On June 12th 1963, thousands packed the Camp Nou to watch FC Barcelona play Santos FC of Brazil in a friendly , and in particular one player called Edson Arantes do Nascimento Pelé. A year earlier, Santos had won the Brazil Cup, the Campeonato Paulista, the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup.The Brazilian national side won the World Cup that same year. In the following season, Santos went on to win the Copa Brazil, the Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup once again.At the Camp Nou, Barca won 2-0 and yet Santos hung on to its reputation as the best team in the world, with Pelé, aged 22, already regarded as the best player in the world.
Fast forward to today’s game between the two teams at Japan’s Yokohama Stadium . No friendly this one, but the final of Fifa’s Club World Cup. Barca beat Santos 4-0 after dominating a match, in which Barca are confirmed the best club in the world, and Messi, aged 24, the best player in the world, supported that is with a largely home-grown team of extroardinary collective skill and talent. As for Santos, this was a poor performance , not least by the aspiring new superstar Neymar who seemed utterly overwhelmed and out played by the boys from Catalonia. No wonder FC Barcelona thinks it can draw on their native reserves while Villa recovers. We shall see.
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