Originally posted by ursus arctos
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Don’t get me wrong, I like Tueart and I really think he was underrated or at any rate that he didn't get the career - and international recognition - his talent would have deserved (I must declare an interest here though, not only am I a Black Cat but I’ve also had the privilege and pleasure of meeting and chatting with him for a few minutes, about Cosmos, New York, Jim Baxter, S'land etc. very nice fella, I’ll elaborate if you want) but I am interested as to what your reasons are for placing him well above the many greats who have donned the Cosmos shirt.
Incidentally, Beckenbauer was Tueart’s all-time favourite player, I don’t know if it’s because he was such in awe of Beckenbauer playing alongside him in such a star-studded Cosmos side that his admiration clouded his judgement or whether because Der Kaiser was still truly exceptional at Cosmos even at 32-35 (the slower pace of the game, the lesser technical demands etc. would obviously have favoured him but he was hardly the only one in this case, besides we’re comparing with the rest of the field here, in the context of the NASL, so ceteris paribus and all that jazz).
Pele was 35 when he joined Cosmos so, in theory, could be forgiven for not busting a gut like many do, but looking at his record and a few YT clips of this Cosmos era, he seems to have done very well at Cosmos (notwithstanding what I’ve just touched upon about the different type of game). I would imagine that despite his age he could still outshine the oppo and boss the game. Whether you saw him play live or on TV, what did you make of him?
I obliquely (and diplomatically) asked Tueart about the level of commitment of "ageing superstars" in general (but with a much keener interest on how they were performing at Cosmos when he was there - their work ethic, their professionalism, competitive edge and so on), I can’t quite remember how he phrased his reply but he didn't fall for it and basically swore blind that they were still fanatically competitive, wore the shirt with pride and worked their socks off at all time, that the Cosmos top brass at the time (Warner Communications) demanded results, didn't take fools gladly as we say in Britain and would never have tolerated anyone, let alone a star player, treating their well-remunerated time there as a pre-retirement jolly. I suppose any player would stick up for their fellow professionals and come up with something like that, especially to a total stranger like myself, hence my Q to you since you saw them play. Or maybe it’s too long ago and you don’t remember… (well, we’ve all been there or are heading in that direction anyhow!).
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