‘I volunteered to mark Pele after we conceded 2-0 in five minutes’

Izilien

Coach Izilien recalls encounter with Santos FC in 1969 Former coach of the Golden Eaglets and Super Falcons, Godwin Izilien, has revealed how he stopped Edson Arantes do Nascimento, otherwise known as Pele and his dreaded Santos FC from doing much damage to the Midwestern selected team in 1969, when they clashed at Ogbe Stadium, Benin City.

The Nigeria civil war was on then, with sounds of bomb, grenade and gun ravaging the Midwest and the Eastern region, when Pele led Santos FC to Benin City on invitation of then Military Governor of the Midwestern region, Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Ogbemudia.

Izilien, who led the Super Falcons to win the African Women Championship (AWC) title in Johannesburg in 2004, revealed while speaking on STVSports show, that the match in 1969 gave him a clear picture of how skillful and disciplined Pele was as a footballer.

“The match was scheduled for a 3.30pm, but the stadium was opened from 10:00a.m.,” Izilien recall. “Ogbe Stadium was newly commissioned then, and it was filled up at 2p.m. with a lot of people stuck outside the stadium as they were unable to get in.

“I also remember then that some football fans came from neighbouring towns such as Abudu, Agbor, Asaba, Onisha and some other regions controlled by the Biafran soldiers. They sneaked into Benin City to watch Pele and his Santos FC played. Even before the match started, many of the fans had already concluded that Pele would demolish the Midwestern selected team with as many as 10-0.

Izilien continues: “I was the captain of the Midwestern selected team, and under five minutes, we were 2-0 down. We came up with a trick, pretending that one of our players was injured. That gave me an opportunity to counsel my teammates. I told them