page_title: Arthur Friedenreich
section_title: Early playing career
hierarchical_section_title: Arthur Friedenreich / Biography / Early playing career
caption_attribution_description: English: squad of São Paulo Futebol Clube in 1931. Português: equipe do São Paulo Futebol Clube em 1931. Español: equipo del São Paulo Futebol Clube en 1931.
context_page_description: Arthur Friedenreich was a Brazilian professional footballer, who played as a forward. He was nicknamed The Tiger or The Original "Black" Pearl, and was arguably the sport's first outstanding mixed race player. He played when Brazilian football was still amateur, which lasted until 1933. He is occasionally identified as one of the all-time top scorers in football history, although this is highly disputed.
context_section_description: He started his career influenced by his father, playing for SC 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 which was the first ever game Brazil played beating Exeter City 2-0. In the game, Friedenreich famously lost two of his front teeth due to a heavy slide tackle. He played twenty-two internationals, including wins in the 1919 and 1922 editions of the South American Championship, scoring ten goals. On Brazil's 1925 tour of Europe, he was feted as the King of Football. He was also the top scorer in the Sao Paulo League in 1912, 1914, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1921, 1927 and 1929.
  Friedenreich was very young when he developed his own style of play and was 17 when he first became a part of an elite club. After that, Friedenreich bounced around from club to club until he found a long lasting home with CA Paulistano, a top Brazilian club. Friedenreich would play for the club CA Paulistano for 12 years before the club disbanded. He would then join the club São Paulo da Floresta.
caption: SPFC squad featuring Arthur Friedenreich in 1931
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