Charles Miller. Father of the beautiful game

Football is the most popular spectator sport in the world – possibly the only global sport – and Brazil is arguably the greatest footballing nation in the world, having won the World Cup more times than any other country. Even people who are not keen on football have heard of Pele, often considered the world’s greatest player. However, how many football fans are familiar with the name of Carles Miller and his contribution to what Pele called ‘the beautiful game’?

Known as the father of Brazilian football, Charles William Miller was born on 24 November 1874 in Sao Paolo to a Scottish father and Brazilian mother. In 1884, young Charles was sent to school in England, where he learned to play both football and cricket. Miller became skilled in running with the ball, heading and taking free kicks.

In 1894 Miller returned to Brazil with two footballs and the copy of the rules of football. The Sao Paolo Athletic Club had been formed in 1888 by a group of British men who played mainly cricket. Miller persuaded them to take football. He was also instrumental in setting up the Liga Paulista, the first football league in Brazil. Over the first 20 years of the next century, state championships were formed throughout Brazil and in 1914 the first national side played against Argentina.

Miller was not only a great player, but also an excellent coach and administrator. In Brazil he spent a lot of time and effort teaching and coaching Brazilians. After retiring as a player, he continued to be as a referee until the age of 50.

When football became professional in Brazil in 1933, Miller was disappointed and decided to have no more contact with the game. He felt that sportspeople should be amateurs – he didn’t like the introduction of money and business into sport. For Miller, football was a game, and about participation and doing your best, not money.

Charles Miller’s memory lives on in the skilful individual game which is Brazilian football. It is also kept alive in another way. When the Sao Paolo sports writers association brought out a dictionary of football terms in Portuguese, only one word survived from the vocabulary of the past: charles or or chaleira. Named after Charles Miller, it is a clever pass with the heel of the foot. The exciting ball skills of a great Brazilian player, including Pele, owe something to the pioneering spirit of Charles Miller and his passion for the game of football.

Read the article again carefully. Are the statements true, false, or not given?

1. Miller played football professionally.

2. Miller was educated in England.

3. Miller scored a lot of goals.

4. Brazil first played against England in 1914.

5. Miller played for several teams in England.

6. Brazil has won the World Cup four times.

7. Miller has a football move named after him.

8. Miller started a football club in Brazil.

ІІ. Виконайте вправи на вживання професійної лексики. Вивчіть нові слова.

1. Complete using the following words: addition, balance, exercise, fight, injury, operation, shape, treatment.