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He was also creating miracles for his club, Santos, in the national league and cup campaigns and across the globe. Wherever he travelled with his club he was feted – at one point the Nigerian civil war agreed a ceasefire between the two protagonists just so that the nation could watch Pelé play without fear of any danger – and he continued to be much in demand for both advertisers and political regimes, although he made a point of remaining publicly apolitical.
Brazil continued to win and win. In just Pelé’s second game after the 1962 World Cup he scored a hat-trick as Brazil beat Argentina 5-2 in the Roca Cup. Two games later he scored yet another hat-trick as Brazil went to Paris and beat France 3-2 in a friendly.
He scored the winner in Hamburg where Brazil beat the West Germans 2-1, plus two more crucial goals against England and Portugal, two teams who would shine in the 1966 World Cup. He added a hat-trick in the following game in a 5-0 drubbing of Belgium in Rio de Janeiro, plus more key goals in narrow wins away in Sweden and the Soviet Union.
By the time he had played his 50th international for Brazil, a rare 2-2 draw against the Soviets in November, 1965, he had scored a staggering 52 goals including, of course, an obligatory goal in this game. As he and his teammates boarded the plane for England and the World Cup in the summer of 1966, Pelé was looking for a happier World Cup experience than he had endured four years earlier – despite claiming a winners’ medal – and Brazil were favourites to make it three, back-to-back world titles after remaining unbeaten throughout the previous year. In fact, the last game lost had been at home to Argentina in June, 1964.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, of course, but there is a reason why no team has won the World Cup and then successfully defended it since Brazil in 1958 and 1962, let alone won it three times in succession. It was not easy, especially as the names in the squad had naturally changed.
Brazil’s challenge in 1966 was to merge those remaining from previous campaigns like Garrincha, Gilmar and Djalma Santos, with the new breed of talent such as Jairzinho, Gérson and Tostão. Pelé, at 25, sat in the middle of them all, the best player in the world, seemingly at the peak of his powers and determined to keep on winning.
What was not known until later was that those previous World Cup-winning players, all the wrong side of 30 except for Pelé, were clearly in decline. The decision to tour the country with a bloated squad of 40 players just before the World Cup began hindered, not helped, and the fact that the final squad of 22 was not named until a fortnight before leaving for England was also recognised belatedly to be a mistake by head coach, Vicente Feola, the man who had led Brazil to their first world title in 1958.
Despite all this it all began well enough. In Brazil’s opening World Cup game, they defeated Bulgaria, 2-0, at Goodison Park, the home of Everton FC. Pelé scored the first goal of the new campaign with a free kick in the 15th minute before Garrincha added the second in the 63rd minute, also from a free kick. Although they did not know it at the time this would be the last game these two greats of world football would ever play together. In the 40 games that these two played together, Brazil would never lose, winning 36 – including this World Cup opener against Bulgaria – and drawing four times. By claiming the first goal Pelé also became the first player in history to score a goal in three successive World Cup tournaments.
However, it came with a price. Pelé was considered the most dangerous opponent in world football. The tactics were clear and obvious. Take him out of the game and Brazil are severely weakened. It did not work in 1962 when Pelé was removed from the fray in the second game against the Czechs but Brazil still went on to win the World Cup. It would prove more successful this time.
Despite the win Pelé was repeatedly tacked late and illegally by the Eastern Europeans. A particular injury to the right knee forced him out of the second group game of the tournament, against the dangerous Hungarians. Coach Feola reported that an upset Pelé felt ‘every team would take care of him in the same manner’.
In Pelé’s absence Brazil toiled to a 3-1 defeat to the superior Hungary and, despite not being fully recovered, Pelé was rushed back into the team for the final group game against the equally challenging Portugal, led by Eusébio. Garrincha gave way to his great friend and colleague.
It was make or break for the Brazilians who knew they could not afford another defeat. Coach Feola made nine changes in total as he desperately sought a win, including the whole of the defence and the goalkeeper. It would prove to no avail.
A struggling Pelé was once again targeted for some heavy treatment by the Portuguese who repeatedly committed fouls on the unhappy Brazilian superstar. One particularly shocking tackle from the Portuguese defender, João Morais, left Pelé limping heavily for the remainder of the game as substitutes were still not allowed to be employed in the World Cup. The referee took no action which has later been considered as one of the worst refereeing decisions in football.
Portugal won 3-1 and went on to the semi-final where they were beaten by eventual winners England. Brazil were out of the World Cup, the first time they had failed to venture further than the first round since 1934 and only the second defending champions to do so after Italy.
A disgruntled Pelé returned home to Brazil vowing he would never play in another World Cup tournament again.
Thankfully for Brazil, and for world football, he would change his mind. As history will confirm, it proved to be a very good u-turn.