Though the exact number of goals that Brazil and Santos legend Pele scored in his career is a matter of debate, there is no doubt that he is one of the greatest.
His pure figures – 1,283 goals according to the Guinness Book of Records, 765 at a more conservative estimate – are remarkable. But he was far more.
He was a poor black boy from a deeply racist, socio-economically divided country who became the symbol of a nation and a worldwide superstar.
He was a super-human athlete – his standing jump was as high as Michael Jordan’s; he ran 100m on grass in 11 seconds.
And his football skills went beyond sticking the ball in the net. Those who watched or played alongside him will tell you of a 360-degree passer and superb dribbler. And – they’ll often tack on the end of their wide-eyed tributes – he was a great goalkeeper too, you know?
For all of his fame gained taking shots, Pele was just as fond of saving them.
In a 2014 interview with ESPN Brazil, Lima, one of o Rei’s Santos team-mates, told of how the squad would stay for a kickabout after training. Invariably, Pele would be in goal.
But it was not just for fun. Pele took his goalkeeping deadly seriously. He asked the teams specialist ‘keepers for tips and corrections; he would focus on his technique and timing.
Up until 1970, when substitutions were introduced into Brazilian domestic football, an outfielder had to go in goal if a ‘keeper was injured or sent off. For Santos, that outfielder just happened to be one of the greatest footballers of all time.
“Although I’m not that tall,” Pele wrote in his 2006 autobiography, “I was always a good goalkeeper because of my leap. Both with Santos and the [Brazilian] national team, I was always the reserve goalkeeper. I played four times in goal for the club and just once, in a friendly, for Brazil.”
The first time Pele was called to pull on Santos’ all-black No.1 shirt was in a low-key Sao Paulo state championship game against minnows Comercial. Having already scored, Pele went in goal 20 minutes into the second half and did not concede.
The second time he slipped on the gloves on, though, the pressure was far greater. In the Pacaembu stadium in the city of Sao Paulo, Santos were playing the second leg of the semi-final of the Brazilian Championship in front of more than 60,000 people.
The 1963 edition of the tournament had run into the first month of 1964 and Santos came up against Gremio for a place in the final.
Gremio…
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