Chapter 581 - 0238 Kai and Coach Ka (Please Subscribe)_3
Marcelo, standing on the outskirts, flailed his arms wildly, his mouth agape with laughter, his back molars clearly captured by the cameras.
Pelé’s expression was conflicted in the stands.
Huang Kaiwen was currently his favorite player, surpassing even those from Brazil.
Yet today, Huang Kaiwen’s style of play was a clear imitation of Maradona, which left Pelé somewhat displeased.
The grudge between him and "Little Pelé" hadn’t faded over time.
Instead, it had become even more irreconcilable.
Last summer, Maradona had unexpectedly canceled on the German Football Association, who had invited him to the World Cup.
Maradona’s given reason was: "I don’t want to see that shameful face of his; I will never kiss up to FIFA, they are nothing. If I did, I would be no better than that son of a bitch Pelé."
The real fallout between Pelé and Maradona occurred in 2000, when FIFA organized a vote for the Player of the Century but decided to use two different methods.
One was through a panel of football legends, continental football association officials, referees, and journalists appointed by FIFA, while the other method involved an online vote by fans, after which the two sets of votes were combined.
The voting results showed that in the panel vote, Pelé was far ahead with a 72.5% vote share, with Maradona in third place at only 6%. In the online vote, Maradona was the runaway winner with 53.6%, while Pelé had 18.53%.