Pele in Australia in 1990.Credit:Fairfax Media
In 1990, the world’s greatest footballer visited Australia to promote his book – The Pele Albums.
The Herald’s late, great, football writer Michael Cockerill detailed his great career before he arrived, was there at Sydney Airport when he landed and then sat down with the biggest name in the world’s biggest sport. Below are edited extracts of those articles.
Paragon of a player called Pele
Monday, October 29, 1990
Pele. A name that conjures up images of a graceful, agile athlete who conquered the biggest sport in the world without rancour, without greed, without spite. An ambassador, a diplomat – a great sportsman and a great man in every sense.
The Sportsman Of The Century voted the Americans, hardly soccer connoisseurs. Pele has transcended all barriers, all prejudices, because of the man he is. A humble man. A humane man. And, in his own words, a happy man.
The chronology of Pele, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento in rural Brazil, is well-documented:
Pele celebrates the opening goal of the 1970 World Cup final.Credit:Alamy
1957: Signs his first professional contract with Santos Football Club, and plays his first game for Brazil the same year.
1958: At 17, he becomes the youngest-ever player to appear in a World Cup, and finishes the tournament a winner.
1962: A second World Cup win with Brazil.
1965: A new record; eight goals in a game.
1969: Goal No.1,000, also a record.
1970: A third World Cup, and Brazil get to keep the Jules Rimet Trophy.
1971: Game No.1,000.
1974: Farewells Santos, and joins New York Cosmos.
1977: Retires after 1,365 games and 1,282 goals. Almost a goal a game for 20 years.
For once, the statistics provide a measure of the story. Pele, though he was not the angel on the pitch he has been portrayed by some, was the best player soccer has ever seen.
Even the current pretender to the throne, Diego Maradona, does not dispute that. Pele will be remembered as the greatest. One day, someone may happen along who can match his record, but that will not be enough. Pele, the player, was a member of an extinct generation, in an age before commercial considerations held sway. Witness Maradona with his minders, his hecklers and his sullen disposition, and you can see it is now impossible to find the true meaning of sportsmanship. Money has destroyed that type of idealism.
Those who have met Pele, and there are millions of them, remain in awe. He has the charisma of a Mandela or a Ghandi, an intrinsic goodness that sets great men apart. You can see Pele walk through a crowd, people tugging at his arms, some pushing to get a glimpse, yet he never looks unwilling.
He spares time when he has none, but he never complains because he accepts that fate has burdened him with heavy responsibility. And he does not begrudge that, instead he enjoys it.
And now the paragon has turned 50. The man who once stopped the Biafran war for a day so the warring factions could watch his skills remains more popular than ever.
The celebrations for Pele’s half-century have spanned the soccer world, and the eulogies culminate on Wednesday at the new citadel of world football, the San Siro Stadium in Milan, where the great man will lead a Brazilian team against a Rest Of The World XI in a charity match.
And then it is Australia’s turn. Pele arrives in Sydney next week to promote The Pele Albums, a two-volume collection of articles that include translations from Brazilian, French, Italian and German magazines and newspapers detailing his career. The collection provides the definitive insight into a life that began in abject poverty before a pair of magical feet swept the world away.
Pele scoring against Venezuela in 1962.Credit:AP
It will be Pele’s third visit here – first as a player with Santos in 1972, and then in 1988 to help promote the Gold Cup. Typically, he will use his latest visit for a good cause – a $200 a head black-tie dinner to launch The Pele Albums will be held at Sydney Football Stadium next Monday night, and proceeds will help Australian sporting teams prepare for the Barcelona Olympics.
Pele: Demigod and a good bloke to boot
Thursday, November 8, 1990
Everybody, it seems, wants a piece of Pele – even at 6am.
The greatest soccer player of all time, and one of the greatest ambassadors of any sport, arrived in Australia early yesterday to begin a whirlwind 10-day tour to promote The Pele Albums, a two-volume collection of press clippings which detail his extraordinary life.
‘But people only know Pele, they don’t know Edson. Edson is a quiet person.’
It is an itinerary of press conferences, book signings, dinners and television appearances which would extend a younger man, but then Pele is well accustomed to the rigours of public life.
Having just turned 50, he remains in as much demand as ever.
But if the pressures of being a household name are what you make of them, then Pele is at ease with the world. For a job which virtually amounts to being a travelling salesman for soccer, he gets extremely well paid to meet people from every section of society from around the world.
And Pele makes friends wherever he goes because of his natural, friendly and contented nature.
He is a man whose opinion carries great weight in the corridors of power. And yet he is also a man of diplomacy, so that publicly, at least, controversy is kept at a safe distance. To the Australian press that gathered just after dawn yesterday, there were no offerings for bold headlines.
Brazil’s Dani Alves, Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Brazil’s soccer legend Pele and Brazil’s Neymar, from left, stand together after Messi was awarded the prize for the soccer player of the year 2011 at the FIFA Ballon d’Or ceremony in Zurich.Credit:AP
“I know if I say something here today it will be around the world tomorrow,” he said with a knowing smile.
