By Amnon Zohar
Here is my favourite Football story of all times: Many years ago, in fact it was the spring of 1983 when the top executive of the multi-national corporation I worked for at the time, hosted a dinner for some twenty odd Country Managers in Mexico City. These were the days: posh restaurant, expansive setting and expensive wine but worth every drop and little to no conversation at all. Twenty people representing twenty nationalities are meeting with their new American boss with only English to some degree or another as a common language. It is then that the Boss threw this question on the table with instructions to respond in order and then debate. It was a very clever move. I have never forgotten it: “Who do you think was or is the most creative person who ever lived?” Talk about an ice breaker. By the time the question arrived at my Brazilian colleague seated next to me, multiple Einsteins, Da Vincis, Mozarts, and even Jesus were already mentioned.
Without hesitation whatsoever my Brazilian friend uttered: PELE. The place got awkwardly quiet in an instance. Should we laugh? Is it a joke? Or in the words of John McEnroe: “You can’t be serious!” I had to break the ice again. “As a Soccer aficionado and a major league soccer player in my youth I back my Brazilian colleague: Pele creatively mastered the “O Jogo Bonito” (The beautiful game) like no other before him. He became the iconic symbol and role model for players and fans world-wide, a national hero and the best to ever play the most popular sport. Yes. Pele who’s signed painting continues to adorn, every office wall that I have ever worked in, including my home as my personal inspiration. I thought that this will break the silence and indeed it almost broke the meeting. I am yet to witness as heated a debate as ensued. Twenty some odd colleagues initially angered, gradually listening and finally mostly agreeing not only on the validity of the answer but on its merit. One by one conceded albeit not necessarily changing their answer, that indeed Pele is one of the most creative people who ever lived. It was like a scene from Twelve Angry Men albeit in a totally different context. It is then that I realized what I always believed that soccer is more than a sport. It is an expression but also a bridge of international cultures and traditions.
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