Re: Pele remembers despair of last Maracana final RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) Its the day of the last World Cup finale in Brazil. Pele is nine years old. Back then, hes just Edson Arantes do Nascimento. Edson has been playing outside. He rushes into his house and notices his father is crying. Brazil has just lost to Uruguay at its sacred Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The nation has been thrown into mourning. Eight years later in the World Cup in Sweden I saw my father cry again but with happiness because we won the World Cup, Pele said on Saturday, the eve of the finals return after 64 years to the Maracana. He adds: I have luck. With that first World Cup triumph in Stockholm in 1958 (the 17-year-old Pele scored twice in the final), a footballer and a team of Brazilians began a World Cup legacy that captured five titles, three of them for the man now known as Pele. No team or player can match that record. On Sunday, Pele, now 73, will watch the final at the Maracana, one of 74,000 people - around 100,000 less than crammed into the arena in 1950 - at one of sports most glorious events. Sadly for him and 200 million others, Brazil wont be there, but the man revered for 50 years as the worlds best player, the favorite son of the most celebrated team, will be. He wont be the main attraction or even a sideshow at the 2014 final. Unless FIFA and local organizers spring a major surprise, Pele wont be part of the glittering closing ceremony that will include Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen. The man who did more than anyone to make Brazil the No. 1 football nation on the planet has barely been seen during the World Cup. His interview with The Associated Press on Saturday is at a sponsors event for Subway restaurants. He is sitting in a small backroom in Rio wearing a bright yellow Brazil shirt with a gold cross hanging from his neck and says hes not fussed that he wont be at the center of things on Sunday at the Maracana. I stay outside because I was four World Cups inside and Im already 10 World Cups outside, he said. Its not a surprise because I am here since the beginning of the World Cup ... but Ill be there (at the final). I wish that we see a good game. Ill be there. Soon after the interview, Pele popped up at the counter to help make some sandwiches. The crush of reporters and television cameras that pushed him back at one point was shrugged off with a smile and a joke: Hey, if you dont play nicely I will push you all outside! he said in Portuguese. In the back office, Pele told the AP he picked four teams to do well at this World Cup: finalists Germany and Argentina, and Brazil and Spain. Spain, the defending champion, was knocked out in the first round. I missed on Spain but I think everyone missed. For Pele, Germany is the best team and should win the World Cup, and he insisted his opinion was not based on Brazils fierce rivalry with Argentina and the possibility that they could lift the trophy at Brazils Maracana. We are neighbors. No problem. We are brothers, he said, laughing now. But, of course, if you be reasonable, honest, Germany is the better team. A more organized team. But this is the game: You never know what is going to happen. Brazilian star Neymars back injury, which ruled the man who now wears Peles No. 10 shirt out of the semifinals, was the most memorable moment of the tournament for Pele for the wrong reasons. And Brazils 7-1 semifinal rout by Germany was a disaster, he said. When you have a disaster, theres no reason, no explanation, he said. You cannot have an answer for that. No way. This is football. A box of surprises. He said he still thought Brazils football federation should stick with coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and the young team. There was no doubt in Peles eyes that Brazils World Cup was an overall success: We hope to finish the way weve been (going) ... with peace, beautiful games, a lot of people in the stadium. The interview ends with the recollections of 1950 and his father, who was also a footballer, but only for a local team. And then Pele switches back to this World Cup. He just cant seem to shrug off that heavy loss to Germany. This World Cup, I thought I dont want my son to see me cry, Pele said. He didnt see me cry but very sad. --- Gerald Imray is on Twitter at twitter/GeraldImrayAP Feature photo courtesy of REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 23:30:01 +0000
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