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Stars interested in performing for clubs: Pele
World Cup superstar Pele fears for the standard of play at this summer`s championship but believes it will be full of surprises.
World Cup superstar Pele fears for the standard of play at this summer's championship but believes it will be full of surprises.
The three-time winner, who burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old in 1958, believes that the Brazilian team he served for four World Cups will, for a change, be something of a dark horse in the 17th championship and outsiders such as Portugal and Cameroon might prove strong contenders.
But Pele is alarmed that the thousands of fans who travel to Japan and Korea for the May 31-June 30 championship to see 32 nations chase soccer's biggest title could be let down by what they see.
He fears many of the players are so tied to their clubs by lucrative contracts that they no longer perform 100 percent for their countries.
"One of my concerns is the quality of football," Pele told World Soccer magazine. "I was worried about what I saw in the friendlies that the teams have been playing over the past few months. Many of the players were more concerned about their club tournaments. They were frightened of getting injured because that would upset their club coach and that, in turn, would have given the club's directors an excuse to stop them going off to play for their country again.
"It's more difficult for the Latin American countries because, if they wanted their best players, they had to send to Europe for them. If they didn't, they had to use home-based players who knew they had little chance of making the final squad of 23."
Pele cited examples that title candidates Argentina, Paraguay and rookie Ecuador played warm up games far away from their homelands.
"If teams do not play in the sort of emotional atmosphere their own fans produce, how can they consider that adequate preparation for a World Cup?" Pele said.
"There's nothing quite like the passion of a World Cup crowd. You need to rehearse properly just as actors need to get the feel of a theatre ahead of opening nights."
Pele believes that holder France, Argentina, Italy and England will be major forces in the competition ahead of four time titlist Brazil.
Bureau Report
The three-time winner, who burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old in 1958, believes that the Brazilian team he served for four World Cups will, for a change, be something of a dark horse in the 17th championship and outsiders such as Portugal and Cameroon might prove strong contenders.
But Pele is alarmed that the thousands of fans who travel to Japan and Korea for the May 31-June 30 championship to see 32 nations chase soccer's biggest title could be let down by what they see.
He fears many of the players are so tied to their clubs by lucrative contracts that they no longer perform 100 percent for their countries.
"One of my concerns is the quality of football," Pele told World Soccer magazine. "I was worried about what I saw in the friendlies that the teams have been playing over the past few months. Many of the players were more concerned about their club tournaments. They were frightened of getting injured because that would upset their club coach and that, in turn, would have given the club's directors an excuse to stop them going off to play for their country again.
"It's more difficult for the Latin American countries because, if they wanted their best players, they had to send to Europe for them. If they didn't, they had to use home-based players who knew they had little chance of making the final squad of 23."
Pele cited examples that title candidates Argentina, Paraguay and rookie Ecuador played warm up games far away from their homelands.
"If teams do not play in the sort of emotional atmosphere their own fans produce, how can they consider that adequate preparation for a World Cup?" Pele said.
"There's nothing quite like the passion of a World Cup crowd. You need to rehearse properly just as actors need to get the feel of a theatre ahead of opening nights."
Pele believes that holder France, Argentina, Italy and England will be major forces in the competition ahead of four time titlist Brazil.
Bureau Report