Alan ‘Skill’ Cole Says Bob Marley Was A Pelé Fan

Former Jamaican footballer Alan ‘Skill’ Cole wants to rubbish a few misconceptions about his great friend Bob Marley, the King of Reggae and King Pelé, one of the greatest football players of all time.

“Bob Marley never met Pelé, I have seen photos online where the two of them embrace, but that never happened in real life, that’s one. Another rumor is that Bob used to wear Pelé’s jersey at times when he performed, that’s a lie too.  He, Bob was a great fan of Pele, but he never wore his jersey at shows. I know that Pele listened to reggae music, he loved it…he listened to Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley,” Cole, 72, told DancehallMag. 

Cole, who was also tour manager for Bob Marley and The Wailers during the 1970s, played against Pelé during the Brazilian great’s 1975 trip to Jamaica.

Widely regarded as one of football’s greatest players, Pelé arrived on a private jet and waved to lines of fans gathered along the way as he first visited the Prime Minister. The ‘Black Pearl’ had been visiting the island as a member of the star-studded New York Cosmos to play in an exhibition game against Cole, and the local club Santos—in a game dubbed the ‘Battle of the Giants’ which attracted a massive crowd to the National Stadium.

There are stories that Pelé was the victim of a crunching tackle from defender Billy Perkins that chopped down the living legend, who later left the field, apparently injured. However, ‘Skill’ denied this version of events. 

“It’s a lie. There was no dangerous tackle, that is all BS. Pelé was trying to go around Bill Perkins who blocked the space and Pelé flipped over him. Pelé was alright. This happened with about 15 minutes left in the match. Pelé left with about ten minutes into the game because of the extent of the crowd, all people who never born yet have something to say about the match, but I was there, there was no dangerous tackle,” he said. 

‘Skill’ provided the assist that day, crafting a brilliant pass to Errol “Barfly” Reid who would give the Santos club a narrow one-love victory (Bob Marley) style over their Pelé-led rivals. On that historic night, Cole shined bright as he was adjudged by the local faithful as being the most outstanding player in the game. 

Cole said he was amazed at Pelé’s humility, warmth, and humanity. 

“It was an honour, a pleasure to meet him, his humility struck me  most of all. He was a humanitarian who understood people like how understood the beautiful game of football,” Cole said.  

Pele, the Brazilian king of football won a record three World Cups and was one of the most commanding sports figures of the past century. He was 82 when he died on December 29th, after a battle with colon cancer. He had been hospitalized for the past month with multiple ailments. 

Pele was known for his athleticism and mesmerizing moves which wowed and transfixed players and fans. He spent nearly two decades dazzling opponents as the game’s most prolific scorer with Brazilian club Santos and the Brazil national team.

In the late 60s, Cole had experience in the North American league. Also, he played for Nautico in Brazil. He first met Pelé in 1971 when Cole was only 21 years old.

“I played against Pele quite a few times, his game was always immaculate,” Cole said. 

Pele’s funeral will be held on Monday and Tuesday at Santos’ Vila Belmiro Stadium outside Sao Paulo, where the soccer legend played some of his best games.

Rest in power, Edson Arantes do Nascimento. Legend.