Bob Marley was a football player

We know Bob Marley loved football and British football mag FourFourTwo just reminded us again. They have published a profile of Marley’s obsession with the beautiful game.

Marley is quoted as once saying: “Football is freedom, a whole universe. Me love it because you have to be skillful to play it.” The article also details,Marley’s friendship with Allan ‘Skilly’ Cole, probably Jamaica’s greatest footballer of the late 1960s and early 1970s. [Cole, btw, was kicked off the last team he played for before his retirement because of 'his Rastafarian lifestyle habits.']

Marley was a passionate Brazil supporter, but also admired the Argentinian footballer Ossie Ardiles. [The two countries, if you don't know already, are fierce football rivals.]

The article also touches on Marley’s “demand,” when on tour, to have ready access to a football pitch.

However, the most interesting part concerns the quality of Marley’s actual football skills. On that the author of the piece can’t come to any definite conclusion. First, the article quotes Trevor Wyatt, the UK distributor for Island Records (Marley’s record label) who saw Marley play in pick-up games around West London:

“… Trying to get the ball off him … was just hopeless. Because Bob was the person he was, the ball always came to him. He was the midfield general, if you like, and they called him Skipper. They were so good, it was like playing Brazil…”

On the other hand Mauricio Valladares, a Brazilian photographer, present at a game between Marley’s band and a team of past Brazilian internationals (including Paulo Cesar a member of the great Brazil 1970 squad) claims:

“… [That] game was actually short. Everything was quick, thank God, because the game was horrible. Bob was really bad. He simply couldn’t play. From 1 to 10 I would give him 1.5.”

You decide.