New Delhi: With skills that made him unstoppable in the field and a noble smile that charmed people from all walks of life, Edson Arantes do Nascimento was a phenomenon in International football. Edson or as we popularly call him Pele, had a 70-year-long career as a footballer and an ambassador for football.
Born in the small Minas Gerais town of Three Hearts on 23rd October 1940, Pele learned the game he eventually became a genius at from his Father. Pele’s father was a semi-professional football player, whose professional career in the game was ruined by a knee injury.
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Surrounded by stories, the most interesting one is about his nickname, Pele. Narrating this intriguing aspect of his life, he said that he began playing football in his neighbourhood games as a goalkeeper. During that time the kids he played with started comparing him to a local player named ‘Bile’ and over the years the letters got changed and became ‘Pele’.
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The stories may be true or not, but Pele began his professional journey after impressing scouts as an attacking forward, giving the number 10 an identity of its own. He was known and worshipped for his varied talents that surpass any player to ever exist in the game. He was two-footed and had enormous strength, pace and stamina. He could head, pass, tackle and as we all know, score goals.
Having joined Santos FC at the age of 15, Pele made a name for not just himself but also for this small coastal club making it one of the biggest names in football. Serving 18 glorious years at the club he won every honour there was in Brazilian football as well as two Copa Libertadores which is the South American equivalent of the Champions league. He also won two Intercontinental cups.
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Pele was chosen for the national team at the age of 17 and played in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. In that tournament, he went on to score a hat trick within the first half of the semi-final game against France and two goals to win the World Cup in the finals against Sweden. Brazil became World Champion was the first time as a result of his contributions. He then played the World Cup two more times in 1962 and 1970, being the only player ever to win the world championship a total of three times.
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Though initially retired in 1974, he had to make a comeback as some bad investments left him broke. He then played for the North American Soccer League for a then-whopping sum of $1 Million a year. During his time there he hung out with icons like Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart and Andy Warhol. Despite his company, he never dabbled in alcohol and drugs but did have other vices or “weaknesses” as he called them. He had two divorces, a number of affairs and two children outside of marriage that he acknowledged having.
In his time with New York Cosmos, he led the team to the League Championship and brought new fans to this game that was initially considered European. In 1994 when the United States of America got the right to host the 1994 World Cup, the head of the U.S. Soccer Federation then said Pele was the main reason why.
Pele had 1,281 goals in 1,366 games as per the FIFA website statistics, including his 757 goals in 812 official tournament games. In his last years, the star went through a few injuries including a hip injury that caused difficulty in moving. Pele is now survived by his six known children but will be remembered for fostering a legacy that will live on for years to come.
