That's not a fair representation of the Brazilian league in Pele's day. All the top Brazilians stayed in Brazil at the time and so it was seen as a prestigious league with the ridiculous success of the national team. When Pele did play European opposition (which was often as Santos had to tour to raise money for Pele's wages) it was business as usual. In the Intercontinental Cup finals (European champions vs South America Champions) he scored 9 goals in 5 games winning against the legendary Benfica team of Eusebio and Coluna in 62 and Milan team of Rivera and Altafini in 63. They were both massive events at the time as people then also had questions about how good that Santos team really was.
|