Headline News

31, December 2022

French Cameroun: Soldier killed in ambush in Far North ⁰

A soldier has been killed and another wounded in an ambush by jihadis in Cameroon’s Far North, military and local sources said Friday.

The attack happened on Thursday in the town of Ldaoussaf in a region troubled by jihadi insurgents, the two sources told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“An army patrol was ambushed,” a senior army officer said, adding that a soldier had been killed and another injured. “The assailants fled with weapons.”

A local authority representative who also asked to remain anonymous confirmed the toll.

The Far North is a tongue of land that lies between Nigeria to the west and Chad to the east.

Nigeria’s Boko Haram and its dissident branch, the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), have in recent years carried out deadly attacks against security forces and civilians in northern Cameroon, as well as adjacent parts of Nigeria, Niger and Chad.

Boko Haram launched an insurgency in northeast Nigeria in 2009 before it spread through the region.

More than 36,000 people have been killed since, mainly in Nigeria, and 3 million people have fled their homes, the United Nations says.

Source: VOA

31, December 2022

Pope Benedict XVI dies at 95 ⁰

Former pope Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95, the Vatican announced Saturday, almost a decade after he became the first pontiff to resign in six centuries.

“With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement.

The German pope emeritus, whose birth name was Joseph Ratzinger, had been living a quiet life in a former convent inside the Vatican grounds since his shock decision to step down in February 2013.

His health had been declining for a long time, but the Vatican revealed on Wednesday that his situation had worsened, while his successor Pope Francis called for Catholics worldwide to pray for him.

His death brings to an end an unprecedented situation in which two “men in white” –Benedict and Francis – had co-existed within the walls of the tiny city state.

Benedict’s funeral will be held in St. Peter’s Square on Thursday, January 5 and will be presided over by Pope Francis, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said on Saturday.

In 2005 the body of John Paul II, the last pope to die, lay in state before a funeral mass in St Peter’s Square attended by one million people, including heads of state.

Scandal and in-fighting

Benedict had almost entirely withdrawn from public view, his health reported to be shaky and the few photographs that emerged of him exposing his frailty.

Back in 2013, he had cited his declining physical and mental health in his decision to become the first pope since 1415 to give up the job as head of the worldwide Catholic church.

Benedict was a brilliant theologian but his papacy was beset by Vatican in-fighting and a scandal over clerical sexual abuse of children that rocked the Catholic Church the world over, in which he was criticised for a lack of leadership.

The abuse scandal overshadowed his final months after a damning report for the German church in January 2022 accused him of personally failing to stop four predatory priests in the 1980s while archbishop of Munich.

He denied wrongdoing and the Vatican strongly defended his record in being the first pope to apologise for the scandals, who expressed his own “deep remorse” and met with victims.

Born on April 16, 1927, in Marktl am Inn, in Bavaria, Benedict was 78 when he succeeded the long-reigning and popular John Paul II in April 2005, the first German pope of the modern era.

He later said his election felt “like the guillotine”.

Unlike his successor Pope Francis, a Jesuit who delights in being among his flock, Benedict was a conservative intellectual dubbed “God’s Rottweiler” in a previous post as chief doctrinal enforcer.

His papacy was dogged by controversy, from comments that angered the Muslim world to a money-laundering scandal at the Vatican bank and a personal humiliation when, in 2012, his butler leaked secret papers to the media.

Despite saying he would live “hidden from the world” after his resignation, he repeatedly intervened on key issues facing the Church through books, interviews and articles.

In January 2020, he expressed his opposition to allowing priests to marry. A year earlier, he blamed clerical abuse scandals on the 1960s sexual revolution and a collapse in faith in the West.

In an interview in March 2021, he said “there is only one pope”, but acknowledged “fanatical” supporters who refused to accept his resignation.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

30, December 2022

Football: Cristiano Ronaldo signs for Al Nassr football club in Saudi Arabia ⁰

Cristiano Ronaldo on Friday signed for Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia, the club announced, in a deal believed to be worth more than 200 million euros.

The 37-year-old penned a contract which will take him to June 2025.

“I can’t wait to discover a new football league in a different country,” said the former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus player.

The Portuguese star was pictured on the Al Nassr Twitter feed holding a blue and yellow shirt with his favoured number seven printed on the back.

Source: AFP

30, December 2022

1,668 journalists killed in the past 20 years (2003-2022), average of 80 per year ⁰

Nearly 1,700 journalists have been killed worldwide over the past 20 years, an average of more than 80 a year, according to an analysis published by Reporters Without Borders.

