The story of that meeting took place on one of the beaches of Atléntida, Uruguay, when Maradona in January of that same year, told his friend Guillermo Blanco – at that time one of the most prominent journalists of the magazine El Grafico and who was later his press chief between 1983 and 1986 – that “my dream is to meet Pele.”
The curious fact is that both could do it on Mondays, but every time Pelé said he could, it got complicated for Diego.
After Maradona He would confess that the delay in the meeting was due to the fact that Mondays were dedicated to Claudia Villafañe, at that time his girlfriend and later wife.
The week before the meeting between the two there was a benefit match in Rio, in which Pelé played. He had retired two years earlier in the United States and played again in that match with Zico, for Flamengo, against Mineiro. It was time, and then, according to Blanco, “I squeezed Diego and told him: ‘Let’s go now or we won’t go anymore.’” And we went”,
Secretly
Maradona had just played a Huracán-Argentinos Juniors. After the game, Blanco took him in a car to the Ezeiza airport and they began a trip to Rio de Janeiro with the photographer Ricardo Alfieri (father) – a friend of Pelé – his father “Chitoro” and his manager at the time, the late Jorge Cyterszpiler. .
“Nobody knew anything! Not even Próspero Consoli, the president of Argentinos!” Guillermo Blanco once commented.
They all settled in the Palace Hotel, in Copacabana. The journalists in a double room and Maradona and his people in a triple, while the Brazilian, meanwhile, waited for them at the mansion of billionaire Alfredo Saad, where he was staying when he traveled to Rio de Janeiro.
“Joined hands are the summary of everything. Pelé has given up the guitar and at the moment she is giving Diego advice. They both hold hands. Diego’s trembling and excited; Serene and peaceful those of Pelé. I see Don Maradona’s eyes nod and cry as the king takes off his crown of dollars and appears as humble and sincere as he can rarely seem. How long will it be since this man can get you a tip a day to laugh, sing, relax, talk about whatever he wants? He always travels (in an hour he will take a plane to Santos), he always signs commercial documents, divorce hearings, purchases, sales, films, recordings, reports, coming, going; never be. That’s why this dark-haired friend who watches him in amazement will later claim that he’s never seen him like this, so open and spontaneous, so given and happy, as Edson Arantes do Nascimento as God knows how many light years ago… That’s why those joined hands are the summary of everything. ”.
The beginning of the note that journalist Guillermo Blanco wrote four and a half decades ago in El Grafico, recounting the historic meeting between Diego Armando Maradona and Pelé, is pure poetry and recounts in detail the fulfilled dream of “Pelusa.”
‘O Rei’ advised his heir to the football throne and told him to “never” pay attention “when they tell you that you are the best”, since “the day you feel you are the best you will stop being the best.”
Tips
Pelé also advised him to accept the applause but not to live off of it. “When I was eighteen, I was whistled at many times. The fans, when you play three bad games, shout at you, they stop loving you,” O’ Rey told him.
“I want to tell you something about contracts,” Pelé continued. “Each player has his own problem. It is a very personal issue, but always keep in mind that you must fight for what you are really worth. Always make yourself respected, never give yourself away; But, yes, when you sign your contract later, do not protest or ask for more. The signature is like a word.”
“With respect to the sale abroad that is talked about in Argentina, you have to decide after having analyzed it very well. You tell me that you have eight siblings, your mother and your father. At the time of decision I put that into the balance. The club leaders pass every two or three years. You have to think about your family, because there are many mouths to feed,” Pelé recommended.
Almost at the end, the Brazilian told him “Physique is your work tool. From what I can see, you have a very good physique. Take care of him. In life there is time for everything, even being a player. There is time to go out, to have a drink, to smoke a cigarette, to go to bed late, to eat a meal that you like. But do it with balance. Always do what does not harm your physique because if not everything is over. Would you like to go play in the United States? No, it’s a joke to make you laugh. You are still very young. You still have a lot to give. There is very good money there. They pay for twelve months and you only play five. But wait, wait, there is a lot of time ahead…”
Pelé gave him his watch, a Brazil shirt, signed a ball for him and gave him the medal that had been given to him at his farewell at the New York Cosmos, although the friendship that the meeting predicted was not such as he passed. of the years.
However, despite their differences, in the last public appearances of both of them the friendship was rekindled and in 2005, in “La Noche del Diez”, a cycle that led Diegothe Brazilian idol accepted his invitation to go to the program that broke audience records.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
