«Football» en or
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Against all odds, it was on the other side of the Atlantic, in the New York club Cosmos, that Pelé, who died on Thursday, ended his career in 1977. This passage of the king to a country where football then rhymed only with the oval ball he will have opened Americans’ eyes to the game of football, even if they insist on talking about “football”.
Among the approximately 75,000 enthusiasts crammed into the gallery, there are Mick Jagger, Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand, Elton John or even Diane Keaton, who hang out with Henry Kissinger and Mohammed Ali. But the most absolute icon, man of power and rock star on this October 1, 1977, are all united in one and the same person who takes to the Giants Stadium field for the last time: Pelé, almost 37 years old, for whom this prestigious match between the two clubs of his life, Santos FC and the New York Cosmos, takes the place of the divine twilight. He died on Thursday at the age of 82.
Roberta Flack and then Sergio Mendes interpreted the American and Brazilian anthems. President Carter’s son – who, like his predecessors Nixon and Ford, had already received the “Roi” at the White House – opened the ceremony with a declaration signed by the Head of State, as a sign of American gratitude. Muhammad Ali shed a tear. The stands continued to sing “To love! To love! To love!”, echoing the ecumenical speech of the hero of the evening at the microphone, also in tears, before going to record the 1,281st and last career goal credited to his undisputed legend with a beautiful free-kick. After the break, when he changed his shirt to finish the game in the colors of Santos, his hometown and his first club, a downpour ter