The two decades between 2003 and 2022 were “especially deadly decades for those in the service of the right to inform”, said the Paris-based media rights campaigners.

“Behind the figures, there are the faces, personalities, talent and commitment of those who have paid with their lives for their information gathering, their search for the truth and their passion for journalism,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said.

Iraq and Syria were the most dangerous countries to work as a journalist, accounting for “a combined total of 578 journalists killed in the past 20 years, or more than a third of the worldwide total”, RSF said.

They are followed by Mexico (125 killed), the Philippines (107), Pakistan (93), Afghanistan (81) and Somalia (78).

The “darkest years” were 2012 and 2013, “due in large measure to the war in Syria”. There were 144 killings in 2012 and 142 the year after, the report said.

This peak was “followed by a gradual fall and then historically low figures from 2019 onwards”.

30, December 2022

Brazil starts three days of mourning for legendary footballer Pelé ⁰

Brazil starts three days of national mourning on Friday for football legend Pele, the three-time World Cup winner widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, who has died at age 82.

The death of “The King” who transcended football triggered a wave of tributes around the globe from the sports world and also from political and cultural leaders.

Pele died Thursday at the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo after a long battle with cancer.

“We love you infinitely. Rest in peace,” daughter Kely Nascimento wrote on Instagram.

The football world — from his former teammates to current stars — came together to honor “O Rei”, who transformed the sport during a long professional career that began when he was still a teenager.

Brazil star Neymar said Pele “transformed football into an art.” France’s Kylian Mbappe said his legacy “will never be forgotten,” and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo called him an “inspiration to millions.”

Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain Lionel Messi simply wrote: “Rest in peace.”

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who declared three days of national mourning, paid tribute to a man who “transformed football into art and joy”, while president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is due to take office Sunday, tweeted: “There had never been a number 10 like him.”

Pele is the only footballer in history to have won three World Cups — in 1958, 1962 and 1970.

He scored a world record 1,281 goals in 1,363 matches during a 21-year career.

He had been in increasingly fragile health, battling kidney problems and colon cancer — undergoing surgery for the latter in September 2021, followed by chemotherapy.

A wake will take place on Monday, followed by a funeral on Tuesday in Santos, the southeastern city where he played most of his career, his former club said.

The city declared seven days of mourning as fans flocked to the team’s stadium to leave flowers.

In front of the Sao Paulo hospital where he died, fans held up a banner which read: “Eternal King Pele.”

In Rio de Janeiro, the Christ the Redeemer statue which overlooks the city was illuminated in homage to Pele, as was the legendary Maracana stadium.

For the Brazilian daily O Globo, whose front page was packed with stories about the sporting legend, Pele remained the “immortal king of football”.

In a testament to Pele’s influence, international figures including US President Joe Biden and former leader Barack Obama, Brazilian music legends Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, and International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach also paid tribute.

“As one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, he understood the power of sports to bring people together,” Obama wrote.

‘Samba football’

Born on October 23, 1940, in the southeastern city of Tres Coracoes, Edson Arantes do Nascimento — named for American inventor Thomas Edison — grew up selling peanuts on the street to help his impoverished family get by.

He was soon given the nickname Pele, for his mispronunciation of Bile, the name of a goalkeeper at Vasco de Sao Lourenco, where his footballer father once played.

Pele dazzled from the age of 15, when he started playing professionally with Santos. He led the club to a flurry of titles, including back-to-back Intercontinental Cups in 1962-1963.

He epitomized the Brazil national team’s sublime style of play, called “samba football.”

Pele set his scoring records playing for Santos (1956-74), the Brazilian national team, and the New York Cosmos (1975-77).

But beyond the many benchmarks he set, he will be remembered for revolutionizing the sport, his ever-present number 10 on his back as he tapped into his preternatural athleticism.

The first global football star, he played a lead role in making the game a sporting and commercial powerhouse.

He also played with heart, visible in the black-and-white footage of the 17-year-old bursting into tears after helping Brazil to its first World Cup title, in 1958.

Eight years earlier, seeing his father cry when Brazil lost the 1950 World Cup final on home soil to Uruguay, Pele had promised to bring the trophy home one day.

Sports royalty

Pele reached the pinnacle of his greatness at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, the first broadcast in color, where he starred on what many consider the greatest team of all time, with talents such as Rivellino, Tostao and Jairzinho.

