Pep Guardiola starred in a long speech about Pelé, the day after the King of Football died at the age of 82. The Manchester City coach not only revered the former player, but also recalled the first contact he had with his name.
Pelé had been hospitalized for a month at Albert Einstein Hospital, in São Paulo, but did not resist the complications resulting from colon cancer, discovered last year.
“On behalf of Manchester City, the greatest condolences to his family. Football is football thanks to these types of people, players and human beings. I think Neymar said that, before (Pelé) the number 10 was just a number. what he did for football is there and will always remain”, began Guardiola in a press conference this Friday.
Pep continued the statement with a story from when he was still at Barcelona’s academy. The coach commented that it was with the club’s physiotherapist, at the time, that he heard about Pelé for the first time.
“I had the first contact when I was at the base of Barcelona. There was a physiotherapist who was passionate about Brazil. He always talked about the Brazilian team and about Pelé. Then, when I was nine or ten years old, I started watching some videos. Now, with access to so many images, I understand how strong he was and how much he could do everything.”
“Some people say that back then the rhythm was completely different, that there were much more spaces. If they played today, these players would adapt to the pace and spaces easily because they were so good. This level of player controls the game, is very intuitive, skilled, has mental strength and all that. He could play in any generation.”
The City commander also took the opportunity to talk about the discussions around the world of the ball about who is the best player of all time. Pep Guardiola played down the comparisons, but highlighted the talent of each.
“Anyone who has seen Pelé, and I imagine it is like that for Brazilians, has Pelé as the greatest of all time. I understand. For Argentines, it’s Di Stéfano, Maradona or Messi. Everyone has their own opinion and that’s fine, it doesn’t mean one is better than the other. I always say that I choose Messi because I’ve been with him and for what he’s done for over 15 years, something very unexpected. But I understand people having other choices, what’s the problem? The certainty is that they all made an incredible contribution to the world of football”, he concluded.
Manchester City are saddened to learn from the passing of Brazil legend Pele, one of the all-time greats who did so much for the beautiful game. May he rest in peace 💙 pic.twitter.com/ufWoNWWcE9
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 29, 2022
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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