Pele plays down his feud with Teixeira
Source: Agencies |
August 4, 2011, Thursday
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BRAZIL great Pele played down his feud with Brazilian FA chief Ricardo Teixeira on Tuesday, saying the most important thing was that his country stage a memorable World Cup in 2014.
The 70-year-old also said he was confident Brazil's preparations to stage the tournament were on track despite some "scares" regarding stadiums and transport.
Pele, arguably the best player ever, was initially snubbed by Teixeira for the draw for the preliminary rounds of the World Cup in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. However, Pele did play a role after being appointed his country's international World Cup ambassador by Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff.
"Everybody has enemies, even when you don't know," Pele told reporters in London. "The most important thing is that we have an excellent World Cup in Brazil. This doesn't affect the football, we are just going to work hard.
"(Teixeira) has some small problems with journalists but so does Mr. Blatter and FIFA is still there. I just want to make it clear, I haven't had an argument with Teixeira.
"I respect him."
FIFA is concerned at the slow pace of preparations for the tournament. There had even been concerns that Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, wouldn't be able to host any matches.
"It was something that scared us a bit because Sao Paulo is the capital of football in Brazil. It's the only thing that worried us a bit," Pele said. "The rest of Brazil, no problem."
The 70-year-old also said he was confident Brazil's preparations to stage the tournament were on track despite some "scares" regarding stadiums and transport.
Pele, arguably the best player ever, was initially snubbed by Teixeira for the draw for the preliminary rounds of the World Cup in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. However, Pele did play a role after being appointed his country's international World Cup ambassador by Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff.
"Everybody has enemies, even when you don't know," Pele told reporters in London. "The most important thing is that we have an excellent World Cup in Brazil. This doesn't affect the football, we are just going to work hard.
"(Teixeira) has some small problems with journalists but so does Mr. Blatter and FIFA is still there. I just want to make it clear, I haven't had an argument with Teixeira.
"I respect him."
FIFA is concerned at the slow pace of preparations for the tournament. There had even been concerns that Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, wouldn't be able to host any matches.
"It was something that scared us a bit because Sao Paulo is the capital of football in Brazil. It's the only thing that worried us a bit," Pele said. "The rest of Brazil, no problem."
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