The night Pele graced Villa Park

The football world is celebrating the life of Pele, who has passed away at the age of 82.

The Brazil legend, arguably the greatest football icon of all time, is the only player to have won the World Cup three times, coming in 1958, 1962 and 1970.

Pele transcended football and was a sporting great, one of the most successful and influential athletes ever, who has left an unrivalled legacy in the beautiful game.

Here, we take a look back at the time Pele graced the pitch at Villa Park in February 1972 for a prestigious friendly between Aston Villa and Santos.

It was a cold February night and Britain was in the grip of the infamous miners’ strike, but anyone who was at Villa Park will never forget when one of the world’s greatest footballers came down Witton way.

Aston Villa v Santos wasn’t just a friendly. The game against the Brazilian aces was an occasion like no other in the club’s history. A chance to see Pele in action was not to be missed – and 54,437 eagerly grabbed the opportunity.

They weren’t disappointed.

Pele delighted his audience with the incredible skills which had previously graced World Cup finals, and the crowd loved it. And although there was nothing at stake, the great man took it seriously. At one point he raced almost 50 yards to complain to Wolverhampton referee Jack Taylor that Santos should have been awarded a penalty!

Villa, who were chasing promotion from the old Third Division, won 2-1 thanks to Pat McMahon and Ray Graydon, although the boy from Brazil was undoubtedly the star of the show.

Yet the prestige match might not have taken place but for the ingenuity of Villa’s commercial manager Eric Woodward.

At the time there were regular power cuts nationwide because of the miners’ industrial action. To avoid a possible blackout of the Villa Park floodlights, Woodward suggested the club use their own generator to ensure the lights didn’t fail.

The system was given a trial run on the evening before the match, to satisfy the police and Birmingham Council that every safety factor was covered, while four members of the club’s staff slept at the ground in case any problems arose.

In the event, one of the pylons did lose power – but Pele still lit up Villa Park.