Mário Filho’s O Negro No Futebol Brasileiro (The Black Man in Brazilian Soccer) under and beyond the Shadow of Gilberto Freyre

Abstract

This article aims to provide the reader with a brief introduction to Mário Filho’s O negro no futebol brasileiro (The Black Man in Brazilian Soccer). While emphasizing the importance of this classic book, I will discuss a few of its central ideas, the context in which these ideas were produced, and how they came to shape the perception of sports and race in Brazil. Furthermore, in the last sections of this article, I will examine how issues of genre classification regarding Mário Filho’s book have affected the way it has been read and interpreted over the years.