SAO PAULO, OCT 20: Armed criminals attempting to hold up a car at gunpoint in Sao Paulo backed down on discovering that Pele was sitting in the back seat, an aide to the player said. Pele's car had stopped at traffic lights in a prosperous neighbourhood yesterday when the two would-be thieves approached the driver, pointed a gun and told him to open the window, his personal secretary Jose Fornos Rodrigues said.``When Pele took off his cap the thieves looked at him, gave him the thumbs-up sign, apologised and walked off,'' said Mr Rodrigues, speaking by telephone from Santos. Pele, who was with his wife, often wears a baseball cap to avoid being recognised. Rodrigues said Pele had been saddened rather than angered by the incident.
``When he scored his 1,000th goal 30 years ago in the Maracana, he dedicated it to the children of Brazil,'' he said. ``He said that if the Brazilian Government had looked after the country's children they would not be on the street robbing and stealing and this would not havehappened. He is very sad. ``It is so common nowadays that he didn't think it was a big deal.''
The incident happened two weeks ago near the offices of Pele's sports marketing firm but was reported in the media only.
Meanwhile, Pele plans to wear the Brazilian jersey once again on his 60th birthday next year, joining the current national team in a match with an all-star team from around the world, local news reports said today.
``Aside from some knee problems I could still play in every team,'' Pele, who turns 59 on Saturday, was quoted as saying.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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