And thus 1977 comes to a close. The best moment of the year? Any choice is arbitrary, but perhaps the retirement of Pele.

Even the skies were crying at his last match between Cosmos New York and Santos, his only clubs. It was even more than retirement of the greatest ever football player: the curtain of whole football era closed. The era of charm, improvisation, surprise, joy, artistry was going sadly into the past. Big crowd paid last tribute to the greatest perhaps unaware (well, certainly unaware, for it was American crowd ignorant of football traditions, developments, and history) of what his retirement was symbolic of. Yet, it was wonderful tribute to the King.