AS the world continues to mourn the passing of football great, Pele, who died at the age of 82 in a Sao Paulo hospital on Thursday, a former Bahraini footballer and seasoned coach remembered the historic occasion when he played against the Brazilian star in the kingdom in the early 1970s.
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on October 23, 1940, but better known globally by his moniker, Pele is the only player in history to have won three World Cups and scored 1,281 goals in 1,363 official matches during his glittering, 21-year career.
He remains the youngest-ever winner of football’s ultimate prize, lifting the trophy aged only 17 when Brazil won the 1958 World Cup in Sweden and is considered by many to be the greatest football player of all time.
That is why when, in 1973, Bahrain national team players and football fans learned that Pele would be playing an exhibition game in the kingdom for his Brazilian club, Santos, against the national side, they were beside themselves with excitement.
“He was already thought to be the best player of all time,” former Bahraini midfielder and experienced coach, Salman Sherida, who played in that game, told the GDN in an exclusive interview.
“As Bahrain national team players, we couldn’t believe our luck! Here was Pele, aged just 32, with his third World Cup triumph (in Mexico, 1970) still very fresh, and we were going to step on to the same pitch as him.”
Pele, who famously refused to play for any European clubs, chose to spend the majority of his career with Santos, which dominated South American football in the 1960s, winning the Copa Libertadores twice, five consecutive Brazilian championships and also won two Intercontinental Cups.
The popular club then started to tour the world with Pele, obviously, the star attraction and, in 1973, played games in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
“They arrived in Bahrain after having played a match in Sudan and another in Saudi Arabia,” Sherida, 70, who is now the head coach of the Bahrain Defence Force’s (BDF) football team, remembered.
“We were very excited. Any football player worth their salt had dreamt of, one day, just being able to shake hands with Pele, to play against him, and here we were, about to take the field with him.”
Sherida has had a distinguished career as a coach since he retired as a player because of injury problems in 1981, having coached the Muharraq, Riffa and Hidd club teams as well as the national side, the Bahrain U20s and the Bahrain Olympic team. When he was appointed the head coach of the Pakistan football team in 2005, he became the first Bahraini to coach outside the kingdom.
But, after all these years of playing and coaching, the memory of one day – February 16, 1973 – remains foremost in his mind.
“We were really keyed up that day,” Sherida said. “As we entered the Isa Town Stadium (now Khalifa Sport City) for the game, we had to keep on reminding ourselves that this was really happening.”
And, happen, it did – although the match did not produce the result Sherida and his teammates would have wanted.
Santos sauntered to a 7-1 victory with Bahrain’s only goal scored by Salem Mubarak.
But, for the kingdom’s players and the fans in the packed stadium, the result didn’t matter. They had seen Pele’s magic in person and that was enough for everyone present.
“Watching him play up close was fantastic. And, despite the fact that Pele was such a big star, he was very humble and very nice,” Sherida, who was only 21 at the time, said. “I remember that he was always smiling, before and after the game, and, very kindly, agreed to pose for pictures with us. I have a framed photograph of myself with him at home.
“Now that Pele is sadly gone, at least I, and all my teammates who played in that game, have lasting memories of the time we were able to spend on the pitch, and off it, with him.”
The Bahrain team for that match consisted of Salem Mubarak, Hassan Ali, Abdul Rahman Sayyar, Foued Boushegr, Ibrahim Bucheeri, Mohammed Jaknan, Mohammed Al Ansari, Jassim Hamad, Said Al Abbadi, Farid Zubari along with Sherida.
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