He was often welcomed like royalty when traveling abroad with Santos or the national team. Legend has it that his arrival in Nigeria in 1969 prompted a 48-hour truce in the bloody Biafra war.

Pele declined offers to play in Europe but signed for a brief, lucrative swansong with the New York Cosmos at the end of his career, bringing his star power to the land of “soccer.”

His influence extended beyond the pitch, with gigs as a movie star, singer and sports minister (1995-1998) — he was one of the first black cabinet members in Brazil.

But he faced criticism at times in Brazil for remaining quiet on social issues and racism, and for what some saw as his haughty, vain personality.

Unlike Argentine rebel Diego Maradona, one of his rivals for the title of greatest of all time, Pele was seen as close to those in power — including Brazil’s 1964-1985 military regime.

‘Eternal, unforgettable’

Pele’s health began to fail in the last decade. His public appearances grew increasingly rare, and he frequently used a walker or wheelchair.

He was hospitalized several times for urinary infections, then again in 2021 and 2022 for the colon cancer that marked the beginning of the end.

He met his health problems with typical humor.

“I will face this match with a smile on my face,” he posted on Instagram in September 2021, after surgery to remove his colon tumor.

Mario Zagallo, who won the World Cup alongside Pele in 1958 and 1962, said the King had “stopped the world several times” with his talent.

“He leaves an eternal, unforgettable legacy,” the 91-year-old Zagallo said.

Source: AFP

29, December 2022

CPDM Crime Syndicate: Delays, extortions, and voter exclusion: national biometric ID card conundrum ⁰

Ashu M. just clocked 20 years this November, the legal age for voting in the central African nation of Cameroon. The enthusiastic young man is looking forward to enlisting his name on the biometric voter roll in preparation for the next general elections coming up in 2025. However, this will only be possible if Ashu is able to obtain his biometric national ID card, which he applied for back when he was 18.

In Cameroon, obtaining the national identity card has become more difficult for many than the biblical camel passing through the eye of a needle. And by law, citizens cannot exercise their voting, and other civil rights, if they do not possess a valid national ID card.

Like Ashu, there are thousands of young Cameroonians willing to take part in the country’s electoral process but facing one major challenge: that of lack of a national ID card, which is an indispensable ID credential. Voter registration requires presentation of the national ID card.

Not only that. The national ID card is also required during voting as it is the document used to verify the identity of the voter. This is because Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) – the agency responsible for organizing and managing elections in the country – does not yet employ a biometric system for voter accreditation as is the case in neighboring Nigeria, and elsewhere around the continent.

“I applied for a national ID card in November 2020 when I turned 18, — the age required for the establishment of a national ID card in Cameroon. You can’t believe that since then, my ID card has not been delivered. I have gone uncountable times to the police station where I applied for it, but I am told the card has not been produced. I have gone through all sorts of difficulties,” Ashu tells Biometric Update.

In July 2021, Cameroon launched a new generation passport which was delivered by German firm Augentic. This has dramatically revolutionized the passport production experience in the country, with the travel document now issued only within a time span of 48 hours maximum, as opposed to at least one month in the past.

Conversely, there has been an avalanche of complaints over the innumerable problems rocking the ID card production system, and the frustrations seem to be on an upward spiral with many Cameroonian now urging the government to bring the passport experience to the ID card sector.

Lack of ID cards and voter exclusion

Cameroon has seen low voter registration figures over the years, and less than 60 percent of nearly seven million registered voters showing up in the country’s last presidential election in 2018. Although there is no evidence to demonstrate that the low figures are attributable to lack of ID cards by potential voters, there is no gainsaying that the problem is part of it.

“I chased my national ID card in vain during the last presidential election in October 2018. I had a choice to make at the ballot box but I was unable to do so because I had no ID card to prove who I am. The inertia with the ID card system is part of the reason we need to vote for change,” says Anna T., a fruits seller down a street market in Yaounde.

ELECAM believes that the slow issuance of ID cards may not be the entire problem, but is part of it, and therefore solutions have to be sought as soon as possible.

In October, the body’s chairman Enow Abrams Egbe had a meeting with the delegate general for national security – the issuing authority of the national ID card. According to Enow Egbe, the kernel of the talks was to discuss ways through which the huge backlog of ID cards can be cleared ahead of the general elections.

“The main focus of our discussion was on the obtention of the national identity card. Many Cameroonians are complaining that they are unable to obtain their cards. We got clear and precise information from the delegate general who assured us that all will be done for citizens to get the national ID card,” said the ELECAM chairman.

