We went into the Hillsborough dressing room to see Pele...
‘His legs were covered in scars,’ says former star David Ford
David Ford and Peter Eustace went on to enjoy long and successful careers in English football but they would never forget one night before it all began and a personal close encounter with Pele.
it was october 1962 and world champions Santos had appeared for the first time in England, in a friendly against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, where Ford and Eustace were serving their apprenticeships.
‘Pete said to me: “Let’s go into their dressing room and tidy up”,’ recalls Ford, more than 60 years on. ‘My first reaction was: “No, we can’t do that” but he somehow he talked me into it. it’s all his fault. That’s what i always say.
‘So we went into the away dressing room, which was just across the corridor from the Wednesday dressing room.
‘We walked in and there was Pele, sitting right in front of us, seven or eight yards away.
‘He was just finishing taking off his boots and socks, and sat there wearing only his shorts. We went straight across to him. i bent down and picked up his socks and unrolled them.
‘i picked up some more socks and shorts and pieces of kit and we were packing them away, knelt on the floor in front of Pele. i wasn’t praying, although i could’ve been. He was that kind of player, he was that good.
‘My eyes were transfixed because i noticed his lower legs were completely covered in scars, white scars that stood out clearly on his skin. it made me think, “Wow, how many times has this guy been kicked into the stands?”.’
Pele was already a marked man. Such was his impact as a 17-year-old in the World Cup in 1958 that he became the man to stop. He picked up an injury as Brazil defended their title in Chile in 1962 and limped out of the World Cup in England in 1966.
He was hurt against Bulgaria in the opening game, and tried to play on but was kicked relentlessly until he was carried off, during the third group game against Portugal when defeat condemned Brazil to a premature exit.
Santos — until then a club of relatively modest means catapulted to glory by Pele and the team they built around him, which conquered the world, twice winning the intercontinental Cup — quickly realised there was money to be made from their status.
They played 22 friendlies, including games against real Madrid, Barcelona, Feyenoord and Hamburg, in the summer of 1959.
This Monday night in Sheffield, less than a fortnight after a 5-2 win against Benfica in Lisbon clinched the first of their world titles, was the first time Pele had performed on English shores.
The Brazilians won 4-2. Coutinho scored a hat-trick and Pele scored a penalty before a crowd close to 50,000. ‘We spent 10 or 15 minutes in their dressing room,’ adds Ford, now 77. ‘No one said anything about us being there. Pele said: “Thank you” as we tidied up. He came across as a nice guy and those who knew him at New York Cosmos always said the same thing.’
Both Ford and Eustace played for Sheffield Wednesday in the 1966 Fa Cup final defeat against Everton before moving on.
Ford joined Newcastle before returning to his home city to spend two years with Sheffield United, where he became close friends with Keith Eddy, who later played for the Cosmos with Pele.
‘i went to america to stay with Keith at his house in New York,’ says Ford.
‘He was going into training one morning when he asked me if he wanted me to get something from Pele, as a souvenir.
‘i owned a sports bar in Sheffield called Champs so i thought it was a great idea. Keith came back with a pair of Pele’s shorts from his Cosmos training kit.
‘i couldn’t believe how small they looked. We had them framed and put them on the wall at Champs, and when we sold the bar we brought them home.
‘i’ve still got them on the wall and my grandchildren look at them and tell them about Pele. What a player. What a man.’
Pele and Santos would return to Hillsborough nearly 10 years later, for another game against Sheffield Wednesday when another of their world tours came through England.
at a time of industrial action and regular power cuts, they played on a weekday afternoon to avoid using the floodlights. This is where the iconic picture of Pele is from. all in white, with the ball under his spell, he is attacking the Leppings Lane end of the ground, confronted by three Wednesday defenders in blue and white, the South Bank Kop jammed with spectators, in the background.
Colin Prophett, one of those defenders, now has the image framed on his wall and as a screensaver on his phone. He will not be alone. Those famous photos also hang proudly in the Hillsborough boardroom.
‘i will always remember the size of the crowd, and the afternoon kick off,’ says Prophett, 75. ‘i will always remember Pele’s first touch. His first touch whenever he received the ball was absolutely superb.
‘There was a reception held at the omega restaurant in Sheffield in honour of Pele and the Santos team and he was such a gentleman. He sat there and signed anything and everything put in front of him.’
Pele, who died last week aged 82, appears to have left exactly the same impression on everyone who came into his company.