Football's Einstein

On the field Pelé did everything modern players do now, and much more

- MILAN SIME MARTINIC

Pelé receives the ball just inside the penalty area, a quick touch sends it looping over the defender; before the Swedes know it, the ball comes down in front of a perfectly positioned Pelé, and he strikes a firm, low shot past the diving goalie into the back of the net. Goal. No, Goooaaaal.

The iconic finish came 55 minutes into the final of the 1958 World Cup. Pelé scored a second goal in the 90th minute as Brazil beat Sweden 5-2 to win their first World Cup.

The king had arrived. The 17-year-old had scored a hat trick in the semifinal against France. One of the goals was a stunning volley from the edge of the box.

Pelé created the space for the shot by using his right thigh to guide a bouncing ball away from a French defender. With Pelé, things like that happened all the time.

“He broke all the rules, all expectations,” says coach Silas Eduardo Severino. He ought to know. He shaped the career of Endrick Felipe, the Brazilian wunderkind hailed as the next Pelé and Real Madrid’s latest acquisition. “He was Einstein with the ball,” says Silas. “People were not prepared for what he did.” He was synonymous with unparalleled greatness, with Santos, with Brazil.

There was just no equalling the great man with the smile and the goals that were thrilling the world. Many old reels remain, now available to more people and analysts than during Pelé’s time.