AI Recreates Pel�'s Greatest Goal, Never Captured on Video

A documentary has recreated with artificial intelligence the goal widely regarded as the greatest of Pelé's career, scored against Juventus in 1959 at Rua Javari in São Paulo. The play was never filmed because it took place before videotape technology reached football. Released on Tuesday (14), The Most Beautiful Goal Never Seen is a collaboration between Google DeepMind and the Pelé brand, managed by NR Sports, using the Gemini Omni, Veo 3 and Nano Banana models.

"Two years ago, this Pelé film would not have been possible because the video AI model simply wasn't good enough," said Márcia Mayer, Google DeepMind's head of production. According to her, "even Pelé's daughter recognizes her father" in the recreation.

The production involved extensive historical research based on eyewitness accounts, the only known photograph of the play, and archival records of the stadium and the period, faithfully reproducing everything from the players' boots to the clothing worn by both the players and the crowd.

News from Brazil

Receive in your email inbox a summary of the day