Kolkata, Sep 30 (TNN): In what will be a grand `reunion' 38 years after he played in the city for New York Cosmos Club, Pele will share the dais with Mohun Bagan team members who lined up against the Brazilian legend in that historic exhibition match on September 24, 1977.
Along with Pele, the entire Mohun Bagan squad that fought gallantly to hold Cosmos 2-2 will be felicitated on a star-studded Legends Night on October 12.
The function will be held at the Netaji Indoor Stadium, where Pele will arrive after a visit to the iconic 150-year-old Eden Gardens -the only Indian venue which has been witness to his magical footballing skills.
Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly will take part in a chat session with Pele, while tennis great Rafael Nadal will link up live from Shanghai. Among several other dignitaries to attend the high-profile programme will be chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the organisers announced at a press conference on Tuesday.
Informing details of Pele's visit, just before Durga Puja, the organisers said Pele will be the first luminary in the `Legends tour of India', a programme designed to stimulate the passion for sports in the country. Pele will arrive in the city on October 11, when no programme is scheduled. On October 13, he will be attending Atletico de Kolkata's first home match against Kerala Blasters FC.
A video message was screened, in which Pele says: "I'm looking forward to my visit to Kolkata after 38 years, and during the time of Durga Puja."
Unveiling a customised No 10 Pele jersey, signed by the legend himself, the organisers announced that 150 such shirts will be made available. Pele, who remembers playing a football match in a cricket stadium in front of nearly one lakh people, is well aware of the ISL and that fellow countryman Roberto Carlos is coaching one of the sides, Delhi Dynamos FC. After his India trip was finalised, Pele expressed a desire to watch an ISL match.
Subrata Bhattacharya, one of the men who faced Pele at the Eden, recalled how Cosmos equalised int that match. "After losing to East Bengal on July 9, 1977, we were going through a crisis... When we heard a month later that Pele would come and play Mohun Bagan, it did not quite register."
Despite being star-struck, Bhattacharya said that while on the ground, he treated Pele just as an opponent and the team played to win. Bagan led 2-1 at one stage, but Cosmos equalised through a `debatable' penalty.
When he meets Pele again after 38 years, Bhattacharya wants to ask him how to develop football in the country. Dipendu Biswas, who is the goodwill ambassador for this trip, wants to fulfil his dream of seeing the greatest No. 10 ever.