Brazil vs. Exeter City F.C. was the first match involving the

Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team ( pt, Seleção Brasileira de Futebol), nicknamed ''Seleção Canarinho'' (‘Canary Squad’, after their bright yellow jersey), represents Brazil in men's international football and is administered by the B ...

. The match was part of the Exeter City tour of South America where the team played against Argentine and Brazilian teams, just like other British clubs toured before and after during the first years of football in the region.

History

The match was played on July 21, 1914 on the field of Fluminense FC, located at Rua das Laranjeiras, in a high class area on the south side of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

. Brazil played

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

, then a third tier club in England, who were touring South America. The newly formed Brazilian Sports Federation ( pt, Federação Brazileira de Sports), FBS, brought together the best players in

and

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

. Among those called up were great early names of Brazilian football: Marcos de Mendonça,

Friedenreich Arthur Friedenreich (18 July 1892 – 6 September 1969) 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 ...

, Abelardo De Lamare, Rubens Salles and Sílvio Lagreca. Exeter had previously won two friendlies in Rio de Janeiro - first, they won 3–0 against English players who competed in the sport's championships in Rio de Janeiro, and then overcame

5–3 - and were favourites to win. However, in a display of skill and technique that surprised the Exeter City players, Brazil beat their opponents 2-0, with goals from Oswaldo Gomes – the first in the team's history – and Osman, both in the first half of the match. Astonished and powerless to react, the English resorted to violence. Despite the appetite of their foreign rivals, light and leisurely football by Brazilians prevailed. More than a hundred years later, Exeter City is proud to have participated in the birth of the Brazil national team. At its home stadium,

St James Park St James Park and variants may refer to: Municipalities * St James Park, New Zealand, a suburb of Hamilton, New Zealand Football stadiums * St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England * St James Park (Exeter), Exeter, England * St James Park, gro ...

in Exeter, the Britons have hoisted the flags of Brazil. From the stands, one of ''The Grecians'' (The Greeks) fans' songs alludes to the historic clash with Brazil:

Match details

References

{{Exeter City F.C. Brazil national football team matches Exeter City F.C. matches 1914 in Brazilian football

History

Match details

See also

References