Pelé film launches on Netflix: 'He's Elvis. He's Neil Armstrong. He's the first guy'
The new Pelé documentary on Netflix is framed around the four World Cups the Brazilian legend played in.
There’s a moment in the new Netflix documentary Pelé where the footballer recalls praying to God the night before the 1970 World Cup Final. Recounting the intensity of his prayer that Brazil would prevail decades later on camera, he suddenly bursts into tears. It’s a remarkable scene to watch Pelé, now 80, remembering the raw emotion of that night and to witness how much victory still means to him.
According to directors David Tryhorn and Ben Nicholas, who spent many days with the star as he spoke about his life, the tears were an expression of relief. He was just a boy when he stormed to fame during his first World Cup in 1958 - but twelve years later, he felt a sense of responsibility to the Brazilian people. Having won two consecutive tournaments, the team departed early in 1966, a disappointment Pelé later described as: “the toughest experience I have ever had in football”. For a country suffering under the grip of a military dictatorship, the stakes were high.
