THE KING IS IN BRITAIN TO CHEER HIS TROOPS ON

KING PELÉ, THE GREATEST FOOTBALL PLAYER OF ALL TIME, arrived in Britain to collect an Honorary Doctorate from Edinburgh University for his "significant contribution to humanitarian and environmental causes, as well as his sporting achievements — including winning the World Cup three times with Brazil, as well as being named FIFA’s player of the century and the International Olympic Committee’s athlete of the century."

Said Edinburgh University's Principal, Sir Timothy O'Shea: "Pelé is one of the foremost sporting figures of our age, who is the epitome of sporting brilliance and élan, excellence, dignity, and fair play, as well as an inspiration." He concluded: "It is said Pelé was the most talented football player the world has ever seen. We agree."

As any monarch worth his crown, Pelé had words of wisdom and inspiration for his young countrymen, about to embark on the quest for the only honor that has eluded the most storied football franchise in the history of the game: the Olympic gold medal. "Brazil is seen as a country that has everything to be important to the future of Humankind. Therefore, we must unite to truly be the start of a better world."

The King Trailing Smiles. Posing With UK Gold Medal Rower K. Grainger, The Spry 71 Years Young Pelé Doesn't Look A Day Over 50.

Of Saturday's match against Mexico, which beat Brazil in a friendly at Cowboys Stadium in June, Pelé refused to place responsibility on young Neymar's shoulders to decide the game: "We have other great players, and I hope that the team plays well enough to take this medal." He did advise Neymar to vacate his left wing position, where he can be isolated by hard tight marking, and play more centrally to impose his skills to their fullest.

The King lamented not having had the opportunity to play in the Olympics:

“Always when people tell me that Brazil doesn’t have the gold medal in the Olympics, I say: ‘Yes, I started to play at 17 in the World Cup. I became professional and the professional could not play in the Olympics, so I never played in the Olympics.’ I hope now that I am here I can get the gold medal I never got. I want to go back to Brazil with the only medal we never got.”

But he was philosophical. "We're here to suffer. When you're on the pitch you don't suffer as much, because you try to run, engage in combat. Off the field, watching, kicking the fence and the chair, the suffering is very great." Then the King was gracious to a fault: “The most important thing for me is not to disappoint those who love me and admire me.”