sport news Brazilian legend Pele revealed a poignant side to being a global icon trends now
When Pele travelled to the UK a decade ago to promote the reformed New York Cosmos, he charmed the young and old, modest and stately.
At a charity reception in Downing Street, he spent several hours in the garden playing football with children and signing autographs.
To coincide with a trip to Old Trafford, he said Manchester United circa 2011 would have been a good fit for his talents. He also patiently fulfilled media commitments and flashed a winning smile for the photographer David Bailey.
Brazilian footballing legend Pele revealed a poignant side to being a global icon during the final interview conducted before his death
At one point, he agreed in principle to an Opus book in his name, too. The latest in a series of coffee-table tomes, the publisher Karl Fowler hoped the book would stand in handsome tribute to its subject’s career, combining photography, biography and an interview with Pele himself.
It would focus on his three World Cup triumphs, in 1958, 1962 and 1970. More than any other feat, they had secured his legacy.
‘We said, “Look, we’ve got to tell your story”,’ Fowler, who was involved in getting Pele to Downing Street, told The Mail on Sunday. ‘“Celebrate your career, and particularly the World Cups”.’
The project took a while to get off the ground and was slowed by the pandemic, but Fowler and his team spent enough time with Pele to glean insight into the man, travelling to his apartment in Sao Paulo and his princely beach home south of the city.
In discussions over content and design, they met with a gentleman host who showed calm, patience and clear enthusiasm for the work.
The Brazilian reflected on lifting the World Cup at just 17 when Brazil defeated Sweden in 1958
In discussions over content and design, they found their host to be gentlemanly, showing calm, patience and clear enthusiasm for the work.
‘There were photographs that he was seeing in their entirety for the first time,’ Fowler said. ‘He was reliving those memories again and he wasn’t afraid to show his emotion. For me, that showed his sincerity. He was humble, no airs and graces, and a very genuine person.’
Eventually, at the start of last summer, Pele sat down at his beach house to conduct what is understood to be his final interview, published here for the first time.
Pele was perhaps the most famous footballer of all-time and featured in four World Cups
He was in reflective mood, discussing how he wished to be remembered, the difficulty with living up to the expectations of his countless fans and the relief he felt at winning the 1970 World Cup, his career’s crowning achievement.
He also revealed how close he came never to competing in that tournament at all, having quit international football in what he described as the ‘shameful’ aftermath of the 1966 World Cup, with Brazil having been eliminated in the group stage as defending champions.
It followed his personal disappointment of leaving the 1962 tournament early through injury. ‘I didn’t want to play in another World Cup,’ he said. ‘This was the second tournament in a row where I managed only to play in two games before being injured.
