#3 Pele
The legendary Brazillian football player, Pele, often dubbed as the greatest ever to play the sport , visited India in 1977. His team New York Cosmos took on one of India’s most decorated football clubs, Mohun Bagan, in an exhibition game. “The Black Pearl” was joined by other popular football players like Giorgio Chinaglia (Italy), Carlos Alberto (Brazil), Ramon Mifflin (Peru) while German legend Franz Beckenbauer missed out due to an injury.
The two teams locked horns in front of an 80,000 capacity crowd at Kolkata’s Eden Garden. Cosmos took the lead in the 17th minute only to concede a minute later. After Mohun Bagan took the lead in the 33rd minute, the Cosmos equalized in the 73rd through a controversial penalty. The game ended 2-2 in what would be a historic football match for Indian football. Pele also hit the crossbar with a free kick in this game.
Although Pele did not win a Ballon d’Or during his playing days - since the award was meant only for European players in those days - he was awarded the Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur in 2013. He was also part of the Le nouveau palmarès (the new winners) of the Ballon d’Or trophy that France Football published this year.
