The King is dead! Long live the King!

Pele, the footballer, the man the world calls The King still lords it but has a mixed legacy in his own country

In his excellent book ‘Futebol – The Brazilian Way Of Life’, Alex Bellos tells a disturbing but enlightening tale which, at first glance, appears to say everything about the reverence with which Pele has oft been regarded in the nation of his birth.

“In 1999,” he writes, “Pele’s Mercedes was stopped at traffic lights in Sao Paulo. Two armed men approached the car. On realising who was inside they apologised, hid their guns and went away. Few people – including footballers — command such respect. A year later in Rio, a similar incident occurred to Romario. The robbers took his Mercedes and mobile phone and Romario was made to walk home.”