DO YOU KNOW THAT ONCE PELE PLAYED
FOOTBALL ON NIGERIA SOIL?
I MEAN IN LAGOS
LOOK WHAT GREAT FOOTBALLERS SAYS ABOUT
PELE
BOBBY MOORE
"I arrived hoping to stop a great man, but I
went away convinced I had been undone by
someone who was not born on the same
planet as the rest of us."
BENFICA GOALKEEPER COSTA PEREIRA, AFTER
5-2 DEFEAT TO PELE'S SANTOS
"There's Pele the man, and then Pele the
player. And to play like Pele is to play like
God."
MICHEL PLATINI
"Messi has all the conditions to be the best,
but first he has to beat Maradona, Romario
and then eventually Pele."
ROMARIO
"Pele is the greatest player in football history,
and there will only be one Pele in the world."
"He is the most complete player I ever saw."
FRANZ BECKENBAUER
"I told myself before the game, he's made of
skin and bones just like everyone else — but I
was wrong."
TARCISIO BURGNICH, WHO MARKED PELE IN
1970 WORLD CUP FINAL
"An artist in my eyes is someone who can
lighten up a dark room. I have never and will
never find difference between the pass from
Pele to Carlos Alberto in the final of the World
Cup in 1970 and the poetry of the young
Rimbaud. There is in each of these human
manifestations an expression of beauty
which touches us and gives us a feeling of
eternity."
ERIC CANTONA
"I sometimes feel as though football was
invented for this magical player."
SIR BOBBY CHARLTON
"Pele was the only footballer who surpassed
the boundaries of logic."
JOHAN CRUYFF
"The best player ever? Pele. [Lionel] Messi and
Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with
specific qualities, but Pele was better."
ALFREDO DI STEFANO
"We went up together to head a ball. I was
taller, had a better impulse. When I came back
down, I looked up in astonishment. Pele was
still there, in the air, heading that ball. It was
like he could stay suspended for as long as he
wanted to."
FORMER ITALY DEFENDER GIACINTO FACCHETTI
"When I saw Pele play, it made me feel I
should hang up my boots."
JUST FONTAINE, TOP SCORER AT 1958 WORLD
CUP
"The best of all was Pele, who is a mixture of
Di Stefano, [Diego] Maradona, Cruyff and Leo
Messi."
ARGENTINA'S WORLD CUP-WINNING COACH
CESAR LUIS MENOTTI
"Pele was the most complete player I've ever
seen. Two good feet. Magic in the air. Quick.
Powerful. Could beat people with skill. Could
outrun people. Only 5 ft 8 in tall, yet he
seemed a giant of an athlete on the pitch.
Perfect balance and impossible vision.
Pele was able to stop the Nigerian Civil War
for 48 hours!
Some of you might not even like football
(soccer), but it’s pretty much impossible that
you have never heard of this sport’s greatest
player ever: Edson Arantes do Nascimento or
most famously known as the legendary Pelé!
Pelé is known for scoring over 1,283 goals
throughout his career and winning 3 FIFA
world cups (3 out of the 4 he participated in).
He is indeed known as the greatest football
player ever in history (yes, even better than
Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo).
Many modern great teams such as Real
Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United
wanted Pelé to sign with them. However, the
government of Brazil declared Pelé an “official
national treasure” to prevent him from being
transferred out of the country!
His skills as a football player were able to
make him a star around the world. He toured
with his team (Santos do Brazil)
internationally so they could take advantage
of his popularity. Even in 1967, the two
factions involved in the Nigerian Civil War
agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire so they could
watch Pelé play an exhibition game in Lagos,
which happens to be the most populous city
in Nigeria!
So when Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo can stop
a war for 48 hours give us a call so we can
name them “the best football players in
history”
So So Huge A Man.....