Kolkata: He tried hard not to utter 'that' name! There were provocations. Like when one of the mediapersons at a press conference yesterday morning asked, "If you are the king, who is the prince of football?" Pele, arguably the best footballer in history, dribbled around the question as gracefully as he would have done against opposition defenders during his playing days. Pointing towards Sourav Ganguly sitting beside him on the dais, he said, "We have a prince sitting next to me here!"


Pele reacts after unveiling a sculpture of his famous bicycle kick during an interaction with students in Kolkata yesterday evening. Pics/PTI

Diego Maradona was not mentioned at all in the hour-long press conference of O'Rei (one of Pele's nicknames meaning 'The King' in Portuguese), who won three World Cup titles with Brazil. However, eventually the Argentine's mention made an appearance at a function in the Netaji Indoor Stadium, when the legend was re-introduced to Mohun Bagan players.