Iconic footballer Pelé returned to the City of Joy after 38 years, and relived past moments. Partha Mukherjee captures the frenzy on the field

 
Thirty-eight years is a long time but not long enough for the King of Football—or his fans—to forget. So when Emirates flight EK 0570 touched down at Netaji Subhas International Airport in Kolkata at 8:07 am on 11 October, the media that had assembled to share this unforgettable moment began to scramble over the barricades to catch a glimpse of the legend.

Moments went by and excitement began to bubble over. Then, all of a sudden, the aircraft door snapped open, and Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known to the world as Pelé, stepped out. Wearing his trademark smile, black jacket and grey trousers, the Brazilian football legend, arguably the greatest football player of all time, waved warmly to the crowd. It was a special moment for the football-crazy city, for their beloved legend had returned.

Pelé was escorted from the tarmac to the terminal and when he emerged from the transit lounge, he fed the media frenzy with practiced ease. Perched on the footboard of his car, he waved slowly and obliged photographers, who couldn’t get enough.

Pelé was in Kolkata on a four-day private visit on a schedule chock-a-block with soccer-related appointments, media moments and Q&A sessions. Only 12 days away from his 75th birthday, the former football superstar now takes the help of a walking stick. But that is the only sign of the passage of time. The flight from Rio de Janeiro via Dubai to Kolkata was long and punishing but there was no evidence of either jet lag or ill health—he has only one kidney, and suffers from an impaired retina and a damaged hip.

Before his car pulled away, Pelé said to the media. “I want to be a world citizen. I enjoy travelling from one country to another just as I shift from one room to another in my home. The entire world is my home.” That age is only a number for Pelé is evident from his remark made in hospital in São Paulo, where he was being treated for a urinary infection. “I will be ready to play for Brazil as one of the three over-23 players at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro!” Here, in Kolkata, Pelé remarked in his baritone, “Thank you Kolkata, I am happy to have come to the city again.” Then he blew kisses at his fans, who chanted “Pe-lé! Pe-lé!” The chant subsided only after his seven-car convoy sped away, to take him to a hotel in South Kolkata.

The football legend last visited Kolkata in 1977, to play an exhibition match against West Bengal’s Mohun Bagan Club. The Kolkata club’s request to host a match had, in fact, been turned down by Brazil’s Cosmos Football Club as the Kolkata football club couldn’t bear the exorbitant appearance fee. The club then wired a personal message to Pelé, who realised the importance of playing in front of 80,000 spectators. The match itself was a 2-2 draw but football fans, who watched the legend play on their home ground at Eden Gardens, will never forget those precious moments.

Back to the present and Pelé’s convoy wended its way through a sea of people waving the Indian tricolour and the Brazilian flag. While security personnel struggled to cut a path through the hysterical crowd, Pelé waved through the window and dazzled with his winning smile. As he approached his destination, nostalgia weighed heavily on him. Referring to his previous visit to the city, he recalled, “I was 37 then, and 38 years have passed since. My visit to Kolkata in 1977 is still fresh in my mind. It rained heavily as we arrived at Dum Dum airport. The [football] ground was so slushy.”

The clock struck 10 as Pelé’s convoy and the media pulled in at the hotel in Alipore, where he was staying. Chuni Goswami, also called the ‘Pelé of Asian Football’, was all smiles as he received the ‘Black Pearl’. After the mandatory photo-shoot, Pelé caught questions from the media, dribbled past some and also scored a few winning goals. “Is Pelé the best footballer the world has ever seen?” Goswami took this question. “Pelé is the greatest of all greats—arguably the numero uno. Diego Maradona might look charming on the field as a dribbler, and De Stefano, Garincha, Vavá, Didi and Zágalo were footballers of outstanding quality and so is Messi, but Pelé is a legend and will remain one as long as there is football.” The next one was aimed squarely at the ‘King’ himself. “Would you be a fan of Pelé if you weren’t born as Pelé?” His adroit reply pointed to his impeccable reflexes. “I would be the fan of the parents who made Pelé.” Then more questions: “How would you rank Messi?” Snatching the ball from Pelé, Goswami offered a short and crisp reply, “Both Messi and Diego will be near his rank.” Then the in-swinger: “Do you know that ‘White Pelé’ [former Brazilian footballer Zico] is currently in India coaching a Goan team?” To this, Pelé shot back, “There cannot be a Pelé of a different complexion. There is one and only one Pelé, and he is black.” Goal!

On the following day, the legend visited a Durga Puja pandal in South Kolkata, accompanied by former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly. The combination of the ‘King’ and the ‘Prince’ together certainly set the mood of Durga Puja in the city.

