Edson Arantes do Nascimiento, better known as Pelé, has just left us at the age of 82. Icon of world sport, legend of his country, three-time winner of the World Cup, football loses its king.
A look back at King Pele’s immense career
Pelé joins Santos to play in the club Santos FC at the age of 15. He played his first game with the professionals during a friendly match against Corinthians and scored his first official goal there. Fast, he becomes an undisputed holder of the team in early 1957. In July 1957, he is called up by the Brazilian selection on the occasion of the Copa Roca. Because of all this succession, he has high hopes to participate in the 1958 World Cup that takes place in Sweden. He becomes the top scorer in the Sao Paulo state championship and is selected for the prestigious competition.
He does not participate in the first two games of the competition, but will score a total of 6 goals in three games. It will be at the same time youngest player to score a World Cup goal, 17 years and 239 days. Together with his teammates, they go for it and beat host country Sweden. Pelé will win his first world title and become a legend.
With Santos FC he will know a real epic by winning 23 trophies including 2 Copa Libertadores in 1962 and 1963. He will also win 2 Intercontinental Cup. With his club he will score 643 goals in 660 games. He will win 2 more World Cups, in 1962 and 1970. He retires at the Cosmos in New York.
He will have played 98 matches with the Brazilian selection and found the net 77 times. Despite his international titles, he failed to win the Copa América, where he was defeated in the final in 1959.
Pelé is considered by many to be the greatest player of all time thanks to his impact on football. To date, he is the only player to have won three World Cups (1958, 1962 and 1970).
Read more : FIFA ranking: Brazil still in the lead
Pelé: a global icon
Benefiting from a worldwide reputation, Pelé lends his image to various causes and companies after his career as a professional footballer. He became ambassador for the UN and UNESCO for Education, Ecology and Environment. For a while, he was Brazil’s Minister of Sports (between 1995 and 1998), he also worked for his country to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
In addition to his other activities, he is also an actor or producer.
Read more : Results of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
Pelé: what other players say about him…
Pelé had a huge impact on football, and most players recognize that. Here’s what some of them had to say about the sports icon:
“This debate about the player of the century is absurd. There is only one answer: Pelé. He is by far the best footballer of all time. » – Zico
“There is Pelé, the man, and Pelé, the footballer. To play like Pelé is to play like God. » – Michael Platini
“Pelé is the only footballer who has defied the laws of logic.” – John Cruyff
“The greatest footballer of all time is Di Stefano. For me, Pelé was not a footballer. He was way above that.” – Ferenc Puskas
‘His Majesty, His Highness, the King, the King. The first video I saw in my life, on an old VHS, was about your World Cup heroics and your messages of hope. Thanks for sharing your passion. » – Didier Drogba
“For Brazilians, Pelé is a household name; it represents a superior entity. » – Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima
“For me, an artist is above all someone who can illuminate a darkened room. I never saw any difference between Pelé’s pass to Carlos Alberto in the 1970 World Cup final and Rimbaud’s youthful poems. Each of these human manifestations expresses a beauty that moves us deeply and makes us measure what eternity is. » – Eric Cantona
Outside of the world of football he has made his mark on, Pelé will forever be an inspiration to athletes around the world.
Pelé, forever the king of football.
