ABSTRACT
The journey of the Santos Football Club in Africa, back in 1969, started in Congo-Brazzaville, heading for Congo-Kinshasa, Nigeria and Mozambique, and then coming back to Nigeria, passing in Ghana and, at last, reaching Algeria. The present chapter intends to shed a new light on the extraordinary achievement attributed to Pele’s legendary Santos, comparing the tour and war chronologies, whose linking reveals the inconsistencies underlying the celebrated event. What were the interests behind Santos team’s displays in the former British colony? Were these exhibitions, actually, placed under the sign of neutrality, as historiography has unhesitatingly reiterated over time, exalting “King” Pelé’s enchanting power, able to interrupt, with his simple presence, the fratricidal battles in progress in that country. Contrary to the historical-legendary narrative, there was no ceasefire so that Santos could present itself to the opposing armies. Even more: besides not interrupting the conflict to convey a message of peace, the Brazilian team was also used as a propaganda tool for warfare by the military government of Nigeria against the separatist republic of Biafra. The chapter seeks to show, ultimately, how the legend has been built in the Brazilian press over the last 50 years.