Later, speaking in an interview with Biometric Update on the issue, Enow Egbe claimed that the problem is also more with citizens who abandon their cards at production centers: “The ID card is a major document required for voter registration. As such, I urge all Cameroonians of voting age to try as much as possible to go and collect their ID cards and register their names on the voters list. The problem of ID cards, from my discussion with the police boss, arises from the laxity of citizens to go and collect their cards, because we realize from the various reports, that there are piles of abandoned ID cards in many police stations, and some have even expired still in their keeping.”

“This has a negative impact on the voter registration process, because it reduces the number of potential voters. We also have the problem of some people in remote areas who are reluctant to go get a birth certificate, a prerequisite of obtaining an ID card needed for registration on the electoral list,” Egbe adds.

Ordeals of delays, extortion

While Cameroonians like Ashu harbor fears that they may not be able to vote for change in the next general elections because they do not have a national ID card, other citizens like Isaac Genna Forchie and Jonathan A. have other sad tales to narrate.

Genna Forchie, a journalist working for state-run newspaper Cameroon Insider in Yaounde, tells Biometric Update he has gone for more than two years without an ID card, after duly applying for the document. This, he explains, has made life quite hellish for him as there are certain public services he cannot have access to without the original copy his ID card.

“I established my ID card way back on June 5, 2020. They issued a receipt and asked me to come for the document six months later. I have been there at least 10 times since then, and each time I get there, I am told to be patient. This has caused me a lot of inconveniences,” he explains.

“There was a period I traveled to the town of Kribi (a town in the south of Cameroon) and the receipt expired while I was there. I got terribly embarrassed on my way back. At another instance, I got frustrated when I wanted to do a financial transaction in the bank. Now, my passport expires this 2023. An ID card is a requirement for the establishment of a passport. I am yet to figure out how to renew my passport.”

Jonathan A., for his part, will not soon forget how about five years ago, he spent around XAF 500,000 (about US$810) to procure an ID card on an emergency note after he failed to obtain the credential following the normal procedure.

“My first ID expired after using it for ten years, so I had to procure a new one. I compiled all the necessary documents and followed the procedure that was required of me. I was issued an application receipt. When the original card was supposed to be out, I was told that there was a problem of double identity. I was surprised because all the information that was on my expired ID card is the same information I provided. It was the same information on my birth certificate. That is where my trouble started,” Jonathan A. narrated to Biometric Update.

He confessed that in order to circumvent the problem, he had to contact a staff of the police station who promised to facilitate the delivery of the ID card for a fee. “I went for roughly two years without an ID card. Within this period, the validity of the applicant receipt was extended many times. At some point, I needed a passport because I was supposed to travel. I was forced to get in contact with a police commissioner who asked me to give him XAF 250,000 (US$405) so that he can help me out. I gave him the money, but unfortunately, the process didn’t go well. So I lost the money, and didn’t have the ID.”

He says he was forced to spend another XAF250, 000 (US$405) with another agent, who eventually succeeded in getting the ID card for him within a period of one month, after another thorny procedure.

Unlike Jonathan A., who was able to cough out such a huge sum of money just to get an ID card, there are millions of Cameroonians who cannot afford such funds for the same purpose.

Many Cameroonians live on less than US$1 a day, and things appear worse off now as the country has been facing inflationary pressures which government has largely blamed on the war in Ukraine and the lingering global economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I find it difficult to have money for my daily bread. I have a wife and five children, and I don’t work for any government office or big enterprise. I was told I can pay XAF 25,000 (US$40) and get my ID card within days, but where can I find that kind of money with the hardship we are currently facing in this country?” says Abesolo M., a motor mechanic. He adds that “I have not been able to get my ID card for the past one year.”

Cases of extortion for ID cards have been so rife that some Cameroonians say they have called the toll-free number (1517) of the Cameroon national anti-corruption agency (CONAC) the state anti-graft body, to report their frustrations.

A matter of jail and death?

With reports of delays and extortions notwithstanding, not being in possession of the national ID card, especially when you come face-to-face with law enforcement officers in certain circumstances, can either land you in jail or at worse into your grave.

Section 1(2) of law No. 19-42 of 19 December 1990 instituting a national ID card in Cameroon states that “possession of a national identity card shall be compulsory throughout the country for all citizens aged 18 or more.”

