Pelé, the Brazilian football legend who won three World Cups and became the first global icon of the sport, passed away at the age of 82. Many consider him the greatest football player of all time.
Pelé became a superstar with his performance in the 1958 World Cup, which Brazil won. He played professionally in Brazil for two decades, winning three World Cups in the process, before joining the New York Cosmos at the end of his career. Named co-Player of the Century by FIFA in 1999, he was a global ambassador for football and other humanitarian causes.
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on October 23, 1940, in Três Corações, Brazil, he was the first child of João Ramos and Dona Celeste. Named after Thomas Edison and nicknamed “Dico,” Pelé moved with his family to the city of Bauru as a child.
His father, João Ramos, better known as “Dondinho,” struggled to make a living as a football player, and Pelé grew up in poverty. Nevertheless, he developed a rudimentary talent for football by kicking a rolled-up sock stuffed with rags through the streets of Bauru. The origin of the nickname “Pelé” is uncertain, although he recalled hating it when his friends first called him that.
As a teenager, Pelé joined a youth team coached by Waldemar de Brito, a former member of the Brazilian national football team. De Brito eventually convinced Pelé’s family to let the young phenomenon leave home and try out for Santos, a professional football club, at the age of 15.
Pelé signed with Santos and immediately began training with the team’s first team. He scored the first professional goal of his career before turning 16, led the league in goals in his first full season, and was called up to the Brazilian national team.
The world was officially introduced to Pelé at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Displaying remarkable speed, athleticism, and game vision, the 17-year-old burst onto the scene by scoring three goals in the 5-2 semifinal victory against France, then added two more in the final, a 5-2 win over the host nation.
The young superstar received generous offers to play for European clubs, and Brazilian President Jânio Quadros eventually declared Pelé a national treasure, making it legally difficult for him to play in another country. Nevertheless, Santos’ management ensured that his star attraction was well compensated by scheduling lucrative exhibition matches with teams around the world.
Pelé aggravated a groin injury in two matches of the 1962 World Cup in Chile, missing the final rounds while Brazil secured its second consecutive title. Four years later, in England, a series of brutal attacks from opposing defenders again forced him to the sidelines with leg injuries, and Brazil was eliminated from the Cup after one round.
Despite the disappointment on the world stage, Pelé’s legend continued to grow. By the late 1960s, the two factions in Nigeria’s Civil War reportedly agreed to a 48-hour truce to watch Pelé play in a friendly in Lagos.
The 1970 World Cup in Mexico marked a triumphant return to glory for Pelé and Brazil. Leading a formidable squad, Pelé scored four goals in the tournament, including one in the final to give Brazil a 4-1 victory over Italy.
Pelé announced his retirement from football in 1974 but was lured back to the pitch the following year to play for the New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League, temporarily helping to make the NASL a major attraction. He played his final match in a friendly between New York and Santos in October 1977, competing for both sides, and retired with a total of 1,281 goals in 1,363 games.
Pelé was named “Co-Player of the Century” by FIFA in 1999, alongside Argentine Diego Maradona. For many, his achievements on the football pitch will never be matched, and virtually all great athletes in the sport are measured against the Brazilian who once made the world stop to watch his transcendent game.
Source: Biography.com