The death of Pelé, one of the best players to have ever graced a football pitch, has united the football fraternity in paying a fitting tribute to the Brazilian who left a lasting impact on the lives of young players not only in Brazil but in all corners of the globe.

In Malta, Pelé’s death has inevitably revived the memories of when the Brazilian superstar came to our islands in 1975 as part of a European tour.

During his stay he visited the Centru Sport Edukattiv in Marsa, run by Fr Hilary Tagliaferro, with whom he became friends at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.

Fr Tagliaferro had a special surprise for the young players attending the Centru Sport Edukattiv, as for a selected group of players, he organised a special training session at the Empire Stadium in Gżira that was led by Pelé himself.

One of the young players selected for this training session was former Malta international player Michael Degiorgio who went on to enjoy a highly-successful football career with both Ħamrun Spartans and the Maltese national team.

Read the full story on www.sportsdesk.com.mt

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.