A Multi-signed Mexico 1970 World Cup Programme

A Multi-signed Mexico 1970 World Cup Programme Condition: Very good for what is now a vintage publication; there is no loss of the red colour on the front cover of the programme or of the colours on the back cover. The white text pages are devoid of age-toning or foxing marks. The programme shows minor bumps at the top right-hand corner and towards the bottom of the right-hand edge of its front cover. There are three minor stress marks along the left edge of the front cover. An imprint of the red European edition of the Mexico 1970 World Cup programme signed by the global football legend, Pele and several members of the national squads of England, Germany, Italy and Sweden. In a one-off award announced at the annual Fifa World gala held in Rome on December 11 th , 2000 Fifa named Diego Maradona and Pele joint winners of the ‘Fifa Player of the Century’ award, recognising them as the greatest footballers of the 20 th Century. This rare World Cup programme has the signatures of 50 football legends of the 60s and 70s. Besides Pele, the signatories include, among others the following footballing legends: England Squad – Alf Ramsey, Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Bobby Charlton, Alan Ball and Nobby Stiles West Germany Squad – Franz Beckenhauer, Uwe Seeler, Wolfgang Weber and Wolfgang Overath Italy Squad – Roberto Boninsegna, Sandro Mazzola, Gianni Rivera and Enrico Albertosi and Dino Zofff Sweden Squad – Bjorn Nordqvist, Bo-Goran Larsson, Ronnie Hellestrom and Kent Karlsson The Mexico 1970 World Cup tournament ranks very highly in the history of this most globally popular sporting event from 1930-2022, in the main, for the following reasons: i. It was the first World Cup to be televised world-wide ii. It was the best supported World Cup of all the tournaments to 1970 with crowds exceeding 100,00 for the final matches iii. It was the first World Cup to be held in North America iv. It was probably the greatest of all the many successful Brazilian teams, as showcased by the enthralling and highly entertaining displays of the superlative footballing skills of Pele and his team. (Goals by Pele, Gerson, Jairsinho and Carlos Alberto clinched the final for Brail with a 4-1 win over Italy.) v. It was Brazil’s third win in the World Cup and Fifa decided to allow to allow Brazil to retain the Jules Rimet trophy permanently. (The Jules Rimet trophy was stolen in 1983 in Rio de Janeiro and has never been recovered.) vi. Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenhauer are the only two footballers in the history of the world cup to-date to win the World Cup both as a player and a manager. It is also worth noting that England’s quarter final against West Germany was Bobby Charlton’s last game for England in a World Cup, after scoring 49 goals in 106 matches. We have been informed that programme was purchased in 1981 from a senior executive of our Football Association and, as such, there is no formal Certificate of Authenticity. Only such a person with connections in the world of international football could have obtained these signatures, which, we believe, have been collected at the tournament itself and some perhaps later over a period of several months. (This is of course a conjecture on our part!) It would be difficult to find a comparable World Cup programme signed by the one and only icon of the world of football, Pele and players of four great national teams.