WeeklySA_AdminA SAD SCENE: Fellow players and fans all sobbed that day even Muhammad Ali, another star athlete, flew in to watch the legend’s final game
By Sports Reporter
Pele, the legendary soccer player’s last game in 1977 was an exhibition match between two of his former clubs, namely, New York Cosmos and Santos. He was privileged to play the first half of the match for Cosmos and the second half for Santos.
The friendly match on 1 October 1977 between the American and the Brazilian clubs was not just a friendly match but is remembered as a significant event in soccer’s history.
Pele originally belonged to Brazil but was convinced by the then US Secretary of Foreign Affairs to come to the US and change the sporting landscape of the country. He joined the Cosmos in 1975. By the time of his retirement, Pele was looked upon almost as a religious figure.
Even Muhammad Ali, another star athlete, flew in to watch Pele’s final game. He scored a goal for Santos in the first half of the game, then switched jerseys and played the final half of the game for Cosmos.
Pele’s farewell match was a really sad scene. The fellow players and fans all sobbed that day. During the second half of the game, it poured down rain, so a newspaper humorously printed the headline the next morning “Even the sky was crying.” The phrase exactly describes how hard it was for everybody to say goodbye to the legend.
Pelé died in December 2002 at the age of 82 after he was admitted to a hospital in São Paulo in late November for a respiratory infection and for complications related to colon cancer. For more than 60 years, the name Pelé has been synonymous with soccer. He played in four World Cups and is the only player in history to win three, but his legacy stretched far beyond his trophy haul and remarkable goal-scoring record.
“I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint,” Pelé famously said.
Jomo Sono who is widely regarded as the best player South Africa has produced because of his outrageous talent, played alongside Pelé at New York Cosmos in the US during the 1970s.
