‘Greatest of all time’: Pelé as described by his peers
Superlatives from some of soccer’s greats and others about Pelé, who died Thursday in Brazil at age 82:
___
“To watch him play was to watch the delight of a child combined with the extraordinary grace of a man in full.” — Nelson Mandela.
___
“I told myself before the game, he’s made of skin and bones just like everyone else — but I was wrong.” — Italy’s Tarcisio Burgnich, after playing against Pele in the 1970 World Cup Final.
___
“Pelé was one of the few who contradicted my theory: Instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries.” — Andy Warhol.
___
“I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player.” — Sir Bobby Charlton, retired England great who won 1966 World Cup and Ballon d’Or in same year.
___
“Pelé was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic.” — Johan Cruyff, the late Dutch star and standout manager who won the Ballon d’Or three times.
___
“He is the most complete player I ever saw.” — Retired German great Franz Beckenbauer.
___
“If you take the qualities of Cristiano Ronaldo and (Lionel) Messi, put them together, then you’d have a player to compare to Pelé!” — Retired Brazil forward Tostao.
___
“The best player ever? Pelé. (Lionel) Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities, but Pelé was better.” — Alfredo Di Stefano, the late Argentine star for Real Madrid.
___
“His great secret was improvisation. Those things he did were in one moment. He had an extraordinary perception of the game.” — Brazil defender Carlos Alberto Torres.