what kind of nickname is this? – Sport – Kommersant
[ad_1]
Pele has been to Russia six times. In July 1965, he conquered the Moscow public by demonstrating a brilliant game in a match with the USSR national team, won by the Brazilians with a score of 3: 0, in September 1988 he came to the opening ceremony of the Moscow City Golf Club, in January 1997 and September 2003 he advertised coffee Pele, in March 2014 in Krasnodar participated in the launch of the exclusive campaign “Play like Pele” and visited the academy of FC Krasnodar and, finally, in June 2017 attended the matches of the Confederations Cup. During the third and fourth visits, Kommersant correspondent Grant Kosyan was lucky enough to interview the king of football.
Pele’s unprecedented popularity in Russia was ensured by his first trip. No, football fans knew who Pele was even before 1965, but, as you know, it’s better to see once … And it was not easy to see Pele in the sixties: not many people had TVs in those days.
Soon after the start of the match, it became clear to everyone: the spectators who filled the Luzhniki stands to capacity, the coaches and players of the USSR national team: it was simply impossible to resist the Brazilians led by Pele. Toward the end of that completely lost match, the thoughts of the Soviet football players were mainly occupied with how to exchange a jersey with the king of football (the jersey eventually went to Tbilisi Georgy Sichinava).
– You first came to Moscow in 1965 as part of the Brazilian national team for a friendly match against the USSR team. Do you remember that game?
– I remember very well. I scored two goals and we won 3-0. In general, the matches of the Brazilian national team with the USSR have always been and are very interesting. And I am pleased to know that my first game for the national team was the match with the USSR in 1958.
– Everyone knows that you knew very well the goalkeeper of the USSR national team Lev Yashin. And which of the Soviet football players do you still remember?
– I remember Igor Netto and the player who played on the right edge for you then, but his name, unfortunately, slipped out of my head. Your Russian names are very hard to remember. Shesternev, a central defender, I remember, some others … And with Yashin, indeed, we had a great friendship. I loved him very much, and after his death I saw the widow of this great goalkeeper.
Who was your favorite partner?
– If we talk about the 1970 team, then my favorite partner is Tostao. And at Santos, Coutinho. He was a very smart player, he combined well with me. With Coutinho, we changed places: if he pulled back, I moved forward, and vice versa. And if we talk about the game in the middle zone, I can definitely name Didi, who provided us with passes. When he left the national team, the great player Gerson appeared. He also fueled the offense with passes. I was lucky in the sense that I got to play with great players from almost all over the world. When I went to the New York Cosmos, a great team also gathered there. Beckenbauer played there in 1978-1979, there were still great guys, it didn’t take long to think there, everyone understood each other perfectly.
– It is known that you dreamed of scoring from the center of the field. In the match with the Czechs in 1970, you were close to it, but the dream did not come true. But, for example, Gheorghe Hadji in 1994 scored a magnificent goal from the center to the Colombians. Have you seen him?
– Saw.
— Wasn’t it boring?
— (laughing.) Or maybe I taught them all to score from the center of the field? Before me, no one tried to beat from there.
– You are called the king of football; You have given so much to this game. What has football given you?
“Football has given me everything. He opened the world to me. The poor boy became a great man. I can say that if I had studied at the most famous university in the world, I would never have been able to get the opportunity to study the life of different countries, the history of other peoples, as I was able to do through football, traveling around the world. Probably, this was the most important thing – thanks to football, I was able to learn the culture of many peoples of the world.
– The Brazilian national team became the world champion five times, successfully performed at almost all world championships. Which of these teams did you like the most?
– The 1958 team had great players: Pele, Didi, Vava, Nilton Santos, Jalma Santos. In terms of the quality of the stars, she was the best. However, the unsurpassed Brazilian team was still the team of 1970, when we became world champions for the third time. In second place, in a purely football sense, I would put our team in 1982, which was led by Tele Santana. True, she did not become a champion, losing to the Italians … Paolo Rossi scored all three goals against us then. Interestingly, after that tragic match for us, he did not stand out in anything special. On the third – the team of coach Carlos Alberto Parreira in 1994. Then we became champions again after a 24-year break. Although that team was not that brilliant, but it was well organized. This is its main advantage.
– And what about the team that won the last championship – 2002?
– This team was quite decent, but their path to gold … In the qualifying tournament of the South American group, they barely crawled into the final part of the World Cup. And there her opponents were not the strongest. (laughing.) Because I pulled out an easy group for her at the draw, where there were Costa Rica, China and Turkey. The latter forced our players to work. Therefore, we relatively easily left the group. We had a decent team, but no more.
– Could anyone prevent the Brazilian team from winning the World Cup?
– Theoretically, the most dangerous rivals were France and Argentina. They were considered favorites. But they, as you know, could not even leave the group. And for us, oddly enough, the most difficult game was against Turkey, although they were not the strongest team.
And against England?
— No, still against Turkey.
