At the age of 15, Rene Colusso was already a big kid and a talented young footballer on the verge of playing first grade for the Marconi Stallions.
But it only took one tap on the shoulder from the legendary Pele to reduce him to tears.
“I started crying straight away. I was still a kid so I started to cry, yeah,” Colusso recalls. “I was always aiming to win the prize, I knew my quality and everything. But yes, when it happened …. it was a big moment.”
The death of Pele on Friday left the football world in mourning, including an Australian fan base that had, almost entirely, never seen the Brazilian deity play.
A lucky few saw Pele in action in Sydney in 1972, and an even luckier crop snatched a meeting or a personal interaction with the iconic footballer, who – by all accounts – remained grounded and genuine despite his stratospheric stardom.
Rene Colusso, and inset with Pele in 1972.Credit:Brook Mitchell, Supplied
Of all Australians, however, few can beat Renato Colusso for a personal Pele story. As a teenager, the Sydneysider was selected by Pele to fly to Brazil and train with his club for two weeks.
The incredible journey unfolded in 1972, when Pele visited Sydney with Santos FC to play against the Socceroos.
As part of the event at the Sydney Sports Ground, an under-16s match featuring the best young talent in NSW was staged as the curtain-raiser. Every young player worth their salt wanted to be in the teams because, as promoted before the game and spelt out in the program: “Pele will select the best player for a two-week ‘Live-in’ with Santos in Brazil.”
The under 16 curtain raiser, as seen in the 1972 program.
“It was publicised for all the young kids … all the young kids knew they could do the trial games and had a chance to be picked to play in that game, and to be picked to go to Brazil,” Colusso said.
Colusso, a midfielder, was selected to play in the curtain-raiser and scored two goals in his side’s 4-2 win. His club teammate, Berti Mariani, also scored twice. A selection panel advised Pele of their pick and the superstar strode onto the pitch.
“When Pele arrived, they asked him to go out and select the player, so we were all kind of turned around and he just came up and tapped me on the shoulder,” Colusso said.
Rene Colusso (second from right) and Berti Mariani (second from left) with members of Santos FC in 1972.
Colusso was overwhelmed, but just a few months later he was on a plane to Brazil. Via some Marconi fundraising, Mariani was also sent on the trip and the boys were chaperoned by well-known News Limited football journalist Tony Horstead, given the competition had been heavily promoted by The Sydney Mirror.
Former Australian footballer Rene Colusso and Berti Mariani at Marconi Stadium.Credit:Brook Mitchell
“It was a very unbelievable experience. We went to Santos and trained there for nine or 10 days,” Colusso said.
The travellers stayed in team accommodation, trained, met an array of stars and watched a handful of games, but only met up with Pele again once more.
“Being a famous player, he was very busy,” Colusso said. “He was 33 or 34 and coming towards the end of his career and he was about to sign to play in America for New York.
“After we went from Sao Paolo to Rio de Janeiro and trained with Flamengo – Zico was there – and then trained with Botafogo also. Flamengo wanted to keep me and Berti there, but being so young and with parents and school and all that, it wouldn’t work out.”
Rene Colusso with Alessandria manager Dino Ballacci after winning promotion in 1980.
Colusso returned home and played for Marconi’s top side aged 17, and then earned one full cap for the Socceroos aged 19 against China in Melbourne in 1975. Colusso was selected four times for Australia but then decided to try his hand at playing professionally in Italy and, after writing a letter, he secured a trial with Torino.
Colusso was the first Australian to play professionally in Italy and was on the cusp of a star career in Italy the next year when his form while on loan to Pisa saw him receive offers from giants Juventus and Fiorentina. But the following week Colusso blew his knee and the Serie A opportunities were gone by the time he recovered and returned to playing.
A solid career with several clubs in Italy’s second and third divisions followed, playing for eight clubs over 14 seasons before Colusso retired in 1986. With communication lines to Australian football far different to what they are now, Colusso was never called upon again by Socceroos selectors.
The Australian later managed two Italian clubs Reggina and Avellino and became a well known and well-connected figure in Italian football, and as a successful jewellery importer, Colusso still divides his time between Australia and Italy.
Mariani also played for Marconi and Apia, and was a successful manager of Marconi and Wollongong in the National Soccer League.
Pele and Rene Colusso met again in 1990.
Colusso caught up with Pele again during a promotional visit by the Brazilian great to Sydney in 1990.
Given all the people and places Pele had experienced, Colusso didn’t expect his brief visit to Santos in 1972 to ring any bells.
“But he remembered exactly about me and everything. We spent about 30 minutes together and had a coffee, he remembered the day and remembered me,” Colusso said.
“He was a beautiful person. He was a gentleman, he had time for everyone and it was genuine.”
