Norval Sinclair Marley, an English church musician who came to Jamaica at the age of 60, married Cedella Malcolm Booker, a Jamaican who was only 18 years old. On February 6, 1945, she gave birth to a boy who was registered as Robert Nesta Marley (Bob Marley). He was born in Nine Mile, a small town that had no electricity or running water and fell into extreme poverty. Bob’s father left them and complicated the picture. His subsequent dedication to music as an outlet came to him through his maternal grandfather, Omer Malcolm.

Bob Marley’s great passion was football. His friend Allan Skill, selected from Jamaica, vaccinated him. He played in the qualifiers for the World Cup. It is known that at that time Skill played in Brazil, in Club Náutico. In addition to his two passions – music and football – Marley had a paranormal gift: he could predict the future by reading palms.

Growing up, Bob Marley honed his guitar skills and love for football, but surrounded by an environment plagued by drugs and crime. His mother, Cedella, decided to move to Kingston, where Bob met Peter Tosh, who suggested he form a group with other musicians, such as Carlton Barrett, Peter Tosh and Cherry Smith. So in 1963, they created the group The Wailers, which quickly gained fame. The genre of music they created was reggae. The group’s success became international.

I played soccer every day. He organized matches against journalists during away games. Otherwise, he invited retired football players in the countries where they appeared. Among his virtues in football, it is known that Bob Marley liked to play ’10’, with recognized conditions. His main weapon was speed. The band performed all over Europe. In addition to the mass attendance of spectacular concerts, the matches they organized in Rio de Janeiro, Paris, London or wherever they had to perform were also a big attraction.

He wore the number 10 on his jersey as a sign of respect for his idol Pelé, whom he invited to the game. Unfortunately, on the day he gave the concert in Sao Paulo, Pelé could not come because the Santos team was on tour. Marley became a spiritual leader in his country, inspired by Rastafarians. Marley achieved political influence: he was considered a strong defender of human rights.

Jamaica was on the brink of civil war in those years; the CIA-sponsored opposition tried to reverse the socialist trend. It is known that before the concert in Kingston, Marley suffered an assassination attempt by the terrorist squads that prevailed on the island. He was wounded by a bullet in the shoulder. A few hours after the attack, he appeared and held a concert.

In football, he sponsored his own team, Boys Town FC, a modest club that won three Jamaican leagues. In that team, Bob Marley participated in several friendly matches. One of the most memorable was when he played against the Guatemalan team that was preparing for the World Cup qualifiers in 1974.

At the age of 21, Marley married Alfarita Constantia Anderson (known as Rita Marley), with whom he had five children, although it is known that he fathered twelve more out of wedlock. Marley convinced Allan Skill Cole, his friend from the Jamaican football club, to join his music tours as a manager, even though everyone knew he was in charge of organizing their matches. As time passed, the divo of reggae I lived for music. Football has not stopped being his passion. His vice, the consumption of marijuana; and women, their weakness.

In 1977, they prepared a world tour called Exodus. It had to start in France. The day before the concert, on June 28, as usual, a soccer match was organized, and during one performance, his right foot was stepped on. The pain was intense, but he didn’t care. It was treated with ice and some ointments on the bloody nail. He felt an improvement and continued the European tour. In London, Dr. Carlton Fraser, Bob Marley’s friend who was accompanying him, noticed that he was walking with difficulty and recommended an examination. The examination did not bring good news: he was diagnosed with melanoma under the nail on his right foot. The doctor let him know and explained that it is a cancer that can be treated, that he must follow all the recommendations.

The news shocked Marley, but he mentioned that he had enough power to heal himself and continued to share his shows around Australia and Zimbabwe, and everywhere I went I played football. Before the concert in Miami, he played very well against the Haitian team. He took care of himself by using some kind of sponge to protect his diseased finger. That afternoon he ran as usual and said he felt no pain.

Taking advantage of the fact that he was in Miami, Bob Marley had an examination at the Cedar of Lebanon Hospital, where doctors recommended the removal of his right foot to eradicate the development of cancer. Bob objected for two reasons: 1) His faith would not allow it; and 2) He said this amputation would prevent him from playing football.

The problem was solved in secret. He stopped the tour in New York, where they confirmed that his cancer was still spreading. They recommended chemotherapy; she lost her braids; his physical condition began to deteriorate. He had a lot of faith that alternative treatment was his solution and discovered that Dr. Jossef Issels, a doctor with a Nazi past, had a clinic in the German Alps. A miracle seemed to happen as Marley showed improvement, walking in the mountains in the snow, having fun playing football and playing guitar for people in the hospital.

On his birthday, February 5, 1981, he was accompanied by his wife Rita and several friends, among whom was Dian Wilson, whom he asked to come up and say in a low voice: “Do you remember, Dian, what I told you the day I turned 14: that I would be a legend in music, but that I would rather be a football star and that everything would be interrupted because death appeared to me at a young age? His friend remembered this and answered him: “This time you will not be in right”.

In early May 1981, Dr. Issels told Rita that there was nothing more he could do to help Bob. They chartered a plane and went to Florida. Doctors in Miami found that the cancer had spread to the lungs, stomach, and brain. In his last days in the hospital, Marley told the doctor that he was now ready to amputate his entire leg if necessary. The doctor was silent, nodded and left. A few days later, on May 11, 1981, at only 36 years old, Bob Marley left forever.

His grave is in the small Nine Mile Cemetery. He was buried with his favorite guitar and ball. The funeral was a real event. The Jamaican government declared him a national hero postmortem. On the avenue of the National Stadium, where the Jamaican team plays, there is a statue of the legend, as a sign of respect for his love for football. (OR)