On December 18, Argentina played France in the FIFA World Cup final. We saw Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe in a duel for the ages, 120 minutes of heart-stopping action, a roller coaster of emotion, a game that many good judges call the greatest World Cup final of all times.
Eleven days later, as if content that the baton had been passed, and that the beautiful game was in good hands, Edson Arantes do Nascimento passed away.
The basic fact about Pelé is his greatness as a footballer. Let me quote some people who are better qualified than me to judge. According to Johan Cruyff, himself one of the fundamental geniuses of football, “Pelé was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic.” The Brazilian striker Romario thought that “instead of calling the game football, we should call it Pelé”. And when the Manchester United player Pat Crerand was asked, how he spelt Pelé, he replied: “G-O-D.”
Now, all of this is true and it is essential to an understanding of Pelé. But saying it also reminds me of a remark that V.S. Naipaul made about India. Visiting in the early 1960s, he wrote: “India is the poorest country in the world. Therefore, to see its poverty is to make an observation of no value; a thousand newcomers to the country before you have seen and said as you.”
And so it is with Pelé. To say that Pelé was a great footballer is necessary, but it is also to make an observation of no value. Many people have made it before and many people will make it again. I will not, therefore, be writing much about Pelé’s greatness as a footballer. I am interested in thinking about Pelé from a different perspective.
ãã®èšäºã¯ THE WEEK India ã® January 15, 2023 çã«æ²èŒãããŠããŸãã
7 æ¥éã® Magzter GOLD ç¡æãã©ã€ã¢ã«ãéå§ããŠãäœåãã®å³éžããããã¬ãã¢ã ã¹ããŒãªãŒã9,000 以äžã®éèªãæ°èã«ã¢ã¯ã»ã¹ããŠãã ããã
ãã§ã«è³Œèªè ã§ã ?  ãµã€ã³ã€ã³
ãã®èšäºã¯ THE WEEK India ã® January 15, 2023 çã«æ²èŒãããŠããŸãã
7 æ¥éã® Magzter GOLD ç¡æãã©ã€ã¢ã«ãéå§ããŠãäœåãã®å³éžããããã¬ãã¢ã ã¹ããŒãªãŒã9,000 以äžã®éèªãæ°èã«ã¢ã¯ã»ã¹ããŠãã ããã
ãã§ã«è³Œèªè ã§ã? ãµã€ã³ã€ã³
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhiâs air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedentedâGrover Cleveland had done it in 1893âit is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a womenâs sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.