Background
Friedenreich was born in São Paulo Paulo to Oscar Friedenreich, a German businessman whose father immigrated to Brazil, and Mathilde, an African Brazilian washerwoman and the daughter of freed slaves.
Friedenreich was born in São Paulo Paulo to Oscar Friedenreich, a German businessman whose father immigrated to Brazil, and Mathilde, an African Brazilian washerwoman and the daughter of freed slaves.
Nicknamed The Tiger, he was arguably the sport"s first outstanding black player. He is occasionally stated as the all time top scorer in professional football, with 1329 goals, although this is highly disputable. Friedenreich was the first professional football player of Afro-Brazilian origin, because at that time football was dominated by Whites and Blacks were not accepted.
He faced many barriers because of racism, and he could not attend the same places where white players were, such as swimming pools, tennis courts and parties.
He started his career influenced by his father, playing for South Carolina Germânia, a Brazilian football team composed of German immigrants. After playing with a succession of São Paulo club sides from 1910 onwards, Friedenreich made his debut with the national team in 1914.
He played twenty-two internationals, including wins in the 1919 and 1922 editions of the Copa América, scoring ten goals. On Brazil"s 1925 tour of Europe, he was feted as the King of Football.
Clubs 1909: Germânia 1910: Ypiranga 1911: Germânia 1912: Mackenzie College 1913: Ypiranga 1913: Americano from Santos 1913-1914: Paulista ? 1914: Atlas* (Atlas Flamengo Football Club from Santos) ? 1914-1915: Ypiranga 1915-1916: Payssandu 1916: Paulistano 1917: Ypiranga 1917: Flamengo 1917-1929: Paulistano 1929: Internacional* 1929: Atlético Santista* 1930: Santos* 1930-1935: São Paulo 1933: Dois de Julho (Bachelor)* 1933: Atlético* 1935: Santos 1935: Flamengo *) just for one match. clubs with "?" are not definitively identified.
Top scorer He was top scorer of the Liga Paulista in the following years: Because of the internal quarrels and the ensuing split of the league into the LPF and APEA he had to share the top scorer title with the following players in the following years: Friedenreich retired while playing for Flamengo in 1935 at the age of 43. He died on September 6, 1969 at the age of 77. His exact number of games and goals is not known.
Friedenreich is reported to have scored 1329 goals in 1239 games.
However, Pelé fans argue he scored 1239 in 1329 games. Club International Individual.