The Pelé paradox: football’s greatest celebrity still defines beautiful game

Pelé led a Brazil team that made the game a global obsession, and will remain the father of modern football Shortly after his 30th birthday, on the verge of his extended disco-retirement phase, the crimplene jumpsuit years, Pelé was voted the Most Famous Person in the World. By that stage his career as a serious footballer was all but done. A world champion for the third time that summer, Pelé had already become the thing he would remain for the rest of his life: the Pelé identity, the Pelé industrial complex, Big Pelé. What did he choose to do in 1970 with this superpower, this gift, the status of most famous human? He wore a white suit and waved a lot. He played the guitar. He shouted “love” into a microphone. Continue reading...

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Wiegman’s Lionesses rekindle lost energy to fire spectacular comeback | Jonathan Liew

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US owners understand profit but do they appreciate clubs’ tradition and values?

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‘Emotional’ Leah Williamson to make first England start in almost a year

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* Euro 2022-winning captain missed World Cup with ACL injury * Defender brings ‘flexibility in defence’, says Sarina Wiegman Sarina Wiegman has confirmed Leah Williamson will start for England against the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday night in their second Euro 2025 qualifying group game. Williamson, the Euro 2022-winning captain, said she would be emotional at the Aviva Stadium when she steps out with England for the first time in almost a year, after she was sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament injury last April. Continue reading...
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