Section 5, sub section five, of the same legislation states: “Whoever does not possess a national identity card shall be punished with imprisonment for from three months to one year or with fine of from XFA 50,000 (US$80) to XAF 100,000 (US$160) or with both such imprisonment and fine.”

Indeed, stories exist of many Cameroonians who are currently languishing in jail after being convicted of criminal charges including “failure to hold a national ID card.”

Such is the case with popular Anglophone activist ‘Mancho Bibixy’ who was jailed alongside six other activists in May 2018 for acts of terrorism and hostility against the state of Cameroon. Bibixy was arrested in January 2017 in the Anglophone North West city of Bamenda after staging a peaceful protest against bad governance by the regime in Yaounde. He was not in possession of his ID card at the time he was arrested on 19 January 2017, which is considered a crime.

The Mancho Bibixy example is in no way an isolated one. On 10 October this year, a man whose name was reported by the Cameroonian media as Foundikou Daouda was arrested and thrown into a police cell after storming a police station in Foumbot, a town in the West region of the country, to protest why his ID card had not been issued many months after he applied for it.

Considering his protest as disturbance of public order, Daouda was reportedly beaten by officers and put behind bars where he spent many weeks. He was released only in November after pressure from family members and rights activists, according to local media reports.

Activists kick, want urgent action

The arrest of Daouda for simply asking questions about delays in issuing his ID card sparked anger in the country, with many activists and rights lawyers chiming in to speak about an issue which is now considered by some critics as a national embarrassment.

In the wake of the incident, a Cameroonian human rights lawyer Christian Ntimbane Bomo, in an open letter to President Paul Biya, as published by a local news portal Cameroun Actuel, wondered why issuing a “simple” national ID card should be such a big problem for a country in the 21st century.

The lawyer alleges that going by his sources, the delay in rolling out the new national ID card scheme announced by the government a long time ago, is the result of a “battle” at the level of the presidency over who should be awarded the “juicy” contract. He urges the President of the Republic of Cameroon, Paul Biya, to take all necessary measures in order to save Cameroonians from the current quagmire, so that they can be able to prove their identities.

Also reacting to the Foumbot incident, Anne Féconde Noah, political activist and one of the proponents of an online campaign dubbed #JeveuxmaCNI (loosely translated as ‘I want my ID card’), expressed regrets, saying the authorities must take the requisite measures in order to avoid a repeat of such a scenario in the future.

“Not having an ID card in one’s own country is absolutely not an option. Citizens do not have to beg to have this document which is very essential in their daily lives,” said the activist on his Facebook page. Noah is also member of a popular opposition party in Cameroon known as the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation (PCRN), which is known for sharply criticizing the actions of the Paul Biya administration.

In all of this, one thing is sure. Cameroonian authorities are very much aware of the agony citizens face in obtaining their ID cards, and the ordeal those who do not have the credential go through on a daily basis. What remains unsure, however, is when exactly they intend to undertake concrete action so as to bring the lingering problem to an end.

Culled from Biometricsupdate

29, December 2022

At 17, Pele conquered the world ⁰

Pele burst onto the global stage at just 17 with dazzling goals as Brazil won the World Cup for the first time in Sweden in 1958.

“I have good and bad stories from World Cups. The ’58 World Cup was a dream. I was a kid. Nobody was expecting it. Nobody believed in us. I remember some reporters saying: ‘how can they take a 17-year-old kid to the World Cup finals,” Pele recalled in an interview with FIFA.

As ever on the football field, Pele’s timing was impeccable.

While the 1954 World Cup had been broadcast live to a small European audience, 1958 was shown more widely and far more people owned television sets.

Pele, who crowned his career 12 years later in Mexico in the first World Cup broadcast in colour, was the first football star to play his entire career in the TV era.

In 1958, Brazil under coach Vicente Feola were also innovating.

They embraced the 4-2-4 formation and adopted a detailed approach to every aspect of preparation and planning.

The federation assigned a psychologist, Joao Carvalhaes, to the squad. He tested the players and pronounced Pele “too infantile”.

“You may be right,” Feola replied. “But you know nothing about football and I’ve seen Pele play.”

Pele, nursing a knee injury, missed the first two group games, a 3-0 win over Austria and the first goalless draw at a World Cup against England.

He made his debut against the USSR in the final group match.

The brilliant and unpredictable winger Garrincha was also recalled after being left out of the first two group matches.

Veteran defender Nilton Santos is said to have led a delegation of players to see Feola demanding he change the team.

