‘I Promised My Dad I’d Win World Cup’

Date: 25 December 2017 - 20:54

News ID: ۴۸۰۸۷

MOSCOW (TR) - Brazilian legend Pele spoke to RT about his remarkable life, including the moment when, as a young boy, he vowed to his father that he would win the World Cup.
Pele’s career spanned more than 20 years, during which he scored more than 1,000 goals, including a record 77 in 92 games for the Brazilian national team. His long list of honors includes three World Cup titles -- Sweden in 1958, Chile in 1962, and Mexico in 1970.
Now 77, arguably the best footballer in history recalled how he vowed to his father that he would win football’s most coveted prize in the wake of the national team’s stunning loss to Uruguay in the last game of their home 1950 World Cup.
"My father was a professional football player in Bauru, the city where I used to live,” Pele began. "And then the World Cup [took place] in Brazil. I was just 10 years old, and I said, ‘Oh my God, Brazil is the best football team, we are going to win the World Cup, we are going to be champions’. And then Brazil lost.
"For the first time [in my life] I saw my father crying. He was with other players in my house to listen to the game, as at that time we didn’t have TV. I didn’t understand why he was crying, because I was always told that men don’t cry. I said ‘Father, don’t cry. I’m going to win the World Cup for you, don’t cry.’”
Pele made good on that promise eight years later, when the teenager he electrified the world at the 1958 tournament in Sweden -- scoring a hat-trick in the final to ensure that he kept his word.
"When we won the World Cup I had to go outside to call my father and say, ‘did you see? We won!’”
Asked about his thoughts on Brazil’s chances next year, Pele said: "I think [Russia] will be very important for [Brazil]. I was talking a lot about what happened in my life. I wish to stay healthy to watch that World Cup. And if God listens to what I say, Brazil will be at least in the final.”