Dzajic tells Telegraf about Pele: "A symbol, whole stadium cried at his farewell, he came up and asked me..."

Photo montage: ATA Images/Antonio Ahel, Tanjug/AP

The world has lost one of the greatest sporting legends - Pele has passed away. Dragan Dzajic, Serbia's own famous football player, recalled the time when he played against the Brazilian and shared his feelings for Telegraf after the sad news arrived last night.

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"I'm so sorry. He was a symbol of football and of a generation, simply a league of his own. Many people admired and respected him, he was and remains a phenomenon. He would captivate you on the pitch, when he came to visit, he was welcomed in foreign countries as if he were the president of a one. I appreciated him a lot and always will," Dzajic told Telegraf.

Dzajic also reminisced on how other great players of the era respected Pele.

"Yes, I remember, Rio (de Janeiro) in 1968. I really wanted to see him play live. Everyone there, the (greatest) players of their time, wanted to see him. (Lev) Yashin and the others looked at him a little upset, because he was really something special. I will never forget those moments."

His farewell against Yugoslavia?

"Incredible. The whole stadium cried at his farewell. He has no equal, for me he is the best player of all time, although it is a matter of taste. His quality of being untouchable on the pitch, his clear vision, so when everyone else was afraid of him, everything was clear to everyone. That will remain engraved in the memory and in the history of football."

Do you remember meeting him?

"Of course I do, how could I forget. That happened at the reception at our embassy in Brazil. He approached me, we chit-chatted a little since I was the captain of Yugoslavia, and then he asked me if we had brought him the TV set that they had promised him from Yugoslavia. I told him that they had not sent anything. Well, now, I don't know if they might have sent it to him afterwards, but I know that they promised him. He was a very approachable man, on point and polite. It's a great pity to see such a great man leave us," concluded Dzajic.

(Telegraf.rs)