By Mely Lerman, June 12th, 2010
Soccer players come and go...
Sic transit gloria mundi
But Pelé was different.
Messi is a good player, Maradona knew how to play, he used even his hands. Many Brazilians and Argentinians knew how to control the ball. There are even players from other countries who could kick.
But Pelé was different.
I saw it in 1959 in Maracanã. Seleção de São Paulo against Seleção do Rio de Janeiro. They were all there: The unforgetable Garrincha, the two goal keepers - Castilho (Rio) and Nilton Santos (São Paulo), Didi, Gilmar and many of the stars of 1958.
Even in this group of galaticos Pelé stood out. He dominated the game, he was incredibly relax, he enjoyed every minute of the game but above all you could see what really differentiate him from the others.
He did not play, he did not control the ball - no, he and the ball were one entity. They were not two objects apart. They were one.
Sic transit gloria mundi
But Pelé was different.
Messi is a good player, Maradona knew how to play, he used even his hands. Many Brazilians and Argentinians knew how to control the ball. There are even players from other countries who could kick.
But Pelé was different.
I saw it in 1959 in Maracanã. Seleção de São Paulo against Seleção do Rio de Janeiro. They were all there: The unforgetable Garrincha, the two goal keepers - Castilho (Rio) and Nilton Santos (São Paulo), Didi, Gilmar and many of the stars of 1958.
Even in this group of galaticos Pelé stood out. He dominated the game, he was incredibly relax, he enjoyed every minute of the game but above all you could see what really differentiate him from the others.
He did not play, he did not control the ball - no, he and the ball were one entity. They were not two objects apart. They were one.
