MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Brazil unveils statute of Pele, to celebrate 50th anniversary of 1970 World Cup
Pele, who will be 80 in October and finds it difficult to walk, was not present at the ceremony in the CBF’s museum but had declared the statue was “perfect” The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) unveiled a statue of Pele at its headquarters on Thursday, the first of a series of events to commemorate June’s 50th anniversary of the team’s third World Cup triumph.
Pele, who will be 80 in October and finds it difficult to walk, was not present at the ceremony in the CBF’s museum but had been given a preview of the statue which he declared “perfect”
Jairzinho, Clodoaldo and Brito were among members of the 1970 team present at the ceremony, along with current Brazil coach Tite.
The 1970 Brazil side, led by Pele and featuring names such as Gerson, Tostao, Rivelino and Carlos Alberto, is frequently rated the greatest team of all time. They won all seven of their matches in Mexico, culminating with a 4-1 over Italy in the final at the Aztec stadium.
The life-size statue of Pele, dressed in the strip worn by the 1970 team, bore a close resemblance to the former Santos and New York Cosmos striker, unlike many of the statues of famous footballers unveiled recently around the globe.
Statues of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Northern Ireland’s George Best have been ridiculed by fans while one of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in Malmo was vandalised by Malmo fans after the Swede acquired a stake in rival club Hammarby
Top Comments
Disclaimer & comment rules-
-
Read all commentsPele was a wonderful footballer, probably the bets, but also a deeply flawed human being, who cowtowed to the military government and denied his own blackness, the classic ;'Uncle Tom'. The black population of Brazil, now demanding their rights at last, do not view him as a pioneer of their demands - in fact, quite the opposite.
Feb 21st, 2020 - 09:29 am 0Pytangua
Feb 21st, 2020 - 05:22 pm 0What shite ! Pelé was an exceptional athlete who preferred to dedicate himself to his profession, and mind his own business...
By the look of it, to you, anyone who did not attack the military regime, had to necessarily Kowtow to them (not Cowtow, idiot !)....you sound like radical idiot....so I can safely presume that you were either one of the freedom fighters, who got their ass kicked, or a kowtowing piece of crap...
As to “denied his own blackness”, absolutely ludicrous...
Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!