At home amidst the masses

Pele inspires new generation at Salt Lake stadium

Wherever in the city he has gone in the last two days, starting right from his arrival on Sunday, Pele had received an enthusiastic and frenzied welcome. None of that could have compared to the thunderous cheers that greeted him at Salt Lake stadium on Tuesday evening for the first home match of Atletico de Kolkata (ATK).

As the fans roared in appreciation, there remained no doubt that the ‘God of Football’ had arrived at the ‘Mecca’ of the game. 

Kolkata, which won the first edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) defeating Kerala Blasters in the final, was meeting the same opponents again in their first home match of the season and the atmosphere could not have been more electrifying. Kolkata seemed even more enthused after its afternoon session with Pele, who met them for lunch and shared with them tips on how to improve their game.

With the pep talk from none other than the man who has been part of three World Cup victories with the Brazil national team, ATK players must have felt even more boosted. Nita Ambani, the chairperson of IMG-Reliance, who escorted Pele to the stadium, said, "It's a matter of pride and privilege for all football lovers of India. It's a dream come true for us. ISL is much bigger this year and Pele's presence has made it great."

Even though Pele left at half-time, the 1-0 score 45 minutes into the game in favour of ATK seemed to prove that the Brazilian giant's pep talk had indeed worked. While ATK went on to score one more goal, winning the match 2-1, the Brazilian giant surely was their lucky charm.

And the 61,237 football fans present at the stadium had the time of a life. The only thing that could have probably added to the evening's magic was the presence of Kerala Blasters co-owner and cricket icon, Sachin Tendulkar, who could not make it to the venue to cheer his team.