Brazil clash brings back memories of Moore v Pele

England's bid to defend the World Cup they had lifted at Wembley in 1966 ended in tears four years later in Leon, Mexico as West Germany gained their revenge for Geoff Hurst's hat-trick heroics.

The bitter memories of that afternoon, when Sir Alf Ramsey's side squandered a 2-0 quarter-final lead to bow out of the competition, remain as caustic as they did 32 years ago for those who took part in or witnessed it.

By contrast, the events which had unfolded seven days earlier under the baking Guadalajara skies are still remembered with awe.

That day, England trudged off the pitch devastated to have lost a crucial first round game, but knowing that they had taken part in one of the most remarkable matches of that or any other World Cup finals tournament.

The clash between Ramsey's side and the Brazilians, who would go on to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy for the third time, inevitably comes to mind as to two nations prepare to lock horns once again tomorrow - and if it produces even a fraction of the class or drama of Mexico it will be a day to remember.

Jairzihno's only goal decided the tie in which Gordon Banks pulled off a save from Pele which even now looks impossible but it was the contest between the Brazilian legend and England captain Bobby Moore, fresh from his ordeal in a Colombian prison cell amid allegations, strongly denied, that he had stolen a bracelet, which stood out.

Few have come close to challenging Pele's status as the world's greatest ever footballer but he only once got free from Moore that day to lay Tostao's cross into the path of the goalscorer.

It was a contest between two men at the very peak of their powers, neither asking nor giving any quarter, and the sight of them embracing bare-chested on the halfway line at the end of the game, two warriors each acknowledging the prowess of the other, is the enduring image of a game which had everything.

"Bobby Moore is the best defender I have ever played against, and a gentleman of honour," the Brazilian later said, and the admiration was mutual.

Talking about Pele in the authorised biography The Life and Times of a Sporting Hero, Moore said: "Pele was the most complete player I've ever seen.

"Had everything. Two good feet. Magic in the air. Quick. Powerful. Could beat people with skill. Could outrun people. Only 5' 8" tall yet he seemed a giant of an athlete on the pitch. Perfect balance and impossible vision.

"When you play against people of that ability, at the highest level, for those stakes, you don't have to speak the language to come to know each other.

"At that time, Pele hardly spoke a word of English yet, without thinking, I knew him as a nice, quiet, sincere man, a gentleman and a sportsman."

Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore was born in Barking on April 12, 1941 just a few months after Edson Arantes Do Nascimento came into the world in Tres Coracoes on October 23, 1940.

The former turned professional at West Ham within weeks of his 17th birthday, beginning an association with the club which lasted until March 1974 when he moved to Fulham having helped to bring the FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup to Upton Park and accepted the World Cup on his country's behalf from Queen Elizabeth II.

He won the last of his 108 England caps in a friendly against Italy in November 1973, but his career rather fizzled out and after brief spells in America and, with little success in domestic management, he ended his days working as a radio pundit.

Tragically, but with characteristic dignity, he died from cancer in February, 1993.

Pele scored his first goal for Santos on debut as a 15-year-old and was to go on to find the back of the net a staggering 1,281 times in 1,363 career games which included 92 caps for his country and three World Cup triumphs.

Both men will be remembered as greats in their own countries and on the world stage, and although they tasted glory at different times in their careers, their clash in Guadalajara was a high point for both.