THE iconic image of Pele and England’s Bobby Moore swapping shirts at Mexico 70 is one of the game’s greatest moments of sportsmanship.
The two legends had just battled it out in the ‘Clash of the Champions’ in Guadalajara, with 1958 and 1962 winners Brazil edging holders England 1-0 in one of the all-time World Cup classics.
Moore and Pele, whose mutual respect on the pitch turned into a lifelong friendship, told each other they would meet again the final.
It was not to be, as the Three Lions crashed out against West Germany in the quarter-finals.
The Brazilian superstar recognised England’s 1966 World Cup-winning captain as one of the great defenders — although he enjoyed a 100 per cent record against him in their three international meetings.
Pele – who passed away on Thursday at the age of 82 – learned to play as a boy in Sao Paulo by using grapefruits or socks stuffed with paper as a makeshift ball.
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And after Brazil smashed Alf Ramsey’s team 5-1 in Rio de Janeiro in 1964, Moore gave an insight into his rival’s unique skills.
Moore said: “You go into the tackle, you make contact. You think you’ve got him or the ball — or both — and then you find you haven’t got either.
“I know it sounds impossible but I swear Pele deliberately flicked the ball against my shins then picked it up on the bounce as he ran past.
“Again and again, I felt sure I had him in a tackle — again and again, he seemed to get the luck of the bounce and beat me.
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“Once might have been an accident — but he kept on doing it.”
Pele’s Brazil went on to get the better of Moore in a 1969 Rio friendly and at Mexico 70.
Remarkably, in 1976, the two friends would go on to line up in the SAME ‘international’ team.
The pair played for Team USA, made up of NASL stars, in a tournament with England, Brazil and Italy. Pele refused to face his homeland.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
