Its summer 1961great santos Pele was in Greece to face AEK, Panathinaikos and Olympiacos in friendly matches. Matches with the team of the top player in the world at that time were closed after the personal actions of Apostolos Nikolaidis and took place at the Leoforos stadium, which was filled to capacity in all three matches. The games were actually played at night using floodlights, which was not common at the time due to the high cost of electricity. Santos beat Unios 3-0, Panathinaikos 3-2, and the only team to beat them was Olympiacos 2-1, a win that even made it into the Reds’ anthem. whites.”

Perhaps this is the only trace left by the departure of Pele from Greek football. On the contrary, in 1969, as part of a similar tour, Santos and Pele were in NigeriaWhere Civil War he ate the food of the country. The presence of the “king” was to change the football of the country forever. One of those who lived near Pelé at the time and was influenced by the Brazilian ace was Godwin Ijilen, who spoke about the events of BBC Sport Africa. He was chosen to be the leader of a group formed to represent the Midwest State, an old administrative region that encompassed the present-day Edo and Delta states. “It was at the height of the civil war. On the day of the battle, no one thought about weapons anymore,” he said.

Of course, Pelé was not the only one in the Santos squad, he was joined by Carlos Alberto and Pepe, who traveled through Europe and Africa to further spread the glory of the Santastikos. In addition to Nigeria, in the same year they traveled to Algeria, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana and Mozambique.

Although Santos arrived in Nigeria a year before the World Cup in Mexico and Brazil’s third trophy, the 28-year-old Pelé already had 1958 and 1962 trophies in his collection. about him as a young player who helped Brazil win the World Cup in Sweden,” said Jonathan Ofugere, who at the time was president of the West African Football Union (WAFU).

The game took place on February 4 – and started unsuccessfully for the hosts. “Within five minutes we conceded two goals,” recalls Ijilen, who played in midfield. “I talked to my players and I said, ‘Look, we have to do something. We can’t let them separate us in our home.” He himself took over the Pelé labeling after the match. Up to a certain point, he succeeded, although at times, as he himself admitted, he had to notice him harder. In the second half, the Nigerian team managed to score. There was applause on the field, and a rich businessman entered the field and handed out money to the players! Although the judge asked him to leave, he only did so when he ran out of money. The game ended 2-1 to Santos and Pelé asked Ijilen to follow him to Brazil, but received a negative response.

There are many stories that claim that Pele’s arrival in Benin City, close to the front lines of fighting between Nigerian government forces and the Biafran independence fighters, led to an informal ceasefire when soldiers laid down their arms to focus on football, stories that probably more rumors. The truth has more to do with what followed Pele’s presence in the country. “Pele’s visit led to many things,” Ofugere highlights, adding: “The Nigerian Football Association, where I worked for over 10 years, was now looking at Brazil and emulating it, encouraging players to play like Brazilians.

This led Nigerians to leave for Brazil and Nigeria also hired a Brazilian coach, Otto Gloria, who helped us win the African Cup of Nations for the first time in 1980.” This influence was decisive for Godwin Ijilen, who later became a coach and led the Nigerian women’s team to victory in the corresponding African Cup of Nations in 2004. “We have focused on discipline. Now we had regular trainings, and our technicians began to take courses to obtain a license, as was the case in Brazil and Europe. We abandoned the system of “take the ball and run” and put tactics into our game, starting the attack from the defenders.

Pelé’s death last December at the age of 82 robbed football of its all-time glory, but Ofugere is convinced the Brazilian’s legacy lives on in Nigeria.

“We are all very sad to lose him, but he left an indelible mark that our players should emulate.”