It is challenging to compare eras because football is different. Nowadays, it’s definitely faster and more physically demanding, but it is a sin to underestimate some past times, Pele’s era precisely.The game was played without shinpads, on dreadful pitches, with several times heavier boots and the ball, with much more horrendous tackles than today. And there were no yellow or red cards.Did you know yellow and red cards didn’t exist until 1970? One of the reasons to booking being introduced was how the Bulgarians and Portuguese chased Pelé until he was ruled out of the 1996 World Cup. He played most of his career in a lawless game where only the strong survived! pic.twitter.com/9qXqM4jfiH— Fernando Kallás 🇧🇷🇪🇸🇱🇧 (@fernandokallas) December 30, 2022 Pele was one of the reasons why yellow and red cards were introduced in football at the 1970 World Cup. Until then, the referee had the right to send off a player, but those were rare situations. To be sent off, you really, really had to do unacceptable things.##NAJAVA_MECA_6916506##Pele was a victim of brutal tackles during his career. They used to take him down like wild animals. He was seriously injured in the second game at the World Cup in Chile in 1962 and did not play until the end. And the way the Portuguese and Bulgarians hurt him four years later in England was the reason for the introduction of the cards.In this video, you can see what kind of brutal tackles Pele endured. The same applies to Maradona in later years, too. It was anything but easy to play football in the second half of the 20th century.
