Hans Nobiling

Sport 1887 Germania Club 

As a youth Hans Nobiling played for the Hamburg club Sport 1887 Germania. The club, founded unsurprisingly in 1887, was a forerunner of Hamburg SV and shared their blue and black colours.

In 1897 Nobiling moved to Brazil. When he settled in São Paulo he carried his enthusiasm for football with him (along with an actual football) and soon set up an informal club side that was generally known as Hans Nobiling's Team.
At the time much of the  football activity in São Paulo took place amongst the pupils of Mackenzie College. When the college looked to broaden their horizons they approached São Paulo Athletic Club, which was made up of Englishmen. SPAC weren't keen on playing outsiders, their members played games amongst themselves. Mackenzie College then approached Hans Nobiling  and he obliged, so on March 5th 1899 Hans Nobiling's Team played Mackenzie in a 0-0 draw, probably the first inter club fixture in the history of Brazilian football.
On August 19th 1899 a meeting took place to discuss the formation of a new club in São Paulo. Hans Nobiling was present, one of 25 attendees who included Brazilians, Germans,French, Portuguese and English. Nobiling proposed the name- SC Germânia. This was put to the vote and rejected in favour of Sport Club Internacional. Incensed, Nobiling and his compatriots left the meeting and on 7th September founded their own club,SC Germânia  They chose the Hamburg colours, blue and black.

SC Germânia: Hans Nobiling wearing the necktie

In the first edition of the Campeonato Paulista in 1902 SC Germânia finished 4th from 5 with only one win from their 8 games. Perhaps Nobiling gained some satisfaction from the fact that their win came against the club that finished bottom, Internacional.
Germania won the Campeonato Paulista in 1906 and 1916.

1904

1914

This is reputedly the the oldest picture that shows football in Brazil:

 Internacional v Germânia, 1899.

Campeonato Paulista 1902

Due to the vast size of the country Brazil did not have a national championship until 1970. Regional Championships were the main form of club competition, and the oldest of these is the Paulistão.

CA Paulistano 

São Paulo AC

 1. São Paulo AC           8  5  2  1  21- 6  12
 2. Paulistano             8  5  2  1  12- 7  12

 3. Mackenzie              8  3  3  2  13-15   9
 4. Germânia               8  1  2  5   5-15   4
 5. Internacional          8  0  3  5   4-12   3

Play-off: (26.10.1902)

São Paulo AC  2-1 CA Paulistano    
 Miller (2)                   Alvaro


Season top goal scorer: Charles Miller (São Paulo AC)  10 Goals

São Paulo Athletic Club, also known as SPAC, was  founded on May 15 th, 1888 by Charles Miller and several English immigrants. The club's players were English employees of Companhia de Gás (Gas Company), London Bank and São Paulo Railway. São Paulo Athletic was generally supported by the British community living in São Paulo.

Paulistano was founded on December 29th, 1900. Despite not winning the inaugural title, they were the dominant force in São Paulo football up until 1920. In 1930 Paulistano dissolved with the advent of professional football.

Mackenzie College Athletic Association was the first club founded in Brazil by Brazilians (1898), inspired by a visit to the USA by a teacher, Mr. Augustus Shaw, who promoted organised sports to his pupils.


Internacional (Sport Club Internacional de São Paulo) was founded in August 1899 by Englishmen, Germans, Portuguese, Frenchmen and Brazilians. When the name was decided by vote Internacional was chosen over the name S.C. Germânia.

The displeased German contingent, under the leadership of Hans Nobiling formed the breakaway club, named, unsurprisingly, S.C. Germânia.