Their recall altered the complexion of a side which had only contained one black player in the opening game.

Youngest scorer

In the first three minutes, Pele and Garrincha hit the woodwork and Vava scored. Vava added a second after the break as Brazil won 2-0 and secured first place in the group.

Pele made history in the 66th minute of the quarter-final scoring the only goal against Wales to become, at 17 years and 239 days, the youngest scorer in a World Cup.

He controlled the ball with his back to goal and Mel Charles marking him closely, flicked the ball toward goal with his right foot, spun and poked a shot through a challenge by Stuart Williams and in off the far post.

It was a goal fit to win a World Cup quarter-final, but because all the quarter-finals kicked off at the same time and the technology meant only one game could be shown live, it was not seen at the time by the global audience.

Pele hit the last three goals as Brazil beat France 5-2 in the semi-finals, pouncing on two loose balls in the goalmouth for a pair of well-taken poacher’s goals and completing his hat-trick with a stinging volley.

Just Fontaine scored for the losers and went on to finish the tournament with 13 goals.

“When I saw Pele play, it made me feel I should hang up my boots,” Fontaine said later.

Pele made his mark in the final on a Rasunda Stadium pitch made slippery by rain.

Although his play, behind centre forward Vava, epitomised the all-round attacking role associated with the modern number 10, he had that shirt only by accident. Despite their careful planning, the Brazilians had neglected to submit squad numbers and were assigned them at random. Goalkeeper Gilmar, for example, wore three.

Sweden took a fourth minute lead. Pele struck the woodwork. Then Garrincha twice beat his men on the right and hit low crosses for Vava to tap in.

In the 55th minute, Pele scored the third with a memorable flourish.

With the hulking Sigge Parling at his back, Pele leaped and twisted to control a ball into the penalty area. By the time he landed Parling was behind him.

‘Quick thinking’

As Bengt Gustavsson lunged in, Pele opted not to shoot, instead flicking the ball over the defender’s head.

Shrugging off a bootful of studs in his thigh, Pele composed himself as the ball dropped, from a height of 3.2 metres, FIFA have calculated, leant forward and bounced a volley under goalkeeper Kalle Svensson.

“If I said I thought about it, I’d be lying,” Pele told FIFA. “It was a spur-of-the moment reaction, quick thinking. When I controlled it I was going to hit it first time but then I thought quickly and adjusted. One of the strengths in my life and in my football was my improvisation, to change at the last second.”

In the final minute, Pele rounded off another 5-2 win, with a looping header that finished a one-two he had started with a backheel.

At the final whistle, Pele wept as teammates hoisted him in the air.

“After the fifth goal, even I wanted to cheer for him,” said Parling.

Fans watching round the world cheered too. King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden came down to the pitch to shake Pele’s hand. Football’s king had been crowned.

Source: AFP

29, December 2022

Pele, Maradona, Messi: Who is the greatest of all time? ⁰

When FIFA declared Pele and Diego Maradona jointly the players of the 20th century, and effectively the best of all time, they side-stepped but did not resolve a heated debate that has grown more complicated as Lionel Messi has dominated the 21st century.

Just who is the greatest?

Pele, who died on Thursday, and the two Argentines all won the sport’s greatest prize — the World Cup — and were undoubtedly the kings of their eras.

AFP Sport looks at who is the best between the magical Brazilian, the controversial Maradona, who passed away in November 2020 at the age of 60, and a second Argentine, the twinkling Messi who is still playing:

Triple crown v single titles

— Pele played in four World Cups, winning three times, a record not yet beaten and giving him one more than Maradona and Messi combined. He was just 17 in 1958 when he was world champion in Sweden, scoring six goals, two in the final. Pele was injured in the second match as Brazil won the 1962 World Cup but claimed a third title, and sealed his international reputation, in 1970 as his magical side beat Italy in the Mexico City final.

Maradona, not picked in the squad that won the World Cup at home in 1978 and sent off in a tournament-ending 3-1 loss to Brazil in Spain in 1982, shot to global fame in 1986 for the right and wrong reasons. His infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal against England was followed by an individual effort voted FIFA’s ‘Goal of the Century’. He scored twice in the semi-final win over Belgium and supplied the crucial pass in the 3-2 win against West Germany in the final.

