Pele passes away.

 Pele passes away.

We woke up this morning and found he was no longer here. For 82 years he had established himself as one of the greatest, most pre-eminent footballers of all time. There could never be any exaggeration whatsoever because he was arguably the finest, purest and most exemplary of sporting ambassadors. He achieved so much within the game itself that if somebody had told him as a child that he would be the most masterful across so may decades then he'd have probably laughed at you and with every justification.

Yesterday Pele died at the age of 82 and the world of football deeply mourned a heaven sent talent, a player of prodigious gifts and a man who never stopped delivering magical moments at both club and international level. And of course there was Santos, where loyalty and fidelity of the most extraordinary kind would become his leitmotif. There was Brazil, inevitably and at the age of 17, as has been deservedly well documented, he won the World Cup for his country in an embarrassingly one sided Final in Sweden 73 years ago.

But amid the fulsome tributes and glorious homages, Pele was much more than the exceptional player. He became the benevolent humanitarian, a wholesome, charitable man, undoubtedly generous, always prepared to encourage, coax and cajole youngsters who felt that fame, fortune and celebrity were somehow beyond them. Pele though was the complete striker, a man of huge sporting accomplishments, a model of versatility, elegance and courtliness, a charmer, a hugely respected orator and commentator on the game.

From his very first game for his only club Santos, we could tell that he was head and shoulders above his contemporaries. Pele was always progressive, forward thinking, years ahead of the rest in his radical thinking on the game, a player always prepared to experiment with bold, new ideas, pushing back the frontiers, innovative, somebody who treated a football as if it was his dearest friend. Football was never a vanity project for Pele because the man was above conceitedness rather that he was genuine and well grounded.

By the time of the 1970 World Cup Finals, Pele had already won two World Cup Finals, a world champion in excelsis. In 1958 Pele, alongside a golden generation of Brazilians such as Garrincha, Va Va and Di Di, beautifully trapped the ball on his chest for one of the goals in the comprehensive 5-2 victory over Sweden. Then in Chile,1962, Brazil's prodigal son did it again when the South American sorcerers swept aside Czechoslavakia dismissively and disdainfully in the World Cup Final.

And yet it would be Pele's third World Cup triumph that would elevate him to the rarefied heights of footballing excellence, the finished article, the master craftsman, a celebrated nobleman, a player of male intuition, painter of pictures, immense foresight and remarkable footballing intelligence. In the sweltering heat of Mexico in 1970, Pele, a strikingly proportioned athlete with muscular shoulders and thighs, executed perhaps one of the cheekiest and most audacious of goal scoring attempts ever witnessed on the global football stage.

Half way through a match against Uruguay, with the match boiling to a fascinating climax, Pele, picking up possession of the ball, ran joyously at the Uruguay before entering the penalty area. Spotting on an onrushing goalkeeper, he daringly dummied the keeper, rounded his man and only narrowly missed the target. But this was an amazing exhibition of sheer footballing genius. Pele had already pre-empted the thought processes of his opponent and had, in a matter of seconds, blissfully anticipated where the Uruguay goal stopper would be going. A lingering image of a helpless keeper stretching out at thin air, would fondly linger in the mind. 

In the 1970 World Cup, the ambitions of a brilliant mind would come to fruition. Brazil toyed, taunted, teased, flirted, nagged and then completely fooled a rapidly retreating Italian side in a World Cup Final that remains the most emotional and profound World Cup Final of all time. Pele had for exalted company Gerson, Tostao, Rivelino, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto so the half job had already been completed. Brazil just held onto the ball for almost the entirety of the match with proprietorial rights on possession. A monopoly on the game turned into world domination.

Memorably though one of the Brazilian goals is still highly regarded as one of the most exquisite team goals ever produced. Even in retrospect, the goal itself, in isolation, was the most outstanding collective efforts you'd ever  witnessed. As a child, you were awe struck and mesmerised by its technical ingenuity, a goal so fabulous in its simplicity that even now you look back at it with considerable fondness.

Receiving the ball on the half way line a possee of yellow and green shirts, stole the ball back from the Italians and then slowly caressed the ball as if it were theirs for keeps, a permanent souvenir of the game itself. A lovely sequence of short passes were exchanged before the ball reached the flank from where a gorgeously weighted ball was directed down the touchline. A sudden burst of lightning acceleration down the line ended up with the ball being passed across the edge of the Italy penalty area before Pele himself stunned the ball before gently feeding it across to Carlos Alberto. It must have looked like arrogance but Pele knew exactly what he was doing. Alberto thrashed the ball into the corner of the net. Game over. 4-1 to Brazil and a hat-trick of Jules Rimet World Cups for Pele.

In the twilight of his career Pele, lured by the prospect of a financially lucrative pay day, succumbed to temptation. New York Cosmos, now dedicated to wholesome promotion and marketing of the game in America, were building something pretty special. The USA of course were responsible for one of the most sensational World Cup victories in 1950 when Walter Winterbottom 's England were humiliatingly beaten by the United States of America 1-0.

Now the 1970s had brought the pioneering spirit out of the Americans. Suddenly and almost overnight the birth of an American soccer League gave us the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the the Cosmos. With the esteemed likes of George Best, Franz Beckenbauer, Rodney Marsh in situ, Pele jumped onto the bandwagon himself and revolutionised the game in the States where others had failed miserably.

By the time retirement had beckoned and age finally withered him Pele began to revel in veteran status. He had already scored well over 1,200 goals for both club and country and the keys to the Hall of Fame had been delightedly handed over to him. Football was now a distant spot on his horizon. The 1980s and 90s were decades of winding down, relaxing, and bathing in the reflected light of an honourable and vastly rewarding career at the very pinnacle of the game.

Pele had now become a benevolent humanitarian, an altruistic soul, giving back to a game that had so richly decoratedm his career with so many trophies and silverware. He raised immense amounts of money for those who were poor, disadvantaged, hungry and then cruelly marginalised by society. He travelled the world bringing cheer and comfort to those who were suffering and communicated a natural love for football that had been nurtured in himself so lovingly and unstintingly for most of his life.

In the last couple of days the nostalgic footballing community have been doing some serious overtime on Pele. You can still remember the now fuzzy TV images flickering across your consciousness, the balloons floating into the Mexican air, the thousands and millions of football fans across the globe, observing with breathless and fascinated eyes. There were the analytical and studious minds who just wanted the Brazilians to dominate the global game because none could possibly match their style of football.

And finally there was that iconic image of England and West Ham skipper Bobby Moore, all blond hair of ice cool composure, facing Pele after the Brazilians had just beaten England in baking Mexican heat. The two met up with each other, broad smiles wreathing each other's faces, acknowledging their personal contribution.  and accepting that this moment would be framed forever in footballing history.

With both of their shirts now taken off, both men grinned with pleasure at each other and respectfully swapped yellow and green and white vice versa. Moore just stood there awe stricken and deferential, worshipping the ground his Brazilian counterpart had walked. Pele, for his part, was still rationalising the miraculously acrobatic save that England goal-keeper Gordon Banks that had prevented Brazil from taking the lead much earlier on in the game.

So it is that we bid a fond farewell to the legendary Pele. He was the Brazilian striker we could never dream of aspiring to be. We will always remember the silky ball control, the exceptional passing range, the permanently creative projects racing through a mind that never stopped believing and hoping would reach even giddier heights of achievement. But above all we will never forget the most spectacular footballer ever to grace a football pitch. Pele. Football will always owe you a debt of enormous gratitude. It was always richer for your presence. Goodbye Edson Arantes Do Nascimento. It was a privilege indeed.