Considering he was the reason for The Cosmos' fame in the first place, the absence of an interview with Pele leaves a gaping hole in the project. Undoubtedly he was asked to participate, so there should have been some acknowledgement of his no-show. Perhaps sharing the same room with Giorgio Chniglia again was too much for him, even if that room was just a movie theatre.
Turn off your phones
If you notice at the end of the movie, they say "Pele declined to be interviewed" and make a cash register noise at the same time.
I think what they were trying to say was that he would only participate if they paid him a lot of money?
This would make sense, because from what I know about him, all he cares about is money.
Exactly right. The 'ker-ching' sound next to his name in the end credits didn't surprise me one bit. I mean, the whole story was about how they had to lure him to New York with millions of dollars.
These days, he an Ambassador For Football, paid for by Fifa, I believe. He also promotes a big credit card company when given half the opportunity.
Ahhhhhh... I didn't see out the end credits. Silly me. I also got a glimpse of him on the TV recently. Didn't see what the news article was about, but he was holding a book up for the cameras. I take it he has some product to push himself and didn't want to be giving any of his anecdotes away for free.
Turn off your phones
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Pele's a money grabbing toerag. He'll sell anything and everything - he's even got a contract with Viagra! I'm not the only one to feel that Maradona & not Pele deserves the title of the greatest in football.Did Pele ever get to interview Castro? Viva El Diego!
shareBack in the day, soccer players never got to make a lot of money as the recent stars do. Today, they make more money selling their image than actually playing soccer. And they retire early, about 35-38 y.o. They got to make money fast, while they still can. Now, with Pele, was different. He got to make some good money on Cosmos and that was it. While playing in Brazil, he made some, but not really great money. Today, he is a very wealthy man. Being the only thing he's got now is his image to sell, he keeps a sparkling clean rep out there and he wouldn't blemish this rep for nothing. He would never take the chance, without knowing what was gonna come out in this movie, even for the greatest amount of money ever paid for an interview.
We all wanted to know his side of the story, but I think he made the right move when decided not to open up. Believe me, he's got a lot more going on out there and he knows how to handle his image. Maybe just as good as he knew how to handle the game.
Pele has been doing the rounds recently promoting "another" autobiography.
The money he earned at the Cosmos was a lot, even by todays standards its not to shabby.
Sadly the posters from earlier seem to have it right. Pele does seem more motivated by money now.
Really enjoyed the movie though.
I don't think we can begrudge someone of Pele's talents for making a few quid off the back of his success. Not while people like Salif Diao and Igor Biscan are walking round as millionaires!!!
shareAs a Brazilian, I watched this documentary as "the other side of the story". Pele's best moments as a soccer player had already passed and I didn't think he had a lot to give to Cosmos when he was signed. It's great to see that he still "got it" when he moved to the States. In a way, a waste was prevented there.
As for the money, Pele was in huge debt at that time. He had already declined an offer from Cosmos a few years earlier. This time he had his managers contact Cosmos' managers to check whether "the offer still stood". As much as the movie tries, it fails to convey what Pele's leaving for the United States really meant for Brazilians at the time. Pele had bid farewell to the Brazilian team in 1971 with the entire stadium chanting "fi-ca... fi-ca..." (stay... stay...). He had received several pleas from different sources, including Brazilian authorities, for him to come back. The pressure was such that he eventually issued a formal statement explaining why he would not come back. Among other reasons, he said that he had "fullfilled his mission" as a Brazilian player and had always remained in Brazil, refusing quite a few million-dollar offers to leave the country.
Then, a few years later, he went back on his word and accepted an offer from an American team. As much as he desperately needed the money, he understood the implications of his leaving to the United States - and worst of all, eventually playing for the American team, when he had refused to come back to the Brazilian one - so he set his price as high as he thought he could. And even so there was political pressure for him not to go - this is shown rather accurately in the movie.
So, while it's true that Pele currently charges a lot of money for lectures and interviews, in 1975 his price was high because of all the political and repercussion elements involved in the transaction. Pele knew that he would have to work hard in order to prove to his fellow people that the move was worthwhile. One thing got me curious, though. This movie was released in Brazil on DVD, but without the extras. Why? Is there anything there that Brazilians are not supposed to see? I have ordered the American edition to check it out.
