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Pelé sides with England
Pelé has tipped England to win Euro 2000 and written off the chances of defending champions Germany. In an interview with Spanish sports daily Marca, Pelé named his top three teams to win the tournament opening on Saturday as England, Spain and the Netherlands.
"I've got great respect for England despite the fact that they have never won the European title. But they have got pride, which has been there since the start of the history of football," the Brazilian legend said.
"During the World Cup in France, there emerged a great pool of talented English players," said Pelé who singled out Real Madrid's Steve McManaman.
"He's one of the players that has most impressed me. He's got great energy, great qualities and is a constant threat to defences," he said.
Pelé dismissed the chances of Germany who are defending the title they won at Euro 96.
"They are just too old," Pelé said. "In four years they have lost guys like (Matthias) Sammer and (Juergen) Klinsmann. They have both retired. Maybe Oliver Bierhoff can keep things going but this team is a little weak."
He said Spain could shrug off their reputation for performing well below their potential at major championships.
"At the 1998 World Cup, they let themselves down. But now they have a new coach in Jose Antonio Camacho and I think they are capable of beating the best with their attacking players," he said. "Spanish soccer is the best in Europe at the moment, We should not forget they had three teams in the Champions League semifinals... the national team will gain a lot of confidence from the success of these clubs."
Pelé did not discount the Dutch hosts regaining the title they won in 1988.
"Since the days of Johan Cruyff I've always enjoyed Dutch football and their coach Frank Rijkaard comes straight out of the same school. My worry is that he has included Edgar Davids and Clarence Seedorf in the midfield and Marc Overmars and Dennis Bergkamp in attack. This does not seem like the way to win games," he said.
Pelé has tipped England to win Euro 2000 and written off the chances of defending champions Germany. In an interview with Spanish sports daily Marca, Pelé named his top three teams to win the tournament opening on Saturday as England, Spain and the Netherlands.
"I've got great respect for England despite the fact that they have never won the European title. But they have got pride, which has been there since the start of the history of football," the Brazilian legend said.
"During the World Cup in France, there emerged a great pool of talented English players," said Pelé who singled out Real Madrid's Steve McManaman.
"He's one of the players that has most impressed me. He's got great energy, great qualities and is a constant threat to defences," he said.
Pelé dismissed the chances of Germany who are defending the title they won at Euro 96.
"They are just too old," Pelé said. "In four years they have lost guys like (Matthias) Sammer and (Juergen) Klinsmann. They have both retired. Maybe Oliver Bierhoff can keep things going but this team is a little weak."
He said Spain could shrug off their reputation for performing well below their potential at major championships.
"At the 1998 World Cup, they let themselves down. But now they have a new coach in Jose Antonio Camacho and I think they are capable of beating the best with their attacking players," he said. "Spanish soccer is the best in Europe at the moment, We should not forget they had three teams in the Champions League semifinals... the national team will gain a lot of confidence from the success of these clubs."
Pelé did not discount the Dutch hosts regaining the title they won in 1988.
"Since the days of Johan Cruyff I've always enjoyed Dutch football and their coach Frank Rijkaard comes straight out of the same school. My worry is that he has included Edgar Davids and Clarence Seedorf in the midfield and Marc Overmars and Dennis Bergkamp in attack. This does not seem like the way to win games," he said.
