Fifty years ago, Pele was the star of a football circus in Sheffield. Today, he's hanging on to his life

Half a century has gone by, but the memories are very much vivid. The great Pele played and scored in an unlikely friendly match against Sheffield Wednesday fifty years ago to the day. And, as a bonus, we've got an epic photo that holds the very essence of the beautiful game.

When young Edson Arantes do Nascimento exploded onto the scene, his club Santos wasn't ready for it. It's as if Ligi Ndogo suddenly found the best player in their world in their changing room. Santos didn't have the infrastructure, stadium capacity, or media exposure to really benefit from having the biggest star in their ranks. In short, they needed money, and they found a way to earn it - by touring Europe and charging clubs around the continent to arrange exhibition matches.

Between late May and early July 1959, they played 22 matches in eight countries around Europe, including encounters with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Hamburg, Feyenoord and many more. During that tour, they beat the Owls 4-2 in front of 50,000 enchanted spectators. For over a decade, Santos would take their football circus worldwide to show off their talent. It was their primary source of income. It's generally accepted that Santos earned around $20 million from their exploits in the 1960s and 1970s.

On 23 February 1972, ten years since first setting foot in England, they met then-top-tier team Sheffield Wednesday at their iconic stadium, Hillsborough.

Saturday, 18.00: (1.80) Sheffield W. (3.45) Charlton (4.80)

That day, the whole city of Sheffield stood still. Kids didn't go to school, men and women pretended to be sick to skip work. They would go to the stadium and meet their bosses there. Everyone wanted a piece of the mythical Brazilian team and the famed Pele, whom they'd only got to see in shades of grey, on grainy old TV sets. When Pele ran out onto the Hillsborough pitch for the second time, the colours were bright and colourful - as were the photos from that day.

In an early kick-off, Santos won 2-0 in front of 37,000 people. In those days, the electricity was scarce so Sheffield Wednesday decided that the match would kick off at 14.30 hours - on a Wednesday.

Pele was 31 years old at that point. Sports science and medicine weren't nearly as advanced as today, and playing at that age wasn't all that common. Besides, Pele has played over 1,000 matches in his career. His career was slowing down, and, for many, this was the last chance to see the best there ever was.

Football grounds looked a lot different back then. Hillsborough had no roof nor neatly aligned seats. There was just a sea, a mountain of people. Just look at the photo that was taken that day. Pele, controlling the ball with powerless defenders looking in awe - and with a crowd of people watching in the background. It was a special day.

Five decades later, Pele is being treated for a urinary tract infection in a Sao Paulo hospital, where he was already receiving chemotherapy for a colon tumour. The 81-year-old O Rei was initially admitted to the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo on 13 February to continue his treatment for a colon tumour detected in September. He has remained hospitalized since then. Eight days after being admitted, the hospital said it had detected a urinary tract infection during routine exams, which would extend Pele's stay.

The best player in history faces a battle for health and his life. And it's days like this that we should remember just how amazing he was to watch. Whether it was on old TV sets, World Cup venues or Sheffield - he was sublime.