These reasons and others are why I firmly believe Puskas was the best ever centre forward of all time. For me Pushkas and Maradonna have an edge of Pele. Pushkas was doing things when people didn't even know what Total Football was. The first Total Football side was Hungary, just watch the clip when they smash six past a credible England side in a new formation at Wembley. I want a descent Pushkas' documentary film.
sharePele a "money grabbing toerag". Compare him to Maradona, who this year demanded(and received) 50grand for a tv interview with the BBC and received 100grand for playing in a recent televised charity match?
Both great players though
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=cosmos
In this article they report that Pele asked for $100,000 to be in the movie, which was too much money, so that's why they didn't get him
In Pele's defence he asked for a lot of money but for it to go to charity.
I saw the documentry in Toronto at a doc festival and this is what the director told the audience when the inevitable 'why is Pele not in it?' question arose.
They had a budget and he was too much. I think when/if Pele ever sees this doc, he will regret not being in it.
Ok, i correct myself. He's not a 'money-grabbing toerag' He's just a toerag.
shareIf you grew up dirt poor, you'd be "money grubbing" too. Pele at one point was broke because of a corrupt/incompetent "friend" who lost all of his money. If you grew up poor and you didn't know how to handle money, you'd probably be constantly in fear of losing your money, no matter how much money you had. Pele is well off but compared to what star soccer players make today, he's by no means super rich.
sharePele has lots of money, he isnt poor,didnt lose all his money and never will be in need of any BUT why should he not be paid to appear in the film? somebody is making money off of it. is 100,000 dollars too much? who is the judge of that.
BTW Maradona is greatest ever! ; )
Pele is and always will be the greatest ever. Maradona was a great player but he is the real "toerag." Maradona was the best coke addict, STD having, cheating player ever!!!
shareall you have to do is watch Maradona to see he is far supiorior than Pele, but people only want to argue about Diego's Personal life because thats his only weakness, well did you see how mr. perfection Pele, totally denied his daughter for years and now she has died of cancer? great guy huh?
doesnt make him a bad player though, he just isnt as great as el diego!
Maradona was inferior to Pele in every aspect of the game. In fact, he's better known for his cheating and narcotic addictions than his footballing skills. He's more 'notorious' then 'famous.' These days he cuts a pathetic figure, trailing his bloated, drug-ruined body anywhere there's a few dollars waiting for him. In England in 2006 he played in a televised 'charity' match for a reported £100,000 English pounds, but not before he created an embarrassing scene by threatening to pull out just before the game unless he was paid more. At least he got a good kicking from some minor Brit TV 'celebrities.' Pele conducts himself with dignity in public at all times. Maradona is a beggar these days.
shareWhere do you come up with this nonsence my friend.
on the pitch there is no one close to el diego, not pele, best, whomever else.
and i will let you in on a secret, none of thease old timers play those tribute and charity matches for free ; )
as for the english press let them poke all the fun they want at maradona
when you are the greatest that has ever played you dont pay attention to TV personalities looking for their 15 minutes of fame
also you should research Pele as much as you do Maradona becuase he has some dirt on him too, but again what does any of it have to do with football?
There has been no documented evidence of Diego having an STD on his CV. At least he could get it up to even get up close and personal with the opposite sex - unlike Pele who is an ambassador for Viagra! Pele probably more than likely gets up too as much sh*t as Diego, but he does it 'discreetly'. Diego is just honest and makes no bones that he has flaws (off the pitch that is - on it, he was footballing gold)
If i remember correctly, Pele spent his whole club career (prior to joining The Cosmos) in Brazil - hardly one of the elite football leagues in the world. Diego? He only played in Serie A (which was undoubtedly the hardest league to play in at the time and arguably still is today) with Napoli, who before his transfer were hardly a winning team. Diego more or less single-handedly galvinised them into a winning team. The same could be said for Argentina - a team of good players, unlike the Brazil teams which Pele played for, which were packed with outstanding talent.
"Maradona is greatest ever!"
Maradone will never be the greatest of all time for one reason: the Hand of God. Like Bonds and McGwire with steroids, cheaters will always be questioned and never greatest.
On the reigon 2 release there is a short film entitled 'The hunt for Pele' and features a globetrotting Fisher Stevens (yes, him from Short Circuit) trying to track down and negotiate for Pele's inclusion.
