I was curious if Pele had ever coached in his life (didn’t think so) and as I was searching, I came across this article from summer 2002, after Brazil had won the World Cup , in which Scholari blasts Pele for his criticism of the team and not giving them a chance
To quote from the article:
“ In May, just weeks before the tournament began, Pele, a World Cup winner in 1958, ’62 and ‘70, said he did not believe Brazil had a chance to win the title. “[Brazil’s players] are not at their best at the moment, and I do not think they will have a good World Cup,” he said. “I think the favorites are Argentina, France, Italy and Portugal.”
Argentina, France and Portugal were eliminated in the first round.”
Then it hit me and how with hindsight, we think the 2002 was so great, it was destined to win even before they started their campaign. In fact, as we recently discussed, none of the big 3 guns were doing great prior to the tournament and we just take it for granted since they did go on to have a great cup together.
Brazil Coach Is Critical of Pele
In an extraordinary interview, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Brazil's World Cup-winning coach, has blasted Pele, saying that the man generally acknowledged as the greatest player of all time "knows nothing" about soccer.
www.latimes.com
To quote from the article:
“ In May, just weeks before the tournament began, Pele, a World Cup winner in 1958, ’62 and ‘70, said he did not believe Brazil had a chance to win the title. “[Brazil’s players] are not at their best at the moment, and I do not think they will have a good World Cup,” he said. “I think the favorites are Argentina, France, Italy and Portugal.”
Argentina, France and Portugal were eliminated in the first round.”
Then it hit me and how with hindsight, we think the 2002 was so great, it was destined to win even before they started their campaign. In fact, as we recently discussed, none of the big 3 guns were doing great prior to the tournament and we just take it for granted since they did go on to have a great cup together.