Moscow, Sept 15: Pele visits Moscow. Pele says it is difficult to predict who will win Euro 2004 because the level of most of the European teams is similar. He added that despite being hosts and having a Brazilian coach would not necessarily guarantee success for Portugal in the competition. Speaking about England's Chelsea, bankrolled by Russian oil tycoon Roman Abramovich, the Brazilian legend said that buying expensive players did not guarantee success in soccer. Pele is on a four-day visit to Moscow which started on Saturday. He began his first visit to Russia for six years with a ride through the streets of the capital. A highlight of his trip, which includes many social functions, was a visit to an orphanage on Sunday (September 14). After holding a training session with aspiring young players, Pele watched a game against another Moscow orphanage.
On Monday evening Pele is scheduled to attend a reception with Russia's political, creative and sports elite. There has been a huge debate in the Brazilian press recently following Ronaldo being quoted as questioning the merits of Pele's international goalscoring record because many of his strikes were against second-rate nations.


Pele, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is the only player to score more than a thousand goals for club and country. He found the net 95 times for Brazil in an international career that brought him three World Cup-winners medals. Ronaldo, age 27, has 55 goals in 64 internationals.


Bureau Report