearful of
cultural imperialism.
The English may have invented the rules of football, and the British
may have carried the balls and the rulebooks in their imperial
baggage, but Brazilians quickly made the game again in their own
image.
A hundred years later, talents and skills are flowing back the
other way. In Britain, just as all over Europe, home-grown players
display the skills and techniques which they have learnt from their
Brazilian colleagues.
Charles Miller’s gift is being repaid.
Josh Lacey’s God Is Brazilian is a biography of Charles Miller.
God Is Brazilian, Tempus, £20.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0752434144/
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