On proposed rule changes to soccer, including enlarging the goals and outlawing defensive walls at free kicks: “We have a different world today than when the rules were first made, and I believe soccer must consider change. I don’t know if what is being talked about now is exactly what should happen, but it is good to see people are thinking about ways of making the game more exciting. It will take time because the directors of FIFA (the world governing body) are very conservative.”
On the standard of the game in general, especially this year’s World Cup in Italy: “This was the worst World Cup I have seen. I felt sorry for all the players, only [Lothar] Matthaeus [the West German captain] stood out. For the game now, there are no stars and this is not good.
“I think the coaches must change their mentality. Now children are treated like machines, they are not free to develop their skill because coaches are worried about results. It is time to let the kids learn to create for themselves.”
On turning 50: “This was very emotional for me. The game in Milan [a match between a Brazilian XI and a World XI to celebrate Pele’s birthday] was something to remember. We lost 2-1, but I really wanted to win.”
On comparisons between himself and other players, including Diego Maradona: “I think Maradona is a fantastic player, but he had problems at the World Cup. I like to make a joke when people compare me to other players. I say when my mother and father made me, they broke the machine. It is a joke but it is true. I do not like to talk about myself so much.”
Christ the Redeemer statue is lit with the colours of the Brazilian flag to pay homage to late football legend Pele in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Credit:Getty Images
Face-to-face with Pele
Saturday, November 10, 1990
Q: I have seen you quoted as saying that now you have turned 50, you want to do something meaningful with your life. What do you mean?
A: Let me say I have no regrets about my life. I would do the same things again. I am very happy. But I have a lot to do yet. I am too young to just stop my life. One of the most important things for me personally is to see my kids grow up, to get them the right education. This is a priority. Of course there are also other things to do. Perhaps it will be to work with kids (Pele has been connected with UNICEF). Maybe it will be to stay involved with FIFA(the world soccer body). Maybe it will be politics. At this stage, I really can’t say what will happen next.
Q: Were you in any way surprised by the scope of the celebrations for your 50th birthday? Does it concern you that so much of your life is still considered public property?
A: You only turn 50 once, but I didn’t expect anything special until FIFA (through president Joao Havelange and general secretary Sepp Blatter) approached me and said, “Pele, you must do something about this”. The first plan was to play a game at Wembley, I never got the chance to play there and this was going to be something special. But there was a problem with the dates, so the game was switched to Milano.
Pele and Diego Maradona in 2017.Credit:MIKHAIL METZEL
It was not going to be a big occasion, I think, but because the game was going ahead in Italy and all the journalists were there for the World Cup, it just grew and grew. I don’t mind that it was so public, I have to accept that. For Pele, this is his life. But people only know Pele, they don’t know Edson. Edson is a quiet person (Pele was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento).
Q: You played for 40 minutes in your birthday game at the San Siro Stadium in Milan last week. Was this the last time we will see Pele in a football shirt?
A: One thing I have learned, is to never say never. I thought my last game was 10 years ago when I played in (Franz) Beckenbauer’s farewell match in New York. But I enjoyed this game in Milano, some of the young players in my team I only met in the locker room before the game. In future, charity games are still a possibility (Pele is currently down to 75kg, his normal playing weight).
Q: The standard of football at the World Cup finals was generally disappointing. Do you believe the tournament will prove to be a watershed, in that attacking football can only improve?
A: It is true the game cannot get any worse. This was the worst World Cup there has been. We had some good aspects, but technically the football was poor. Things just have to improve.
Q: Do you detect a serious mood among officials and coaches to bring back more entertainment to the game?
A: I believe these people are serious about changing the game. There have been many speeches and conferences since the World Cup about what can be done. Money is a big problem, coaches don’t care about how they play as long as they don’t lose. This philosophy has to change, and I think it will.
Q: With the next World Cup to be played in the United States, FIFA have made it clear that they believe this to be the best, and possibly last, chance for football to conquer North America. FIFA have also made it clear that they are to consider rule changes, such as larger goals and four-quarter football, to make the game more appealing for the Americans. Having completed your playing career in the US, and now spending up to five months of each year living in New York, what are your views on this?
A: I have said many times that I believe it is the right time to change the rules. Other games like baseball and tennis have made changes, so why not soccer? This does not mean rule changes have to be made for the World Cup to succeed in America. I believe the World Cup can be a success anyway-there are enough foreigners in America to fill the stadiums on their own. But some rule changes would make the games more exciting. I think what is more important than changing the size of the goals is to get rid of the (defensive) wall at free-kicks. I was a forward, and it is wrong that you can be going for a goal and then be taken down, and then there is a wall in front of you for the free-kick. This is not the way to encourage more goals.
Q: Having seen the changes that have occurred in South Africa over the past 12 months, are you excited about the possibility of that country returning to the FIFA fold?
A: This is a very good question, but I don’t know about the answer. I believe the game has improved a lot there in the past 10 years, and they could now have an excellent team. But it is hard to say what the future is. I don’t think anybody knows. What I do know is that I don’t like it when politics are mixed with sport, and unfortunately that is happening all the time.
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