Usually, when you ask an athlete how they felt about winning the big thing—a championship, a rewriting of the record books, what have you—they’ll just tell you that they’re happy that they won the big thing. Or that they deserve their respect. (LeBron.) Maybe that they want to do it again. (Tom Brady.) Or, my favorite, that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! (Kevin Garnett.) In Pelé, a new documentary about the legendary Brazilian footballer, Pelé talks about winning the 1970 World Cup in a way you’ll rarely hear an athlete say out lout. “Relief,” Pelé says of the defining match of his career, looking like he’s still thanking his lucky stars that June 21 brings memories of greatness, not disaster.If you know anything about Pelé, you probably have an idea why he’s not spewing clichés of joy 50 years later. Yes, Netflix’s documentary, which is out this Tuesday, recaps the stats and the wins and the myth of the charismatic Pelé, who’s amongst one of the greatest to ever play his sport. But throughout its interviews with the man, who is now 80 years old, directors Ben Nicholas and David Tryhorn press him on the things that built up the kind of pressure that makes a match feel like it had life or death stakes. Mainly? The fact that Brazil was under a military dictatorship at the time of the 1970 World Cup. At the time, people criticized Pelé for not using his social status to speak out against the dictatorship—maintaining a… Click below to read the full story from Esquire
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