A group of past and present world soccer stars, including Brazilian legend Pele and Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon, staged an entertaining friendly in Cape Town on Wednesday night to honor former South African president Nelson Mandela on his 89th birthday.
Dutch former European player of the year Ruud Gullit and former World Player of Year George Weah of Liberia also joined the star-studded "90 Minutes for Mandela" match between an Africa XI and a World XI, which ended a 3-3 draw.
The FIFA-organized match was a tribute to Mandela, South Africa's internationally acclaimed statesman and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, attracting some 30,000 fans to pack the Newslands Stadium in Cape Town.
The game got off to a rousing start with former Chilean international Ivan Zamorano heading home a goal from a Ruud Gullit pass in the fifth minute and three-time African player of the year Abedi Pele equalizing a mere three minutes later.
The 167-times capped Egyptian international Hossam Hassan, a relative youngster in this company at 40, gave the Africa XI a 2-1 lead in the 31st minute, and put them ahead again in the 50th minute while making the score 3-2.
Gullit, who demonstrated his cunning and tactical expertise by occupying the pitch over two different segments in order to regenerate his strength, made the score 2-2 a minute before half-time and Spanish substitute Julen Guerrero recorded the game's final and appropriate goal in the 72nd minute to allow the World XI to save face.
Former Spanish goalkeeping great Zubi Zubizarreta confounded everyone with his agility and frustrated the Africa XI on numerous occasions, many of which were created by Barcelona's youthful superstar Samuel Eto'o.
To many people's disappointment, Brazil's all-time great Pele, nearing the age of 70, did not make an appearance.
"This match is more than just a game; it symbolizes the power of football to bring people together from all over the world," Mandela said in a recorded message shown during the televised match.
Source: Xinhua
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