Pele, O Rey (Pele, The King)

STUART BOLTON recalls when a young Brazilian turned in a virtuoso display…

THE pre-season transfer of Neymar from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for the price of a medium sized planet prompted me to look back at a performance from another Santos old boy that was rated by everyone who saw it as out of this world.

The player in question was, of course, Pelé, the then emerging star of world football.

It was Santos’ golden jubilee in 1962 and, as if to emphasise the point, the club set about voraciously claiming silverware.

The club had put together a team with all the right components. They had an assured goalkeeper, Gylmar (who went on to win 94 caps); a solid, no-nonsense defence; their captain was Brazil’s silky-smooth playmaker, Zito, with his Zorro-like moustache, who would slice open opposing defences as if at will; and up front they had the swashbuckling duo of Pelé and Coutinho, the guy they called ‘Pelé’s twin’ (which suggests he might have been half decent).

The 1961-62 season had seen the club retain their Brazilian regional league title. Added to this came the Brazilian Cup and, with a victory over Penarol of Uruguay, the Copa Libertadores, South America’s premier club competition. This saw Santos claim an unprecedented treble. But they were by no means finished.