Pele's death, a huge landmark in the history of football.
Incredible scenes in Brazil this week with the scale of the mourning and his passing being marked internationally at all football matches and on all news and football programs on TV.
What Pele achieved both in club and international football will never be surpassed.
A good article here on how he in fact cemented his status as the best in club football in his era despite never playing outside the Brazilian and US leagues, by dominating major European sides with Santos:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/world-game/300776277/the-enduring-myth-that-pel-never-proved-himself-against-the-very-bestI spent some time during the recent World Cup, and later on his passing, looking at Pele's World Cup record.
It was far from an easy ride for him.
Football was much more physical then and attacking players weren't as protected as they are now.
1958 World Cup Sweden: Understandably, Pele was not initially trusted by his coach to play games at the beginning of the tournament, as a 17 year-old kid new to the side.
Pele's first game of that World Cup was in the third and final group game.
Having proved himself in that, he played the quarter-final (teams advanced directly to the quarter-finals before he 1980's).
And featured in all the knock-out games including the Final.
Four games, six goals in his debut tournament.
Chile 1962:However, the next World Cup was a different matter, the first of two tournaments where Pele was fouled out injured in the group stage.
Pele only played the first two of Brazil's group matches.
He didn't feature after that but Brazil had a strong enough team to win the Cup without him.
1962: two games, one goal.
England 1966: Again, the victim of physical play in the group stage.
Injured in Brazil's first group game versus Belgium, missed the second game, came back for the third game with Brazil in danger of elimination, but wasn't fit.
Brazil finish third in their group and crash out of the World Cup.
Pele: two games, one goal.
Mexico 1970 : Pele's crowning glory. Thankfully he was able to play every game in his fourth and final World Cup, in what is widely regarded as the best side ever to win a World Cup.
Group stage: Pele plays all three matches and scores three goals.
Quarter-final: full game, no goal in the 4-2 win over Peru.
Semi-final: full game, no goal in the 3-1 win over Uruguay.
Final: full game, one goal in the 4-1 win vs. Italy in Pele's last World Cup match.
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I suspect that Pele would have shone even more in the modern game where attacking players are protected more by referees and horrendous fouls are not tolerated.
We forget now the outright thuggery that sometimes took place at World Cups before red and yellow cards were introduced from 1970.
Sending-offs were often token, reserved for when things really got out of hand.
Notorious World Cup thuggery:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_FIFA_World_Cup_red_cards#Notable_incidents" Of more than two dozen matches that had multiple player expulsions, a few are remembered for their exceptional violence and brutality: the "
Battle of Bordeaux" (Brazil vs Czechoslovakia, 1938), the "
Battle of Berne" (Hungary vs Brazil, 1954), the "
Battle of Santiago" (Chile vs Italy, 1962).
"The Battle of Berne": a quarter-final 27 June 1954 at the
1954 World Cup between
Hungary and
Brazil, Violent conduct and fighting prompted English referee
Arthur Ellis to send off three players during the match. Fighting between the teams continued in the dressing rooms after the final whistle with armed Hungarian communist secret police eventually intervening.
In total, 42 free kicks and 2 penalties were awarded, with 4 cautions and 3 dismissals issued.
Hungary manager
Gusztáv Sebes needed four stitches for a facial wound received during the fighting.
The match's English referee
Arthur Ellis commented years later: "They behaved like animals. It was a disgrace. It was a horrible match. In today's climate so many players would have been sent off the game would have been abandoned."
Despite evidence from independent witnesses of violent conduct from both sides, football's governing body
FIFA did nothing, leaving discipline to the respective countries. The Hungarian squad were awarded the
Order of the Red Banner for finishing as the tournament runners-up. Brazil awarded its squad the
National Order of Merit for Sport."
"
The Battle of Bordeaux: the
World Cup quarter-final between
Brazil and
Czechoslovakia on 12 June 1938.
The match had a series of brutal fouls by both sides, due to the lax officiating of Hungarian
referee Pál von Hertzka and became the first time that three players were sent off in a World Cup match.
Captain
František Plánička and
Oldřich Nejedlý from Czechoslovakia suffered a broken right arm and right leg respectively in the mayhem. Their teammate
Josef Košťálek was injured in the stomach.
Three Brazilians left the field with injuries."
No substitutes were allowed in World Cup finals matches until 1970, meaning sides had to struggle on with reduced numbers.