by Dom Smith

TO WRITE about Pele is to feel that you are not worthy of being the writer. The man is sacred in a world where few people are.

His death, at 82, following months battling bowel cancer and a long bedridden period, comes as no great surprise. A bit like his third World Cup trophy — which came in 1970 when he had already been the best player on the planet for 12 long years.
 
That third World Cup win marked Pele apart from anyone else — the first player to win three World Cups. To date, he remains the only man to do so.

Didier Deschamps came mightily close this month, nearly adding a second managerial triumph to his one winner’s medal as a player. But no. That accolade still belongs to Pele. To Pele alone.
 
For some, perhaps that is what makes him great. That is his differentiator. But the greatness of the Brazilian forward amounted to a great deal more than that.