years old and scored a hat trick in the semifinal and then two in the final, including one where he flicks it over his head, over a defender and volleys it into the back of the net. so he followed that up with success in 62 and then again in 70, the only player to win three world cups. so i think it s very easy to explain why he s a legend. he s unquestionably one of the greatest football players that s ever lived. and you have to be a certain age, of course. and i m one of those people that were lucky enough to see him. my first world cup, i remember, was 1970, that brilliant brazilian side that he was the star of. and he had a profound effect on my love of football. now, we don t really have the access to see the amount of footage that we do in the modern game. even with maradona, we saw quite a lot more than you would do with pele, because obviously not so many matches were filmed. so we didn t see quite so much. and i caught him at the end of his career, but he was still outstand
pele to me. how humble is that? and ust as ou pele to me. how humble is that? and just as you are pele to me. how humble is that? and just as you are talking there, the new york cosmos have put out their own tribute and talk about his lasting impact on the sport of soccer in america. of course, over the decades, we have watched how soccer has tried to break through. he did have an impact, didn t he? irla he did have an impact, didn t he? ito question. i think that was one of the reasons why he came, because remember when clive was trying to get him hit, he said, come over here, you won tjust influence a club, you will influence a nation. and that is one of the reasons why pele came to new york, because he thought he could influence the nation, the united states, to turn over to soccer, because it was a very limited coverage over there. just a final thought, because you saw him and met him and got to know him at the tail end of his career, could you pinpoint what it was that made h
he wasjust simply made him so special? or do you think he was just simply born like that and it had to be? i he wasjust simply born like that and it had to be? and it had to be? i think he was ust born and it had to be? i think he was just born with and it had to be? i think he was just born with his and it had to be? i think he was just born with his upbringing, . and it had to be? i think he was| just born with his upbringing, he appreciated everything in life, everything in life and what he appreciated, and listening to henry talking, he was very responsive to people in the game, like gordon banks and bobby moore. he respected them so much, anybody that was successful in the world of football, pele was very humble towards them. he felt that he felt it was a privilege to be on the same pitch as them. in fact, privilege to be on the same pitch as them. infact, it privilege to be on the same pitch as them. in fact, it was the other way around. they were very privileged to be on t
funds and awareness for underprivileged, for great 0rmond street hospital over here in london. he was an ambassador and fundraiser for them as well. so pele did so much good, clearly on the pitch, the athlete of the century as voted by the ioc but also what he did off the pitch. we talked about the goals, you left off the list of that extraordinary dummy, the faint around the goalkeeper. it wasn t a goal, but it was one of the great footballing moments. he produced so many great footballing moments, didn t he? the crazy thing about perley as you think about 1000 plus goals, but actually it was some of the greatest memories were what he didn t score, when gordon banks made that amazing save, the save of the century. somehow scooping over pele s downward header in 1970. as you mention, the run around the czechoslovakian goalkeeper as well. i think one of those also show, particularly as the relationship and friendship with gordon banks, the
after all, he was one of the most famous names and faces in the world. he spent 18 years with one club, santos, averaging nearly a goal a game. by 1975, he was in the united states, the ultimate acquisition for a new league hungry for glamour. the league didn t last, but pele still thrilled new york. after football, he took on ambassadorial roles, commercial opportunities and naturally collected recognition. and pele expressed no regrets. if i have to to do every single game again since i was born until now, i would do everything again. and i thank god. the popularity of football, the very idea of what makes it entertaining, began more than any other man with pele. the legendary brazilian footballer pele, who s died at the age of 82.