After Messi completed his World Cup quest in Qatar this month, the ailing Pele saluted on Instagram: “Messi winning his first World Cup, as his trajectory deserved. Diego is certainly smiling.” The Argentine has a complete set of major medals: a World Cup (2022), a Copa America (2021), four Champions Leagues and three Club World Cups as well as a multitude of domestic Spanish and French trophies.

Number 10 v number 10 v number 10

— All three men wore the No 10 shirt.

Pele’s role was often described as a “nine and a half”, his attacking skills yielding 1,281 goals in 1,363 matches for his clubs, Santos and New York Cosmos, and the Brazilian national team.

Maradona, known as “D10S” (a word play with the number 10 and God in Spanish) played in a free role, more the playmaker, and his career statistics reflect that: 345 goals in 692 matches.

Messi, who plays a variety of attacking positions, has also piled up the goals: 793 in 1,003 professional matches by the end of 2022.

Role model v a rebel and a quiet child

— Pele was the clean-cut hero, scandal-free, honourable, sporting, with a career spent at just two clubs — Santos (1956-74) and New York Cosmos (1975-77).

Maradona played for six teams, was sent off at the 1982 World Cup, scored with his hand against England in the 1986 tournament, was banned in Spain for fighting on the pitch, and was sent home in disgrace from the 1994 World Cup after failing a drugs test. He also suffered a cocaine addiction.

Messi, the quiet child, resembled Pele in his loyalty to his first club Barcelona until their money troubles allowed Paris Saint-Germain to pry him away in 2021. His difficulties with the Spanish tax authorities and a host of sponsorship deals have not tarnished his image.

Ego wars

Until they reconciled in 2016, Pele and Maradona sparred over who was the greatest.

Pele has a museum. Maradona said Pele belonged “in a museum”.

Maradona, who enjoyed showing off his Fidel Castro and Che Guevara tattoos, mocked the Brazilian’s respect for authority.

Pele condemned Maradona as “not being an example” to youngsters because of his drug problems.

The more guarded Messi, as heir to Argentina’s greatest sporting hero, has avoided suggesting he is better than Maradona.

Source: AFP

29, December 2022

Brazilian football legend Pelé, who won a record three World Cups, dies at 82 ⁰

More than six decades after he first wowed the world on the football pitch, Pelé is no more. The superstar Brazil nicknamed “O Rei” – the King – and winner of three World Cups died on Thursday at the age of 82 after a battle with colon cancer. His death caps a storied life as one of the greatest footballers the game has ever known.

Pelé’s daughter Kely Nascimento announced his death on Instagram. “We love you infinitely, rest in peace,” she wrote. His agent, Joe Fraga, confirmed his death.

The standard-bearer of “the beautiful game” had undergone treatment for colon cancer since 2021. He had been hospitalised for the last month with multiple ailments and died of organ failure.

“Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pelé, who peacefully passed away today,” read his official Instagram account.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born to a poor family in Três Corações in southeastern Brazil on October 23, 1940. Nicknamed Pelé as a schoolboy, his first football was reportedly a sock stuffed with rags. The first man to have ever scored 1,000 career goals, Pelé’s dizzying exploits on the pitch brought him to 1,281 goals in 1,362 matches between 1956 and 1977 – including more than 1,000 for fabled Santos FC.

It was wearing that club’s famous white shirt that Pelé achieved some of his most glittering successes, not least winning two Copa Libertadores (1961, 1962) and a Recopa Sudamericana (1968).

But Pelé, who also won 11 regional championships, was far more than just a club player. Selected 92 times by his country, Pelé’s international play was, too, the stuff of legend. He won three World Cups with Brazil (1958, 1962 and 1970) – a feat that remains his alone.

Pelé was blessed “with speed, balance, control, power, and an uncanny ability to anticipate the movements of his opponents and teammates”, according to the Bleacher Report sport news site. While leading his clubs to new heights, he also made an impression with his “gentleman-like behavior both on and off the pitch”.

A precocious talent

Pelé’s legend was forged starting with his earliest appearances, a precocious talent deploying his remarkable skills for all to see. He was just 15 in September 1956 when he first took the field for Santos, a baptism of fire against FC Corinthians that would see the young hopeful score his first goal.

Pelé would step up to football’s biggest stage two years later and shine for all the world to see. In 1958, the 17-year-old already had 100 goals under his belt in Brazil, winning him a place on the national squad for the World Cup in Sweden. The teenager was left on the bench for the Seleção’s three group matches to begin the tournament. But with the backingof his teammates, Pelé was in the starting 11 for the knock-out stages.

