SHEFFIELD, England (AFP) - Sheffield FC, officially the oldest club in the world, will mark its 150th anniversary with a friendly against Inter Milan reserves at Bramall Lane on Thursday which will be attended by Brazilian football legend Pele.

Sheffield, flying high in fourth in the Northern Premier League Division 1 South, will be rubbing shoulders with not only Pele but the likes of Italian World Cup winner Marco Materazzi.

The mercurial defender, the recipient of Zinedane Zidane's infamous headbutt to the chest in the World Cup final, is using the game as a step along the comeback trail from the injury he suffered to his right thigh against Hungary in August.

However, Pele's presence will probably be of greater interest to the spectators especially as the three time World Cup winner failed surprisingly to attend the awarding of the 2014 World Cup to Brazil in Switzerland last week.

"It's fantastic that Pele will be there," club chairman Richard Tims told the BBC, wwho will also see Pele open an exhibition which will feature for the first time in 40 years the original handwritten rules of the game.

"I think he was quite honoured to be invited to mark 150 years of the game.

"This is the place football kicked off," added Tims, who welcomed FIFA president Sepp Blatter to a dinner last month as part of the club celebrations.

Dave McCarthy, manager of Sheffield FC - who were founded in 1857 by two cricketers William Prest and Nathaniel Creswick - was also in an ecstatic frame of mind.

He told the club's website on Wednesday: "It's fantastic that the players will have the chance to play against someone of Materazzi's standing.

"He is a very tough defender, and also scores a lot of goals, so it will be a great test for them all."

Materazzi - who scored Italy's goal in the World Cup final while also conceding the penalty that gave France the lead - and his fellow defenders will have to be on their toes on Thursday as Sheffield, the older sister to city rivals Wednesday and United, claim to have invented the art of heading, and was also responsible according to Tims for developing crossbars, freekicks and cornerkicks.

A history of the club records: "Heading was unheard of in the south of England until 1875.

"When Sheffield travelled to the Oval to play London, the sight of the Sheffield players butting the ball reduced London's players and fans to fits of hysterics."

The Italian champions have been warned.