Finally, Pelé’s most nostalgic moment of his Kolkata visit had arrived: felicitating the Mohun Bagan team that played the 1977 exhibition match against him 38 years ago. First, he felicitated P K Banerjee, the coach of the team back then. “I had instructed my boys not to rough-tackle him for his feet were priceless,” recalled Banerjee. Then, the other former players gathered around the living legend, chatting and catching up with him. Did he think the penalty awarded to Cosmos during the exhibition match was legitimate or was it awarded under pressure as the appeal had come from Pelé? It was a question Kolkata’s football fans—and Mohun Bagan—had been wanting to ask for close to 40 years. “Yes, I remember that the spot-kick was converted by Girogio Chinalia and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. To err is human.”

Later in the day, at a Q&A session at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Pelé was asked to pick the greatest footballer he had ever seen. “It would have to be Bobby Moore, who captained the England team in the 1966 World Cup and led them to victory. Almost 50 years have passed, yet his superb ball control is still etched in my mind. But in the past 10 years, it has been Lionel Messi who has enthralled me every time he has played the game. Ronaldo is also a skilled footballer. I would love to have both, LM10 and CR7, in my team.”

Q&A done, Pelé rose from his chair on the podium. Leaning on his walking stick, he stood up and flashed another warm smile. Then the Black Pearl, who scored 1,281 goals in 1,365 games, bid adieu.

A STAR IS BORN

His wasn’t just a bad case of itchy feet. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, aka Pelé, was destined to become the greatest footballer of all time. Yet his roots were more than humble. His parents couldn’t afford to buy him a football, so the little boy practiced barefoot, with an old sock stuffed with rags.

The lad often skipped school to play football in a nearby playground. Sometimes he was found shining shoes or selling roasted peanuts in front of a movie hall. Perhaps to mock his luck, he formed a team called ‘Shoeless Ones’—this is where he learnt his unorthodox dribbling manoeuvres and honed his electrifying reflexes that later stunned the sporting world and earned him monikers such as ‘Black Pearl’ and ‘King of Football’.

The Brazilian football genius caught the attention of Waldemar de Brito, a former soccer star, when he was only 15. De Britto took Pelé to Santos FC and told them that the teenager would one day be ‘the greatest football player in the world’. Santos signed him on de Britto’s recommendation. And thus, on 7 September 1956, Pelé made his professional debut at an exhibition match, and proved that the club had made no mistake. He scored a goal within a few minutes.

After that, there was no stopping the legend-in-the-making. In 1958, Pelé became the youngest player to play in a World Cup final, at 17 years. He was also declared by the media to be the ‘greatest revelation of the 1958 World Cup’. And just when it seemed like it couldn’t get better, Brazil went on to win its first-ever World Cup that same year, beating hosts Sweden, 5-2.

There truly has not been another player like Pelé, who is credited with revolutionising the game with his inimitable style. Not surprisingly, he was courted by European teams with the promise of great wealth but Brazilian president Janio Quadros declared Pelé “a national treasure” who could not be exported. On 19 November 1969, Pelé scored his 1,000th goal in Rio de Janeiro. In 1970, Pelé played for Brazil’s World Cup team once again, and in Mexico City beat Italy to lift the Cup. It was Pelé’s play, both in scoring and in setting up goals for his teammates, that won them the title. When he announced that he would retire from international competition in 1971, the event was televised across the world—a feat in those days. By the time he left the game, he had scored 1,281 goals.

After Pelé retired from pro football, he was signed by the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. He retired for good in 1977, at the age of 37, but continued to be active in sports circles, becoming a commentator and global ambassador of soccer. He also did a stint in politics, serving his country as Minister of Sports in 1977. He has published many autobiographies, starred in documentary films and has composed musical pieces, including the soundtrack for the film Pelé in 1977. The footballer has also acted in Hollywood film Escape to Victory featuring Sylvester Stallone.

Journey of the Black Pearl

Edson Arantes do Nascimento aka Pelé
Date of birth: 23 October 1940
Games played: 1,365
Total no. of goals: 1,281
September 1956 Made professional debut with a four-goal performance
1958 Became the youngest player to play in a World Cup final at 17 years
19 November 1969 Scored his 1,000th goal in Rio de Janeiro
1970 Played for Brazil’s World Cup team; Brazil beat Italy to lift the Cup
1971 Announced retirement from international competitions
1977 Retired from the sport at 37 years
Accomplishments: World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (1999); listed among TIME’s 100 most influential people of the 20th century (1999); listed in Guinness World Records for most career goals scored in football and most FIFA World Cup Winners’ Medals

Photo: Subhendu Ghosh/Hindustan Times & Dinodia Photo Library
Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
November 2015