At night, Santos came to Plymouth Argyle from Pele – and lost with a score of 3: 2.

Many football fans have flocked to Pelé’s hometown Santos over the years.

But the man himself was an honorary pilgrim for a one-night stand in March 1973 when his team played Plymouth in front of nearly 40,000 fans at Home Park.

This night has entered club folklore. For good and bad reasons.

And it has become even more important now that it was Pelé’s last appearance on the pitch in a country he rarely visited as a player.

Pele never played inadequately at Wembley. It has also adorned the cathedrals of English football such as Anfield, Old Trafford or Highbury.

But Hillsborough, Victoria Ground and Home Park? Final.

Pelé’s first appearance was his first match against Sheffield Wednesday, when he paid £10,000 to greet the Santos team, aware of the value of their precious fortune. This happened at the end of a grueling European tour in 1962, when Pele barely had time to sit down for a cup of tea.

They won that match 4-2, and 19-year-old Coutinho (but not this one) scored a hat-trick. Pelé scored the final goal, an intriguing penalty that made England goalkeeper Ron Springett blush.

A year before he won his third world title in Mexico in 1970, Pelé showed up at Stoke City for a game in Staffordshire that is still fondly remembered today, largely due to a duel with another England goalkeeper. , Gordon Banks, who broke away from the winter night. extend to the pottery workshops at the Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara next June.

However, it was Pele’s last game in England that took its rightful place in English football folklore. Mainly because it almost never happened.

If Santos hoped to win favor and fortune with their two-game tour, including a game against Fulham at Craven Cottage, they did it like dog meal.

Indeed, her brief visit to England ended with the FA demanding an apology and £2,000 in compensation for alleged “blackmail” by a then-Division 3 Brazilian side who paid a visit to Santos between a trip to Swansea’s Vetch Field and a home game. against Bournemouth.

The crowd in both league games was a far cry from the 37,639 people who gathered in the stadium to watch the big man perform. Which was part of the problem.

Prior to the game, Santos signed contracts that guaranteed them a share of the proceeds from both games of the tour. On the banks of the Thames, the Brazilian leadership was suspicious of the official turnout against Fulham.

Devon just decided enough was enough. As Home Park was packed, they threatened to stay in their dressing room until another £2,500 was paid. Plymouth Secretary Graham Little initially refused.

But fearful of a backlash, when nearly 40,000 pilgrims said Pelé was heading out and taking the ball with him, he relented.

He had one condition. Santos will not receive additional fees until they, including Pele himself, visit the city’s Holiday Inn for a post-match reception. He rightly doubted their promise to show up – the Brazilians left Craven Cottage after 15 minutes of play and failed to do so in two post-game events.

“We certainly won’t play them again and I definitely think the football authorities will take steps to ensure they are not allowed to return to the country,” said Graeme Hortop, Fulham’s managing director. “They had written contracts that seemed to mean nothing to them.”

Football League Secretary Alan Hardaker also signaled he would support any move to ban Santos from playing in England again. “It is documented that they asked for more money,” said Plymouth archivist Bob Wright. I. “Oddly enough, we created a lot of memorabilia from that night a few months ago. We also have a soccer ball.”

That night, Pelé scored his mandatory penalty, but if things were awkward off the field, things got worse as the game began. Plymouth seemed to take the game a little more seriously than the guests and took a 3-0 lead. Ignoring the physiques of lower-division opponents, Santos threatened to end the game a second time – this time at half-time – unless referee Charles Nicholls was replaced.

Rumor has it that Pelé had to use all of his famous diplomatic skills to keep his teammates in the second half.

His last 45 minutes on the English field. An eventual 3–2 victory for Plymouth led to a field invasion. Meanwhile, Santos was on his way to the Holiday Inn. Definitely dreaming of a home.

Little warned the directors of Santos that the Brazilian club would face charges for their somewhat questionable behavior. They answered with a shrug. “Many more countries,” was the reply. The dislike was completely mutual.