How was Pele’s relationship with Peru? The king, the genius, the 10th of all time faced a golden generation of our football and didn’t shy away from giving him his highest praise.
Teófilo ‘Nene’ Cubillas, a man of feints and goals, practically declared his successor (“I already have a successor: he is Cubillas, he has everything to become the best in our football”).
Ramón Mifflin, whom he affectionately nicknamed “Chanchita” because of his tendency to gain weight, he publicly called one of his best friends, he hung out with him, and showed him that he loved him very much (“Excuse my Spanish, but I’m saying I wish i had played with you.” with that shirt, the one from brazil”).
Pedro Pablo ‘Perico’ León also revealed his admiration for this inordinately large 9 in terms of talent and efficiency (“If he had been born in Brazil he would have been the king of football and not me”).
Pelé, who died on December 29 at the age of 82, faced the generation of Cubillas, Chumpitaz, Mifflin, Chale with his teammates from Brazil. That game in Mexico 70 on June 14 was considered one of the best in the world. That day, Cubillas scored another goal and Gallardo the other. And the one who had an outstanding note was Nicolás Fuentes “El Cordobés” who stopped Pelé and especially the very fast Jairzinho.
Regarding these confrontations, at the end of 2000, the magazine El Gráfico Perú commissioned the author of this note to bring together two great Peruvian defenders, Héctor Chumpitaz and Julio Meléndez. Both were quick to answer Pelé! when asked about the toughest opponent. “It wasn’t known where it would come out, if it would go left or right, if it would stop or break, it was unpredictable,” Chumpitaz said. For Meléndez, whom he faced with Boca, Pelé had it all, he was complete.
As Mifflin put it: “Pele was the best. It was more complete. He had an advantage, he jumped better, he threw more, he had more speed, he kicked with both feet.
Pelé and Peru were related before he was 70. That’s why he liked to pose with the legendary Lolo Fernández, that’s why he respected the ‘U”s best eleven, Alianza and Cristal, when he came with Santos, they were not easy rivals for his Brazilian power.
The Brazilian and Peruvian touch. There was a label there that was upgraded to DT with Didí. That’s why his farewell hurts so much today, goodbye. The king went, the 10th, the greatest.