The bottom line was that Pele's "advisors" would only open talks if a guaranteed fee was agreed beforehand. The whole thing was a non-starter.
mafroafro wrote this nonsense...
"Pele a "money grabbing toerag". Compare him to Maradona, who this year demanded(and received) 50grand for a tv interview with the BBC and received 100grand for playing in a recent televised charity match?"
The difference is that Pele is a multimillionaire with homes allover the planet and Maradona is a pennyless, washed up star who lives in a house in a poor area of Argentina's capital with all his kids and grandkids. He had the riches but he put them all up his nose in the late 80's.
£50k for a Maradona interview is a bargain. I much prefer that than the £6m that J. Ross gets.
Pele was a great player and he still is good role model.
i believe maradona was the best player of all time, but some of the arguments here are not very well thought out. When pele was playing in brazil, the brazilian league was probably the best in the world - this was long before the great migration of south american talent. However, it is important to note that by maradonas time the sport had improved immensely. I think, therefore, the measure of their talents must be based on their individual performances on the pitch in world cups, because the world cup was the only competition iun which both these players took part.
Maradona, in my opinion, was the best player of all time because he was able to make any team into the best in the world, no matter if it was comprised of average players. And to all of you who are trying to argue that maradona led a disgraceful personal life and should therefore be shunned and ignored for nomination for best all time player, i hope you know pele is no image of perfection either. His personal life may not be quite as caligula-esque as maradona's, but his family life was shameful and he has often chosen money over a good cause.
Pele, in fact, had the chance to fix the brazilian system whereby club owners and other high ranking members of the club pocket all the revenue from player sales and have left their clubs in debt and in generally horrible condition. Though he made a good start in this important position that the gov't had granted him, pele eventually gave in and pocketed money and gave up on the cause. This is but one of many instances he chose money over 'the right thing'.
It is important to remember that pele and maradona were both raised in extreme poverty, perhaps maradona more so, and though their many mistakes should not be condoned, we should try and be more understanding of why they made such mistakes.
Pele was illiterate, and too naive and trusting of his agents and so he was often robbed of his money. It is, then, understandable that he eventually learned to become a treacherous thief like them - as it was only for his own survival.
Maradona, on the other hand, was a classic case of an athlete unable to deal with the social pressures (rather than the fincial pressures) presented to him by his fame. He took to the party life in naples and started snorting cocaine, as it was a drug quickly growing in popularity at the time.
Though it has not yet come up on this board, the arguement that there can never be another maradona or pele - not because of their great talent, but because of how the game has improved since then - will surely show its ugly face.
This argument is disrespectful to their great talents, and those who make these claims should look no further than all the recent talents who nearly made it to maradona/pele status, should it not have been for injuries (ronaldo, owen) or poor discipline (anelka, recoba). Maybe one day messi, tevez, aguero, kerlon, rooney, walcott, ronaldo (the winking one), or adu will be added to that list, though id be afraid to try to guess who. (Ok, of course i have to, im betting on messi, as he has had the best running start, he is constantly improving, and he hasnt started drug use)
They wanted Pele. But he demanded 100,000 dollars for an interview and the filmmaker couldn't afford it within their limited film budget. Pele was a wonderful man in his playing days, but after they were over he got corrupted devolved into an absurdly greedy money grubber who won't lift a finger for anyone without getting his requisite fee up front first.
shareIf we are being honest, it's probably a blessing in disguise the Pele wasn't involved. Great player but he does talk a lot of bollocks.
shareAGAIN this Pelé x Maradona debate? Whats the point????
FIFA voted for Pelé, the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics) voted for Pelé, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) voted Pelé the athlete of the century, etc. etc. etc.
Every poll that takes into account the opinions of soccer experts/ex-players/ex-coaches/analysts puts Pelé in 1st. Maradona usually alternates between 2nd, 3rd, and 4th with Cruyff, Beckenbauer and Di Stefano.
It's okay to have your own beliefs and think that Maradona was better. But in all honesty, our opinions are worth nothing compared to the opinions of FIFA, IFFHS, IOC..... Pelé is clearly the consensus number 1.
NON DUCOR, DUCO.
Every poll that takes into account the opinions of soccer experts/ex-players/ex-coaches/analysts puts Pelé in 1st. Maradona usually alternates between 2nd, 3rd, and 4th with Cruyff, Beckenbauer and Di Stefano.