– At the last World Cup, Ronaldo is called the best in the Brazilian national team, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho are also mentioned. Do you agree with this assessment?
Ronaldo is a really great player. If only because he managed to return to football after an injury. But, to be honest, besides this trinity of Ro-Ri-Ro, as they are also called, I would mention other players. We had a great goalkeeper Markus, who is not much remembered, midfielder Kleberson. He first appeared on the field in the first team in the quarter-final match against England and played very well.
– You said that in terms of individual skill, the Brazilian team of 1958 is the strongest team in history. Would she have beaten the 2002 world champions?
— (laughing.) Of course, the 1958 team would have won. Because I played for her.
— When you watch the final of the 1970 World Cup, you beat the Italians 4:1, it seems that the pace of the game was very slow, that the players literally walk across the field…
— It is necessary, firstly, to understand one simple thing that many do not take into account when watching a video. The 1970 final was played in Mexico, during the day, in unimaginable heat. Of course, today’s football is much faster, the players hold each other more tightly, and there is much less time to handle the ball. But the current players, unlike the players of my time, are better protected from the point of view of the rules of the game, the referees got yellow and red cards, they chop much less from behind than before: the violator will be immediately kicked out of the field. In this sense, it has become easier to play than before.
– Your version of the symbolic team of the world of all time?
I try not to define. You can name a lot of players, but it is difficult to arrange them in a clear order.
– It is known that you dreamed of scoring from the center of the field. In the match with the Czechs in 1970, you were close to it, but the dream did not come true. But, for example, Gheorghe Hadji in 1994 scored a magnificent goal from the center to the Colombians. Have you seen this goal?
– Saw.
– Wasn’t it annoying?
— (laughing.) Or maybe I taught them all to score from the center of the field? Before me, no one tried to beat from there.
Have you ever scored a penalty?
– In all twenty years of my career, I have not scored a penalty twice. Once hit the post, another time the goalkeeper took the ball.
– Once you yourself stood at the gate …
– In fact, I got up at the gate five times. In the teams for which I played, it was established that if an emergency situation occurs on the field and the goalkeeper cannot continue the match, then I become the goal. No, I really was a good goalkeeper.
– You had a long football career, a huge number of partners both in Santos and in the Brazilian national team. Which of them was easier for you to interact with?
— There have always been many outstanding football players next to me. At the beginning of my career in the national team, it was Zitu, Didi and Vava. In the late sixties – early seventies – Gerson and Tostao. As for Santos, where I played almost all my life, there were Coutinho and Pepe, two people who were closest to me in terms of football spirit. I played with them with great pleasure.
When I went to the American Cosmos, a great team also gathered there. Franz Beckenbauer played there, there were great guys, there was no need to think long, everyone understood each other perfectly. In general, I was lucky with partners.
Are you friends with any of them?
– Basically, I am friends with the Santos players – with Zito, Coutinho – and others, with Carlos Alberto, my teammate. I was also very friendly with Didi, Garrincha, Vava. Unfortunately, they are no longer alive. I also have excellent relations with Mario Zagallo, with whom I played in 1958, and in 1970, under his leadership, our team became the world champion.
– What are your interests, besides football, what else do you do?
— Even when I was playing, my hobbies were composing music, poetry, playing the guitar, singing. I still do this sometimes. I have another hobby. I really like to fish, I even went to the Amazon. I have my own hacienda in Sao Paulo with small ponds, and I often fish there.
– What kind of sports, besides football, do you still play?
I love tennis and have been addicted to it for a long time. I even have a tennis court in my yard. Tennis is good because if there is a decent player on the opposite side of the court, then he will make you run, sweat and lose weight. A lot of my friends come to see me for a game of tennis. I also want to learn how to play golf. But for him, I think I’m too young. (Laughs.)
– You are a super-popular person in Brazil. Would you like to run for an important public office? There is no doubt that you will get a lot of votes.
Politics is not football for you. This is completely different. Of course, many would vote for me. But getting a lot of votes does not mean winning the election. I already have political experience – I was the Minister of Sports, and this experience showed that it is better not to get into politics.
— How do you like Russian people? You once said that Russians are like Brazilians…
— Yes, there really is something in common between our peoples. Our bureaucracy is similar, and there is enough disorder – both among the Russians and the Brazilians. Maybe because we are similar, in Russia, I heard that Brazilian TV shows are well received. I also sometimes watch series and I think that Brazil is the best producer of such films.
What is the most vivid memory of your childhood?
– When I was seven or eight years old, some boy called me Pele while playing football. I was offended: what kind of nickname is this – Pele? I say: no, that’s not my name. Then all the other children, as always happens, specifically began to call me Pele. And since then this nickname has stuck with me. And then this nickname became the most popular in the world.
— During your life you have achieved great success, and not only in football. To whom would you most like to express gratitude for your victories?
– First of all – to the Lord God. This is the first. If we talk about people, then to my parents. They gave me a respectable religious upbringing, which helped me to make myself the way I am.
[ad_2]
Source link