Not many people know that former PSL eccentric coach Walter “Mr Fitness” Rautmann played against Brazil and global icon Pelé in 1975 in the North American Soccer League (NASL). Rautmann remembers the match vividly.
Pelé died on Thursday from colon cancer at the age of 82.
Warm messages of commiserations and comfort have been pouring in from the entire football fraternity.
After leaving Moroka Swallows in 1975, Rautmann was turning out for Dallas Tornado, an American soccer that was based in Dallas, Texas, and Pelé was one of the world superstars who had flocked to the US to help popularise the game – he joined New York Cosmos the same year.
According to Rautmann, the whole world was fixated on Pelé, who was making his comeback after he had left Santos FC in Brazil with a trophy cabinet that was brimming with silverware and jaw-dropping records.
The legendary goal-machine was the only player in the world to have won three Fifa World Cups and had been the youngest to play in that tournament, at the tender age of 17.
At that time, Edson Arentes do Nascimento, as Pelé was originally christened, was 35 and his first match in the NASL was against Rautmann’s Tornado. The match was televised all over the world – and our very own “Mr Fitness” was shaking in his boots.
“He was colossal. He looked like he was untouchable, he was Pelé,” Rautmann opened up to Sunday World after the news of Pelé death was made public.
“Three big English defenders were assigned to mark him. I was playing in midfield and we managed to get a 2-0 lead. We were happy we were beating Pelé, not Cosmos. The three defenders did a sterling job shadowing Pelé – but only for 85 minutes. That is when his character loomed large. He reduced the deficit with a spectacular bicycle kick, after leaping into the air like an enraged Pitbull. We thought we still had a goal advantage and wanted to keep things tight and tidy. But Pelé pounced again – he rose majestically and equalised with a glancing header. The crowd went wild and the match ended 2-2,” added Rautmann.
Rautmann, a former Hertha Berlin, Berea Park, Highlands Park and Germiston Callies midfielder, says he found out after the match that Pelé was indeed a human being and not a demigod when they had a chat.
“He told me to work hard, to be passionate about the game and to respect football, and that I will be successful. He encouraged us to save money and to start businesses. He even stayed behind after that match, practicing free-kicks with his goalkeeper, and that is when I doffed my hat to him in respect. At 35 he was still practicing free-kicks and training more than the younger players.
“During those days there was not a lot of money in the game. There were no development structures and good coaching. Pelé had nothing, he grew up in the ghettos in Rio de Janeiro – but he was the best in dribbling, passing, scoring and heading the ball. Imagine if he was playing now, with all the privileges and the facilities. People compare him to Lionel Messi but I think Pelé was by far the best.”
Rautmann explains that Kaizer Motaung had been one of the first South Africans to arrive in the NASL at Atlanta Chiefs. Rautmann followed suit and Jomo Sono arrived later around 1977, when he became teammates with Pelé at Cosmos. Later on, Motaung moved to Denver Dynamos, and that’s when he recruited Kaizer Chiefs stars Patrick “Ace” Ntsoelengoe and Abednigo “Shaka” Ngcobo.
Upon his return to Mzansi, Mr Fitness went on to coach clubs such as AmaZulu, Rabali Blackpool, African Wanderers, Tembisa Classic, Swallows and Black Leopards, and that is where he earned the moniker “Mr Fitness”, because of his unorthodox and eccentric training methods. One of them involved getting players to run at mid-day under the scorching sun in Thohoyandou, Limpopo.
His philosophy was that you cannot survive relegation if the entire team was not fit, hence he was able to pull a master stroke and saved many teams from the dreaded relegation axe.
“I want to pass my condolences to his family, his fans, his friends and his former teammates. I did not sleep when I heard the news of his death – he was a friend and a great man, regardless of his achievements. He loved to mix with children and he encouraged opposition players. I last saw him in Dubai about eight years ago. He was with Messi and they were promoting some soccer programme, and he remembered me and we caught up and laughed. I hope his family finds strength in these difficult times,” added Rautmann.
For the latest sport news from Sunday World, click here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here
