Pele remains a legend 60 years later

The most prolific goal-getter in the game's history visited Bar Sport's Premier Suite in Cannock yesterday to share Sunday lunch with nearly 300 people.

The town has been abuzz with the prospect of the 75-year-old visiting the West Midlands and the Brazilian legend did not disappoint, writes Craig Birch.

He spoke for around 45 minutes, fronting questions from host Paul Burrell and members of the audience about his career.

He made his debut for Brazilian club Santos on 7 September 1956, scoring on his debut months after signing his first professional contract at the age of just 15.

He's the only player to win three World Cups for his country in history. He won 91 caps, scoring 77 times, from 1957 to 1971.

His club career spanned 21 seasons with just two clubs, Santos followed by a stint in the United States with New York Cosmos.

According to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), his haul of 541 league goals has never been surpassed.

Taking into account friendlies and tour games, his overall tally was 1,281 goals from 1,363 games. During his playing days, he was the highest-paid athlete in the world.

Pele told of how the disappointment of the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, where Uruguay beat the hosts 2-1 in the final, hit his family. Aged nine, it spurred him on to lead his countrymen to future glories.

His dad, Dondinho, was a professional player himself and died in 1996. Mum Dona Celeste, now 92, is still alive.

He said: "The 1950 final was something I don't want to remember, but I do. I was outside playing with the other boys on the street and, in the early part, we heard the noise in the beginning.

"When Brazil lost the game, I came in and saw my father and his friend. They were very sad and my dad was crying.

"My father always told me that 'men don't cry' and it was terrible. I told him not to worry, because I was going to win the World Cup for him. In the end, I won three."

Pele was always humbled at how he was well appreciated by both sets of supporters during his playing days for his abilities.

He continued: "I'm so happy about that. Even if I scored a goal against your team, I've been received with an open heart all over the world."

There was one man in attendance who pulled on a shirt and featured in the same line-up as Pele. Egyptian-born forward Nasr Moussa Emam was a strike partner when the two were in the USA.

Pele ended his career playing for New York Cosmos on stateside after 16 years at his beloved boyhood club Cosmos, from 1975 to his retirement in 1977.

Mr Eman, 66, was a younger player and a team-mate at the Cosmos. He's since moved to England and is now living in Scarborough.

He and Pele embraced upon introduction and presented him with a gift from his native land declared him as the 'pharaoh of football.'

He said: "When you see a great player, you think he's going to be arrogant, but he wasn't. In the locker room, he was the same as everybody else.

"He never had a chip on his shoulder and he engaged a lot of the younger players."

Dave Jones, the first manager to take Wolves into the Premier League, was also among the guests. He discussed how meeting Pele made it a 'hat-trick' for him.

The 60-year-old, who is back living in the West Midlands at Bridgnorth, the house he's retained for his time as boss at Molineux, from 2001 to 2004.

He said: "I was delighted to be invited to come along, I've always told people that I have three idols in my life and Pele is one of them.

"I was fortunate enough to meet the other two, who were Bobby Moore and Eusebio, and Pele is the third. It's ridiculous that I've managed to do that.

"You count the best that have ever played the game on one hand and Pele is certainly on that. He'd still be up there if he played the game today.

"To be able to meet him, it's something that most of us are never going to be able to do again. I'm never expecting it to happen for a second time."

The show's comedian, John Stiles, comes from a footballing pedigree with his father, Nobby Stiles, a famous footballer with Manchester United and England.

Now 74, Nobby is in a care home suffering from advanced dementia, which son John believes is a direct result of heading the old brown leather footballs.

A coroner has previously ruled that West Bromwich Albion legend Jeff Astle, who died at just 59 in 2002, died as a direct result of that adage.

John said: "It's a sad time for my family, my dad is very poorly now and I believe a lot is from heading the balls during his career. There's becoming a big case for that, but people seem to be ignoring it.

"One of my dad's biggest regrets was that he never got the chance to play against Pele. He always rated him as one of the greats, as he did Eusebio who he played against at the 1966 World Cup.

"By the 1970 competition, dad had been injured and Alan Mullery was ahead of him but he was still in the England squad. His time to go up against Pele had gone, but he thought he was fantastic."

He added: "I was only six-years-old in 1970, but I remember Pele and me and dad used to talk about how he had everything.

"We always thought that the difference in Pele was that he was a proper team player. He wasn't any individual or maverick. I think he was the greatest ever."

The auction featured one item donated for charity, where promoter Scott Murray's chosen charity Kiltwalk benefitted to the tune of £1,100.

Cannock-born former England international Stan Collymore had tweeted he was due to attend but was not present.

A two-piece montage called 'the greatest save,' where England goalkeeper Gordon Banks thwarted Pele with a point-blank save from a header at his near post at the 1970 World Cup.

Castle Galleries Wolverhampton, on Victoria Street, donated the piece after learning of Mr Murray's show just after launching their own 'the Pele Collection.'