sport news Former Sheffield Wednesday stars David Ford and Peter Eustace recall incredible ... trends now
David Ford and Peter Eustace went go on to enjoy long and successful careers in English football but they would never forget one night before it all began and a personal close encounter with Pele.
It was October 1962 and world champions Santos had appeared for the first time in England, in a friendly against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, where Ford and Eustace were serving their apprenticeships.
‘Pete said to me, “Let’s go into their dressing room and tidy up”,’ recalls Ford, more than 60 years on. ‘My first reaction was, “No, we can’t do that” but he somehow he talked me into it. It’s all his fault. That’s what I always say.
Pele and Santos played at Hillsborough in 1962 as the Brazil legend played in England for the first time ever
‘So we went into the away dressing room, which was just across the corridor from the Wednesday dressing room.
‘We walked in and there was Pele, sitting right in front of us, seven or eight yards away.
‘He was just finishing taking off his boots and socks, and sat there wearing only his shorts. We went straight across to him. I bent down and picked up his socks and unrolled them.
‘I picked up some more socks and shorts and pieces of kit and we were packing them away, knelt on the floor in front of Pele. I wasn’t praying, although I could’ve been. He was that kind of player, he was that good.
‘My eyes were transfixed because I noticed his lower legs were completely covered in scars, white scars that stood out clearly on his skin. It made me think, “Wow, how many times has this guy been kicked into the stands?”.’
Pele scored a penalty during the 4-2 win but his meeting with two players beforehand is what stands out most
Pele - who died last week aged 82 - was already a marked man. Such was his impact as a 17-year-old in the World Cup in 1958 that he became the man to stop. He picked up an injury as Brazil defended their title in Chile in 1962 and limped out of the World Cup in England, in 1966.
He was hurt against Bulgaria in the opening game, and tried to play on but was kicked relentlessly until he was carried off, during the third group game against Portugal when defeat condemned Brazil to a premature exit.
Santos — until then a club of relatively modest means catapulted to glory by Pele and the team they built around him, which conquered the world, twice winning the Intercontinental Cup — quickly realised there was money to be made from their stars.
They played 22 friendlies, including games
