It was just a penalty. And Pele rarely missed penalties. Certainly not this one - O Milesimo - the 1000th goal of his career.

It was just a penalty.

And Pele rarely missed penalties. Certainly not this one - O Milesimo - the 1000th goal of his career.

It hardly seems 38 years today since that goal in the Maracana. Pele was just 29. He dedicated the goal, against Vasco de Gama, to the poor children of Brazil. For he had been one.

But his company, Pele Sports Marketing, which channelled these funds, was eventually steeped in corruption. Pele went on national TV, alleging that his business partner had stolen some £6.9m from his company over a 20-year period. And his partner also appeared on TV, denying it.

There were allegations that £500,000 given by an Argentine bank supporting a Unicef football match and concert never reached the charity. But there was no fraud about Pele's goals.

He scored an average of a goal in every international game he played. It's reckoned the equivalent of a baseball player hitting a home run in every World Series game over 15 years.

FIFA endorse his career record of 1280 in 1360 games, second only to another Brazilian, Arthur Friedenreich, who netted 1329 between 1909-35, mainly for the Brazilian club Paulistano. Austria's Franz Binder is claimed to have netted 1005 times.

At club level, Pele scored 127 goals for Santos in 1959, 110 in 1961, and 101 in 1965. He led the club to two World Club championships.

Contrast his carefully audited tally with the alleged 1000 milestone of arch- poacher Romario earlier this year. His tally, he admitted, was compiled with recourse to youth team days, exhibition games, friendlies, testimonials and even training games - plus a fertile imagination, according to cynics.

By the time he scored No.1000 (also a penalty) for Vasco da Gama, wrong-footing Sport of Recife goalkeeper Magrao in Rio's Sao Januario stadium, Romario was 41. He had not played for several weeks.

"It's a historic landmark, not only for me, but for my parents, my family, my friends and for Brazil as a whole," he said in his quietly understated fashion. "It was God who wanted the goal to go in today. This is a historic moment for me and world soccer . . . Without a doubt this was the most important moment in my career as a professional player."

The game was suspended to allow his mother and father, wife and children, and a clach of journalists and sycophants to invade the field.

He dedicated the goal to all those who had helped him: his parents and children. "I want to thank God in heaven for all this."

He was presented with a special shirt with the number 1000 on the back, and the game was restarted. He played for another 15 minutes before being substituted.

He had been marooned on 999 goals for three matches, during which his team were eliminated from two competitions and the team coach was sacked.

His tally is not recognised by FIFA because some of the matches he claims to have scored in never took place.