Abstract
This paper unfolds how amateur and professional football players as well as the idea of amateurism and professionalism, were represented and broadcasted, in the city of Belo Horizonte, MG, between 1945 and 1946. It particularly focuses on the news published by the sports newspaper Diário Esportivo. Through this material, the manuscript explores the ambiguous discursive placement in relation to professional players. It shows how sometimes the news highlighted and praised for maintaining “souls” of amateurs, sometimes they criticized and denounced the players for not fulfilling their work obligations satisfactorily. The verification of an ambiguous, conflicting and diverse scenario demonstrates the complexities of this football experience in the specific context of the city of Belo Horizonte. Moreover, it also suggests a more careful look at the coexistence of amateur and professional regimes and expanding the perspective of the simple passage that the idea of transition commonly suppose.
Keywords:
Amateurism; Professionalism; Football; Newspaper.