11 October 1962 - He Really Did Earn That Reputation, You Know

On 11 October 1962, Pelé won the battle of superstars, outdoing Eusébio with a hat-trick to helped Santos beat Benfica for their first Intercontinental Cup.

The contest matched Santos, the reigning Copa Libertadores champions, against European Cup winners Benfica. In the first leg, played at the Maracaña on 19 September, Pelé scored an 85th-minute match-winner with the final score of 3-2.

In the second leg, played in Lisbon's Estádio da Luz, the striker picked up where he left off, opening the scoring in the 15th minute with a sliding tap-in from a low cross. Ten minutes later, he doubled lead with an impressive finish after avoiding two tackles, then blowing by a third defender.

Santos stretched their lead to five after a goal from Coutinho (48'), another from Pelé (64'), and one from Pepe (77') before Benfica finally got on the scoresheet with an 85th-minute goal from Eusébio. Four minutes later, they cut the margin to 2-4 after a strike from Joaquim Santana (who had provided both of their goals in the first leg). But it was too little, too late for the Portuguese side as they fell to Santos, 2-5.

It was the second time Benfica had conceded five goals in the Intercontinental Cup--they lost 5-0 to Peñarol in the second leg the year before, then fell 2-1 in the play-off. Santos had better luck in the competition, repeating as champions in 1963 by beating AC Milan.

11 September 1963 - A Second For Santos

On 11 September 1963, Santos overpowered Boca Juniors to win their second consecutive Copa Libertadores. And just like the previous one, Pelé provided the clinching goal.

The final was played over legs; in the first, played at the Maracaña in Rio de Janeiro, Santos won 3-2 with a trio of first-half goals from Coutinho (2', 21') and Antônio Lima dos Santos (28'). Under the rules in place at the time, the winner was determined by points, with two points for a win and one point for a draw, with goal differential not taken into account. So, in the second leg, the best Boca could hope for was a win to force a deciding replay.

Playing before a crowd of about 50,000 at the Estadio Camilo Cichero in Buenos Aires, they looked on track to meet that goal after taking a 1-0 lead in the 46th minute thanks to a goal from striker José Sanfilippo. But only four minutes later, Coutinho scored an equalizer. Then, while Boca pressed forward for a life-preserving goal, Pelé struck, finding the net in the 82nd minute and snuffing Boca's hopes for a replay.

The goal was Pelé's fifth of the tournament, making him its second-highest scorer behind Sanfilippo, who had 7.

While the win denied Boco their first Copa Libertadores title, they went on to become one of the most successful teams in the competition, winning it a total of 6 times between 1977 and 2007. Santos, meanwhile, won it for a third time in 2011.