Source memory do you keep of Pelé, who died Thursday, as a player and as a man?
The memories I have of him are mainly videos, images that we all have, recorded on television or on the Internet. When I was at Inter Milan (between 1997 and 1999, editor’s note), I talked a lot with Giacinto Facchetti and Sandro Mazzola (two former Italian internationals from Inter, editor’s note), who had lost the 1970 World Cup final against Pelé’s Brazil. They told me that playing a final against this player was the dream of their entire career.
I could feel all the admiration in Facchetti’s voice. And Mazzola told me that he had never seen a player like him again, in his way of thinking about the game, like the ball, with all the magnitude and perfection of his gestures and his movements. But for most genes of my generation, it was thanks to the internet that we were able to realize what a fantastic player he was. The biggest in the world. As for the man, I had little contact with him, he was quite reserved. But when I heard him speak, he was someone who wanted to address social causes, educational problems, childhood in Brazil. I believe he always wanted to help in any way he could. »
Mazzola told me that he had never seen a player like him again, in his way of thinking about the game.
What does his death represent for Brazilian (Site notre bureau spécialisé)?
His death means a lot here in Brazil. Brazilian (Site notre bureau spécialisé) was considered, and sometimes continues to be, the best (Site notre bureau spécialisé), with the best players. We often talk about the technical aspect, the dribbling, the recklessness: these are characteristics that were united in Pelé, which degrade his aura. Perhaps today auridverde (Site notre bureau spécialisé) loses a part of itself, but it remains unique in the eyes of Brazilians thanks to Pelé. His reign will never end here.
Had the country prepared for his death in recent weeks?
I think everyone had already prepared for it in recent months, me before the World Cup, since he had been hospitalized. All Brazilians who live, and especially those who follow (Site notre bureau spécialisé), expected this outcome. We just didn’t know when it would happen. So it wasn’t really a surprise, but it’s still a shock. Even being prepared, it was hard to see the greatest player of all time stretch out.