Pele’s immortality | The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News ⬇️
Some new generation lovers of football have laboured in vain to compare Pele with Lionel Messi of Argentina or Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal but truly and frankly none of them comes near to Pele whether in football accomplishments or in global popularity and acceptability. Pele is just that: Pele, the world’s football icon known across continents and generations.
Pele was a man of many firsts. Some of these are documented in his book titled: “Pele, my life and the beautiful game,” jointly written by him and Robert L. Fish. Pele’s first international match was a 2-1 defeat against Argentina on July 7, 1957 at the Maracana. In that match, he scored his first goal for Brazil aged 16 years and nine months and he remains the youngest goal scorer for his country.
In 1999 he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee. He was also included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. In 2000 he was voted the World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics.
Even Nigeria appreciated the enormous influence and drawing power of the football icon. In 1967, the Biafran War was raging in Nigeria. There was going to be a football match between Nigeria and Brazil in which Pele was to feature. The soldiers on both sides of the war agreed to have a 48-hour ceasefire so that people on both sides of the war could watch Pele play. Infact, the two warring groups of soldiers provided security at the match.
Franz Beckenbauer, West Germany’s 1974 World Cup winning captain, said of his rival “Pele is the greatest player of all time. He reigned supreme for 20 years. There is no one to compare with him.” England’s 1966 FIFA World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore also put his views of Pele on record. He said: “Pele was the most complete player I’ve ever seen. He had everything. Two good feet. Magic in the air. Quick. Powerful. Could beat people with skill. Could outrun people.
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