Fielding more than 11 players ~ Pele's touring Santos side routinely used to do this in friendlies during the 1960s. It usually happened at half time, they would put out 12 men for the second half and see how long they could get away with it.
It was not an effort to gain competitive advantage, it was part of the whole showmanship schtick they developed on these tours to ensure that there was as much entertainment for those present. Eventually the ref would notice, Santos would feign surprise and everyone would have a good laugh about it.
They did it at Hillsborough during a friendly against Sheffield Wednesday, a match they won 4-2 I think.
Posted by dalliance 16-03-2008 Go to thread
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