Given that chance, the teen phenom was nothing short of a revelation. Pelé scored in the quarter-finals, giving Brazil a 1-0 win over Wales. In the semi-finals, he went on to score three consecutive goals to knock out France. And in the final against the tournament hosts, Pelé netted another critical two goals as the Seleção beat Sweden 5-2 to take the World Cup home.

Honours and accolades

The Brazilian prodigy’s effort and talent would lay the groundwork for an extraordinary career punctuated by sky-high numbers. On six occasions, Pelé managed to score five goals in the same game, but he also notched 30 quadruples and 92 triples over two illustrious decades. In 1964, he infamously destroyed the Botafogo defence with eight goals in a single match.

After a successful turn with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League, “O Rei” retired in 1977, having collected 27 team trophies alongside myriad individual honours and memories galore. Of the latter, perhaps none were to rival the feverish atmosphere at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro during the 1969 match that saw Pelé score his 1,000th career goal.

Even after hanging up his cleats, Pelé continued to shine. After retirement he dedicated much of his time to causes close to his heart, and his humanitarian work with UNICEF earned him the 1978 International Peace Award. He made occasional appearances on the silver screen – he starred alongside Sylvester Stallone and Michael Caine in 1981’s Victory – but also briefly entered politics, serving as Brazil’s minister of sport from 1995 to 1998. He also served as a United Nations ambassador for ecology and the environment as well as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNESCO.

The sporting honours also continued to roll in. Péle was inducted into the US National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1993 and named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee in 1999. FIFA gave him an honorary Ballon d’Or in 2014. Football’s highest authority also designated Pelé as FIFA Player of the Century, an honour he shared with Argentina’s Diego Maradona (a joint prize that always rankled the diminutive Argentine, who felt he alone deserved the title).

Some 45 years after Pelé stepped off the professional pitch, such accolades helped establish his status as a legend with new generations.

Now, after a long reign crowned with successes, Pelé has taken his leave. O Rei is dead … Long live the King!

Source: France 24

29, December 2022

Football: Two-goal Haaland returns to haunt Leeds in Man City win ⁰

Erling Haaland lamented not scoring five times in the city of his birth as the Norwegian struck twice in Manchester City’s 3-1 win at Leeds to lift them back up to second in the Premier League.

Haaland spent his early years in Yorkshire as his father Alfe Inge played for Leeds, but showed no mercy as City got their title challenge back on track.

Pep Guardiola’s men moved to within five points of Arsenal at the top of the table as they bounced back from a shock defeat to Brentford before the World Cup.

Haaland now has 20 Premier League goals in just 14 appearances since joining City, but was still left unsatisfied after failing to beat Illan Meslier with three one-on-ones.

“I could’ve scored five, that’s the truth,” Haaland told Amazon Prime.

“We win, that’s the most important thing. You see Arsenal at the top now, we have to hunt them, but for me as a striker, I could’ve scored a couple more.

“That’s life, I have to practise more.”

Haaland should have made his mark inside 45 seconds as he was denied by a fine save from Meslier when clean through.

That set the tone for a first half of frustration for City as a series of glorious chances came and went.

Meslier won another battle with Haaland, while two glaring misses from Jack Grealish left Guardiola with his head in his hands.

However, Leeds crucially failed to hold out until half-time on level terms as the visitors finally made their dominance count in first half stoppage time.

Kevin De Bruyne opened up the Leeds defence for the opener and when Riyad Mahrez’s shot was parried by Meslier, Rodri swept the rebound into the net.

Grealish made some amends for his earlier misses by creating the second with a smart interception and unselfish pass for Haaland to roll into an empty net.

The City star acknowledged his Leeds past by refusing to celebrate, but it did not stop him adding a second on the night from another Grealish cutback.

“I have to say, it’s a really special moment in my career,” Haaland said of playing at Elland Road.

“It was in my craziest fantasy I could think of to be at Elland Road and score for Manchester City against Leeds.”

Leeds remain perilously poised just two points above the relegation zone, but did at least get a goal to show for their efforts when Pascal Struijk headed in from a corner 17 minutes from time.

Haaland did at least spare the home side his fourth Premier League hat-trick with an uncharacteristically weak finish with just Meslier to beat once more.

At the other end Joe Gelhardt’s curling effort was inches away from setting up a grandstand finish.

But a two-goal margin of victory was the very least City’s display deserved as they leapfrogged Newcastle into second in the table.

Source: AFP