PELE’S PLAQUE-WORTHY GOAL

Forty minutes into Santos’ March trip to Fluminense, the ball falls to Pele on the edge of his own penalty area. O Rei runs the length of the pitch, beating five Flu players in the process, to score a goal so good it prompts a two-minute standing ovation. Journalist Joelmir Beting asks his paper O Esporte to produce a commemorative plaque and, a few days later, the bronze inscription is unveiled. It marks “The finest goal in the history of the Maracana” and gol de placa enters Brazilian lexicon as an especially wonderful strike.