Your questions to Pele

Revered the world over, legendary footballer Pele was on hand to answer your e-mails.

real 14k Click here to listen to Pele

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Edson Arantes Do Nascimento, known to the world as Pele, has captured the heart of generations of football fans.

Arguably the greatest ever footballer, Fifa honoured him "Player of the Century", an accolade he shares with Maradona.

Both in his time on the field and off it as Brazil's sports minister, Pele has worked tirelessly to promote football around the world.

And with the 2002 World Cup finals in Korea and Japan fast approaching, Pele made time to answer your footballing queries.

real 14k Click here to listen to Pele

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Q: Everybody in the UK is very confused about Brazil's poor form. We expect you to constantly win matches and qualify easily for the World Cup. What is going wrong?

A: I think the problem is the administration. We have a big problem with the organisation in Brazil. Everybody knows that Brazil have the best players in the world, but when the administration selected the national team they didn't pay attention or enough respect and we nearly didn't qualify.

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Q: Would you like to be part of the administration?

A: I was the minister of sport until last year, but as everybody knows I had a big problem with Ricardo Teixeira the president of the CBF. I understand we have the best players in Europe, but if you organised the team with only Brazilian players we could do a lot better than in the qualifiers.

I hope that now, with eight months to prepare the team, that Brazil will be one of the four for the finals.

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Q: Which other sides do you expect to be in contention?

A: I think we have to respect all the big names. Teams who have experience like Italy, even if they didn't play well in their qualifiers, we still have to respect them. England now have a very good team. Unfortunately we have lost Holland, which is a big loss. If I have to pick two teams now, I pick Argentina and France. But eight months from now maybe things will change.

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Q: If you had a vote for the Fifa World Footballer of the Year, who would you choose?

A: Today, I still pick Zidane. Zidane is a stable player. There is Raul, who plays very well in Spain. You have to see how long a player is stable, Zidane has played for more than eight years to the same standard. Unfortunately Rivaldo has failed to perform in the Brazilian national side.

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Q: How about Michael Owen?

A: He is still young. He can go on and score a lot more goals. Two years ago, the last time I was here, I saw a Liverpool game and I said then that he would be a good player. He has proved his talent, he is an excellent forward, he is quick and he has experience. There is no doubt he could be one of the best players.

Q: And David Beckham?

They are very different. Owen has a quicker style, but Beckham has a more technical style and helps to set up the team. There's no doubt he is a big name too.

I think today you can mention both of them as the best in the world.

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Q: We have the draw for the World Cup finals coming up. I know that Sepp Blatter is keen for a world competition every two years, instead of every four. Do you think that would be a good idea?

A: I work with Fifa and have had a lot of discussions about that. We have a problem to find one calendar for the whole of the world that would enable a World Cup every two years. There are different climates around the world and that causes a problem. I think for at least the next eight to ten years, we cannot afford to do that.

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Q: Do you think the accusations of corruption and mismanagement in Brazil have had a negative impact on the national side?

A: Definitely, there is no doubt. I was the minister of sport until last year. I had a big fight with the Brazilian federation about that. We have a problem with all the teams. Most teams in Brazil sell most of their players however most of them are bankrupt! This is something that the Government should see but they don't because the corruption is too much. All the big teams in Brazil are having financial difficulties.

I think we have to have a law that says the President of a club should be responsible for all the money that he spends. A club should not be able to spend more money than they are bringing in.

Q: Could you ever imagine a World Cup final without Brazil there?

A: I don't think about that, never! We came close and nearly didn't qualify, but the World Cup without Brazil is not really the World Cup.