Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos Page #4

Nelson called back

'and says he's no idea who Pel is.'

He couldn't care less

if he comes and plays here or not.

But that there is a guy in the cabinet,

who thinks it would be a fantastic idea,

and his name is Henry Kissinger.

'In my dealings

with all the Brazilian government,'

I tried to convince them that

having Pel play in the United States

was a tremendous asset

for Brazil.

'Pel got a phone call from

'the Secretary of State of Brazil,'

'begging him to sign the contract

with the Cosmos'

for the good of the relationship

of Brazil and the United States.

Well, when Pel received that call,

he said, "My God, you guys

can do anything, you know?

"I'm going with you, no matter what."

Steve Ross announced the signing

at the legendary 21 Club in Manhattan.

The Cosmos held

their press conference there

in a room aptly named the Hunt Room,

as if Pel was the prize catch.

'The Press Corps got there

before the conference'

and nailed their cameras

into the floor.

'These people would never cover

the Cosmos or show up to anything.'

And the sign said

"Capacity 143 people".

There must have been 300 reporters

from all over the world.

No cameras right in front!

And Pel was on Pel time

which means that he was two hours late.

Steve and Jay were waiting.

"Where the hell is he?"

"He's coming. He's coming."

And on my immediate left

Steven J Ross,

chairman and president

of Warner Communications.

And now at the door, the legend,

the great one, the king, Pel.

'When Pel finally came out,

people rushed up to meet him.'

It was unbelievable.

I had never seen such a thing.

Behave yourselves!

'So all the reporters

turned into fans.'

We finally calmed the press corps down.

One person was heckling us.

It was Dick Young talking about

the denigration of professional baseball,

how soccer would ruin

the sport of baseball.

He was heckling the entire time.

"Soccer is for foreigners.

"Shouldn't be played in America."

Everything negative.

'Dick Young was a crusty,

conservative man.'

He believed if you didn't love everything

about America, you should get out.

'Young was probably the best read

sports writer in the United States'

and held a considerable

amount of power.

'To him the only story was that

Warners was shelling out'

this obscene amount of cash

for somebody he never heard of.

You can spread out the news

to all the world

that soccer arrived finally in USA!

Within ten seconds, the time it took Pel

to sign his contracts, it all changed.

'Finally, something about

an extraordinary man from Brazil...'

- '... the soccer superstar Pel.'

- 'Today in New York City, Pel...'

'... greatest soccer player ever...'

Everywhere people knew

there was a Cosmos soccer team in

New York and that Pel played on it.

'We're practicing at Randall's Island

with broken glass on the field'

and cuts

on our legs

when a guy comes onto the field

spray painting the dirt.

We had to spray paint the mud,

because there was so little grass.

We're going, "This dude is nuts.

I don't know what he's doing."

And then we see a helicopter flying over.

'The image was irresistible,

it was a Greek piece of theatre.'

Pel was stepping in to save this league

from being trite and ordinary.

He was going to move it into the realm

of a big-time league.

The Cosmos were already nine games

into the '75 season

and last in their division

with just three wins.

Nevertheless CBS agreed to broadcast

Pel's American debut.

'Pel is the most

famous player in soccer.

'Today at the age of 34

he began a new career

'playing for the New York Cosmos

in the NASL.'

The first game that Pel played here

on a Sunday afternoon against Dallas,

'the place was filled.'

- What brings you out today?

- Curiosity.

He's worth $4mn, I got to see him.

I've never seen soccer in my life.

We could have got in three times

as many. It was a huge game.

'Pel's magic drew

the largest crowd in Cosmos' history.'

Mr. Ross calling up,

"How many have we sold?"

- 'I came to see Pel because...'

- 'He's the Muhammad Ali of soccer.'

'One minute the place is dead,

the next minute the whole place is alive.'

He doesn't know what the field is like.

Could be up, down, in, out.

But he played in it. He could've said,

"I'm not playing in that field."

He played 90 minutes... enough said.

When the camera pointed to the field,

it was green and beautiful.

The world's greatest player

did not disappoint,

rescuing his new team

in dramatic fashion.

'With the Cosmos trailing

by two, his perfect pass made a goal...

'Then he soared above the Dallas

defenders to head home

'powerfully, unstoppably,

the equalizing goal.'

When the game was over,

Pel was in the shower.

'The locker room was packed

with reporters.'

He gestured me from the shower.

He goes, "Psst, psst, psst!"

'I go to him and he says,'

"Raphael, this is the first

and the last game I play here."

"How can you say this to me?

"I mean, don't you see

it's a big success?

"How can you possibly say that to me?"

He says, "The most important thing

in my life is my feet.

"Look at my feet. I have a fungus

that I have contacted here.

"I'm not playing with you any more."

I said, "Pel, this is green paint.

"We painted the field green."

He could not believe it.

His first season would be

the Cosmos' last on Randall's Island.

I had to get Pel in the stadium

which he could play in,

he should play in:

the stadium, Giants Stadium.

Less than seven miles

from Times Square,

construction in East Rutherford,

New Jersey,

had been underway since 1972.

Giants Stadium,

with more than 75,000 seats,

was scheduled to open for American

football in the fall of 1975.

Ross was banking that by then America

would be ready for professional soccer.

But in the summer of '75,

Pel could hardly save his team

much less his sport.

'He thought we were passing him

the ball too often.'

We thought as long as we got

the ball to Pel, he'd take care of it.

'It was hard not to be in awe every day.'

You think you'd get used to it.

But everyday there's Pel on a field.

'I mean, come on, it's Pel.'

'I'm learning so much just by being

around the guy, and how he plays.'

The biggest challenge for us on the field

was not stopping and watching him play,

'because he still had these

incredible moves.'

Every place we went,

and we're straggling along, there's Pel!

We're just like, "We're with him!"

'I don't think any one of us

ever felt entitled. We were honored.'

We knew we were experiencing

something...

I always said there could've been

a hundred goal keepers as good as me...

I had a hard time, as well,

thinking I belonged there.

He was a superstar in a strange land.

But he knew his role.

I come to play in America

because I believe in soccer in America.

'Kids here love the sport. The American

people love sport naturally.'

I come to play here

because I know, in a few years,

we will have a good team in America.

I think his challenge

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