Just a year later, the whole world would come to know of the boy from Brazil — still not yet 18 — after his stunning international debut at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, showing glimpses of the magic to come and, in the course of the tournament, becoming the youngest World Cup winner in history. Pelé remains the only player to have been part of three winning World Cup teams and whose efforts earned Brazil the right to retain the Jules Rimet Trophy (the name of the trophy used from 1930 to 1970) permanently after winning the World Cup a record three times. Subsequent trophies are referred to as the FIFA World Cup Trophy. Pelé clearly inherited his father’s talent for prolific goal-scoring, with pundits estimating his career goals to come close to the 1,300 mark, including 77 for Brazil. And it was Pelé himself who is said to have coined the term joga bonito — Portuguese for “the beautiful game” — when he published his 1977 autobiography My Life and the Beauti ful Game, thus entering it into the modern vernacular as a synonym for football. And he himself is certainly one of its most expressive exponents, whose style of play is best described as just that. Style. A friend of mine once commented that Brazilians appear to be born with brains in their feet, and how they do not just play on the pitch, they samba. Fusing technical skill with free-flowing grace and ingenuity, it is best described as physical poetry on the pitch, or ballet with a ball. Since Pelé’s time, however, there has been some grumbling about how the Seleção has moved from joga bonito to futebol força — eschewing skilful elegance for a more defensive yet aggressive and physical style of play. “I think today is more physical than before,” nods Pelé in agreement. “It is more important now to fight… to win the game. It doesn’t matter if it is a good game so long as you win. That is totally the difference.” Followers of the sport would also have noticed another striking difference — how it has become more of a business than anything. Certainly, if one were to look back at the jerseys of yesteryear, you would be hard pressed to find a big logo emblazoned across it. A quick look at today’s selections, however, and it would be impossible to find one without it. Pelé nods sagely, saying, “Unfortunately, life is like that now. Today, business is very important. Before, people were more focused on the game. But now, with all the big investments — in clothes, shoes, equipment — football becomes a business. “But, more importantly, and even so, football remains the best sport that brings people together. Unfortunately, somebody has to pay the bill. That is part of life,” he adds with a laugh.
As Russia prepares to host the World Cup next year, which is expected to bring in 32 teams as well as millions of fans (the previous World Cup attracted 3.3 million attendees), we ask Pelé who he thinks will win, to which he chuckles, saying coyly, “I never predict, but Brazil has a new coach now who I think has more experience than Dunga [Carlos Verri], the previous one.” Tite (Adenor Bacchi) appears to have pleased Pelé already with his performance, quickly guiding the Seleção to eight consecutive victories in World Cup qualifiers since his June 2016 arrival, as well as making Brazil the first country to qualify for Russia 2018. “I wish Brazil to be one of the finalists of the World Cup in Russia… at least to the final,” he says, before cheekily adding, “But if we win, is better.” Certainly the memories of his own final World Cup win in 1970 remain particularly vivid. Brazil, then under Emilio Medici’s military rule, was a country in turmoil and the Seleção felt enormous pressure to win. No longer a young ingénue enjoying a light hearted debut, Pelé had by then reached national hero status and was under intense pressure to bring home the proverbial “golden fleece”. It is hard to imagine a time when nation and sport were embroiled in a more fraught relationship. He shares, “A lot of people think maybe my first World Cup in Sweden was the most important, but, no. It was very bad in Brazil in 1970 with our political problems. I prayed to win and God was so good. God gave me the strength and we won — Brazil was champion. That was a very important moment in my life.” His smile flashes broadly upon the recollection. Certainly, it was a time of football par excellence. Adjectives such as “spectacular”, “spellbinding” and “brilliant” were all the order of the day, with sports writers benchmarking Brazil’s 1970 World Cup victory as the pinnacle performance in football history. When asked whether he ever considered coaching as a second career, Pelé remarks: “I have had a lot of opportunities, invitations, to be a coach. It was nice [to be invited], but I had decided my life already and I said ‘no’. To be a coach is not for me… too much ‘suffer’. I wish good luck for the coaches but never for me… too complicated. It is difficult. I worked with good coaches and lost and won with some bad coaches,” he chuckles. On the possibility of seeing a champion emerge from Asia or Africa in the near future, Pelé thinks for a minute before answering, “It is difficult to say, but I love football and it would be very important for the game all over the world if so, because it is to bring people together. Because of football, we could have the opportunity to stop the war in Africa,” he says, referencing the 1967 48-hour ceasefire between federal and rebel troops in Lagos so they could watch Pelé play in an exhibition game during a visit to war-torn Nigeria. Although he has long hung up his football boots (and with coaching certainly not an option), Pelé’s responsibilities today revolve around promoting the values of health, education and sport, with a particular tender ness towards children. When he scored his 1,000th goal in 1969, Pelé dedicated it to the Brazilian youth. Sharing a commitment to sport
It was, in fact, Hublot’s dedication to sport that appealed to Pelé and that led to his being appointed an ambassador for the brand. “It is an honour for me to represent Hublot, a brand that stands for innovation and watchmaking tradition. They share my commitment to the sport of football,” he says. Guadalupe says: “When we choose an ambassador, we want a legend. And a legend is someone who has achieved everything, is indisputable. And in football, the first name that comes to mind is, of course, Pelé.” “I have a lot of endorsements, proposals to promote things,” continues Pelé. “But to beer and alcohol, I say ‘no!’ If it is not good for [the image of] sport or people... I don’t accept. I always pray that God will give me the conditions to pass good messages to children. And this is what I look for when I enter into partnerships and the reason I don’t accept a lot of endorsements. But Hublot, I think it was an important one as Hublot supports sport. And sport is important for the life of people, children… and that is the reason I accepted.”
Accessing all areas
Hublot’s Ricardo Guadalupe on why football is the perfect fit for the watchmaker
“People ask me, why does Hublot love football?” muses Ricardo Guadalupe, genial CEO of Hublot. “In 2006, Mr [Jean-Claude] Biver had the vision of football being a unique platform for brand awareness. Football has a large spectrum and reaches lots of potential customers.”