In 1975, at a ramshackle 12,500-seater stadium on the campus of Boston University, two of the greatest-ever footballers were reunited. 

Pele's New York Cosmos took on Eusebio's Boston Minutemen in a North American Soccer League (NASL) game for their first meeting since the 1966 FIFA World Cup England, when Brazil and Portugal met in the group stage at Goodison Park. 

Amid huge excitement and anticipation, there were wildly chaotic scenes at Nickerson Field with the hosts failing to provide enough seats, parking or security for the high-profile clash. An estimated 18,000-20,000 fans packed inside the stadium, with many spilling over to the sidelines to watch the game.

Both Pele and Eusebio, who joined the NASL in 1975, were struggling for fitness at their new clubs but they soon made their mark. Benfica icon Eusebio opened the scoring with a free-kick 12 minutes from time before Pele found the net, which led hundreds of overly-enthusiastic fans to mob the superstar in celebration. 

Amid the confusion, the goal had been disallowed by the referee as the ball had gone out of play, hit fans sitting next to the Boston goal and came back on to the field prior to Pele's effort (and not hit the post as many fans thought). The Brazil legend, who was injured in the melee, was then taken to the locker room for his own protection, as was Eusebio. 

"We just threw ourselves over Pele to protect him," John O'Reilly, the Cosmos' publicist, told the New York Times. "Those people were wild." Eventually after a lengthy delay, the game was annulled and later replayed.

On the field that day was USA goalkeeper Shep Messing, who had been cut by the New York Cosmos in the offseason and picked up by Boston. Although he was upset not to play alongside Pele – something he did the following season – Messing was over the moon to become team-mates with Eusebio.

"I was released from the Cosmos and read that Pele had signed with the [club] and I was sick about it," Messing told FIFA.

"So I went all over the country, tried out in Boston where the coach signed me for the team. One day [head coach Hubert Vogelsinger] came into the locker room early in the season and said he had just signed Eusebio, plus two other Portuguese players. Into the locker room comes Eusebio... and my jaw dropped."

One of Eusebio's first games for his new team was the high-profile reunion with Pele for their first meeting since the 1966 FIFA World Cup when the 'Black Panther' scored twice in a shock 3-1 victory for Portugal.

"When Pele came to visit us in Boston, they sold more tickets than there were seats. There was too much of a crowd to be in the stadium so they all came down and people lined up right against the touchline," Messing recalled.

It was the closeness of the fans next to the goal that caused the chaotic scenes at the end of the game. "Pele ended up going down, whether he was accidentally hit by someone coming onto the field... and he had a full-time security guard named Pedro who helped get Pele to the locker room," Messing said. "Eusebio was also in the fray trying to help Pele, trying to get people away. It was madness."

Acting as Eusebio's agent

Eusebio helped Boston to the Eastern Conference finals that season but with money running out, his spell in the FIFA World Cup 26 host city came to a quick end. In his time at the club, Messing and Eusebio became fast friends bonding over late-night poker games, and the goalkeeper helped engineer the striker's move to Toronto Metros-Croatia in an unexpected way.

"That season finishes and we knew the team was going out of money, we used to have to run to cash our cheques on Monday morning," Messing said.

"It was Eusebio's idea. He said, 'Shep, make believe you are our agent and let's start calling teams.' This is while we are playing poker and smoking cigars. He said, 'Shep, you know everybody. Change your name, get on the phone and start calling teams for me and Wolfgang [Sunholz] and Antonio [Simoes].' 

"So I did that, I didn't give my name and I ended up getting him dealt to Toronto. The next week I went to the airport and we were meant to fly to Seattle for a game. We had no money for the airfare and the coach came to me and said the goalkeeper for the New York Cosmos broke his shoulder and they want you back. So they sold me to the Cosmos for 20 round-trip plane tickets to Seattle. So I flew to New York and played for the Cosmos the next week and Eusebio was in Toronto."

Gambling in Las Vegas with Pele, Eusebio and Nastase

Messing faced Eusebio a number of times in the NASL but the most memorable occasion came when the Portuguese legend was playing for the Las Vegas Quicksilvers in 1977.

"We traveled to Las Vegas and the night before the game, they were having a tennis match the next day between Jimmy Connors and Ilie Nastase for $100,000," Messing says.

"So we're all in the casino - myself, Pele, Eusebio, Jimmy Connors, Nastase - and at 9pm Pele goes to his room to get ready for the game the next day. Nastase says to Eusebio and me, 'I'm not going up, let's stay out.' 

"Jimmy Connors goes to his room and the three of us stay up until four in the morning gambling in the casino. The next day. Nastase forfeits the tennis match as he wants to watch us play. I made a couple of saves from Eusebio and we hugged and kissed, it was a great reunion. I think we lost that game but that was really the last time I saw him [on the field.] He was a great team-mate and a great friend."

Messing played a central role in the growth of football in the United States in the 1970s and he believes the FIFA World Cup 2025 and FIFA World Cup 26 will take the sport to unprecedented levels in the region.

"The great comparison is looking at what [the 1994 FIFA World Cup] did. In 1994, the sport was dead," Messing says. "There was no professional outdoor soccer here and the World Cup was part of the start of Major League Soccer (MLS) and however many years later, look how much it's grown. 

"I think this World Cup will have a forever lasting effect on soccer in this country because the media landscape and demographics of the country are so different. MLS's growth has been very conservative, measured and fiscally responsible but it's been a slow build. I think this World Cup will... be a lightning rod for the sport here."