Long live King Pelé!

THE EDITOR, Madam:

It is a pity Brazil didn’t win the World Cup this year in Qatar. It would have been a fitting tribute to Pelé. To win three World Cup titles is a great achievement. Pelé’s official tally of goals is 757, scored in 831 matches. However, the Guinness Book of Records credits him with 1,279 goals in 1,363 matches.

I don’t know much about the 1962 World Cup. I know more about the 1970 edition, and my interest in the 1958 competition in Sweden largely stems from the fact that I am a retired lecturer in French civilization.

Brazil defeated a talented French team 5 -2 in the semi-finals. I say talented because it consisted of goalscorers like Raymond Kopa (Real Madrid) and Just Fontaine (Reims). They put four unanswered goals past Northern Ireland, whereas Brazil edged out Wales 1-0 in the quarter-finals. The teams went in at half-time 2-1. The second half was the Pelé show, scoring in the 52nd, 64th, 75th minutes. Piantoni scored for France in the 83th minute, but the result was no longer in doubt. Interestingly, 5-2 was also the result in the final against hosts Sweden with a brace by Pelé. And we must never forget that he was just 17 in his first World Cup, in which he scored six goals.

So brilliant was Pelé that we have virtually forgotten Just Fontaine, who holds the record for the number of goals in a single edition of the World Cup – 13. Fontaine put four goals past West Germany in a 6-3 third-place match. Incidentally, Pelé named Just Fontaine as one of the greatest 125 living footballers in March 2004. He is still alive at age 89 and lives in Toulouse.

After the 1966 World Cup, a sportsmaster in our school, a Welshman, called out Pelé in a PE class. I think he called out a few other players, but I distinctly remember Pelé. In fact, he called into question South American football. No one said a word, but it was afterwards that I realised that the boys hadn’t appreciated it. It is now years after that I understand that Pelé was roughed up by Bulgarian and Portuguese players in the group stage. (I’m being euphemistic.)

Then came 1970 in Mexico. The quarter-final match against Peru (4-2) was a humdinger. However, the final match against Italy (4-1) has been described as a mismatch. He scored the first goal and his assist to Carlos Alberto is still talked about today. Burgnich, who marked Pelé in that match, is quoted as saying, “I told myself before the game, he’s made of skin and bones just like everyone else – but I was wrong.”

Pelé, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, will be laid to rest on Tuesday.

Condolences to his family and to Brazil.

NORMAN THOMPSON