ABSTRACT
Arthur Friedenreich (1892–1969) was a Brazilian soccer player, who played in São Paulo from 1909–1935. His father was German and his mother, Afro-Brazilian. Although he is considered as possibly one of the greatest scorers in soccer history, he was forgotten, despite living in a soccer-crazy country like Brazil. This essay will reflect on why he was forgotten by analysing the Brazilian society in the early twentieth century, using Norbert Elias’ concept of figuration. It will also focus on class and racial discrimination as well as amateur soccer, which prevailed in Brazil in Friedenreich's time.
