Black conscience day
Professor comments on Flamengo's historical identity with black people
By From the team at Flamengo's official website - in
The work About the Black and Brazilian Football, by the late journalist and writer Mário Filho, helps explain why Flamengo has such a strong Black identity. "Flamengo became a people's club when it ended the tradition of only white people on the team. Opening the doors of Gávea to Black people," says the author in his book, published in 1947.
According to Mario Filho, before putting a mulatto on the team, Flamengo had put a black player on the team: Jarbas. And then Roberto. "While Fluminense brought to Álvaro Chaves the great players of São Paulo football, almost all white, many with Italian names, Flamengo brought to Gávea the great red-and-blacks of Rio football, almost all black: Fausto dos Santos, Leônidas da Silva, Domingos da Guia, Brazilian even in name."
According to Professor Bernardo Buarque, PhD in Social History of Culture from PUC-Rio, Flamengo was able to capture the changing times that Brazil was experiencing in the 30s and 40s. "Flamengo changed the face of the team, incorporating Black people into its football teams. Jose Bastos Padilha [Flamengo's president] played a role, signing players who played for other teams. And in the 1938 World Cup, with the strong performance of Brazil and Leônidas, Black people also became the face of Brazil in the world. This can be used to explain Flamengo's popularity."
However, Buarque points out that some researchers argue that the introduction of Black players into Brazilian soccer occurred even before professionalization in the 30s—a theory proposed by Mario Filho. "This theory has been questioned. Players with Black phenotypes began to appear in the late 10s," Buarque says.
According to the professor, who taught Social History of Football at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and will be a professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation next year, Vasco's pioneering role in using Black players in its squad can be downplayed. "Vasco had a different club culture—it was a boss-employee relationship that was brought from business to football. Flamengo, when it signed Black players, didn't have this employer relationship."
For Bernardo Buarque, who did post-doctoral work at the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme in Paris, with an ethnography of Paris Saint-Germain fans, Flamengo fans had the ability to transform a derogatory nickname, "vulture," with racist connotations, into something positive, inverting what was a joke.
A Flamengo fan, one of those who once ventured to follow the team to games in other cities, Bernardo Buarque believes there are still taboos to break. Among them is the fact that few Brazilian coaches in elite teams are Black.
"It's so rare for a black coach to be successful that, without a doubt, Andrade's results in this Brazilian championship carry symbolic weight. It's important that it be that way," he adds.
According to Mario Filho, before putting a mulatto on the team, Flamengo had put a black player on the team: Jarbas. And then Roberto. "While Fluminense brought to Álvaro Chaves the great players of São Paulo football, almost all white, many with Italian names, Flamengo brought to Gávea the great red-and-blacks of Rio football, almost all black: Fausto dos Santos, Leônidas da Silva, Domingos da Guia, Brazilian even in name."
According to Professor Bernardo Buarque, PhD in Social History of Culture from PUC-Rio, Flamengo was able to capture the changing times that Brazil was experiencing in the 30s and 40s. "Flamengo changed the face of the team, incorporating Black people into its football teams. Jose Bastos Padilha [Flamengo's president] played a role, signing players who played for other teams. And in the 1938 World Cup, with the strong performance of Brazil and Leônidas, Black people also became the face of Brazil in the world. This can be used to explain Flamengo's popularity."
However, Buarque points out that some researchers argue that the introduction of Black players into Brazilian soccer occurred even before professionalization in the 30s—a theory proposed by Mario Filho. "This theory has been questioned. Players with Black phenotypes began to appear in the late 10s," Buarque says.
According to the professor, who taught Social History of Football at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and will be a professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation next year, Vasco's pioneering role in using Black players in its squad can be downplayed. "Vasco had a different club culture—it was a boss-employee relationship that was brought from business to football. Flamengo, when it signed Black players, didn't have this employer relationship."
For Bernardo Buarque, who did post-doctoral work at the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme in Paris, with an ethnography of Paris Saint-Germain fans, Flamengo fans had the ability to transform a derogatory nickname, "vulture," with racist connotations, into something positive, inverting what was a joke.
A Flamengo fan, one of those who once ventured to follow the team to games in other cities, Bernardo Buarque believes there are still taboos to break. Among them is the fact that few Brazilian coaches in elite teams are Black.
"It's so rare for a black coach to be successful that, without a doubt, Andrade's results in this Brazilian championship carry symbolic weight. It's important that it be that way," he adds.