Bravo's Innings Not Diminished Despite WI Loss

Quote:Pele’s greatest goal didn’t actually score. I know that doesn’t make sense but you’ll get the point. It was during the second half of a 1970 FIFA World Cup game against Uruguay in Guadalajara, Mexico and it was a beautiful bit of football.



Here is one description of the play: “In the second half, Brazilian centre-forward Tostao played an excellent through pass to Pelé as a counter-attack started. Sprinting up the middle, Pelé was immediately confronted with the Uruguayan goalkeeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz who came off his line quickly. Pelé got there first and fooled Mazurkiewicz by not touching the ball, causing it to roll to the goalkeeper’s left, while Pelé went to the goalkeepers right. Circling the goalkeeper to collect, Pelé shot while turning towards the goal, but he turned in excess as he shot, and the ball drifted just wide of the far post.”

Recordings of this brief passage of play survive online. Have a look if you’ve not yet seen it.

This move by the Brazilian legend was a masterpiece in conception and execution. It just never found its way into the back of the net.

There have been, in sport and in life, many great performances or acts that didn’t achieve the desired results; performances that for one reason or another fell short, thus ending up as lost causes.

Fans and students of boxing will remember “The Fight of the Century,” the match-up between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali on March 8, 1971 in New York’s Madison Square Garden. It was fifteen rounds of gripping drama that ended with a deserved Frazier victory.

But Ali had put on a hell of a fight, and was as much responsible for creating a great spectacle as the man who won. Incidentally, Frazier spent almost a month in hospital after the pounding he received during the contest. Ali’s performance was one of almost superhuman skill and courage and its greatness was in no way diminished because he didn’t win the battle.

On the last day of the first Pakistan versus West Indies Test, the first one both teams played under lights, Darren Bravo played an innings of skill and courage to guide his team to within 57 runs of what would have been an outstanding and unbelievable victory.