Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known to the world as Pele, has died at the age of 82..
He was born on October 23, 1940 in Tres Corazones, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and started his career in Santos.. He made his Peixe debut as a 15-year-old, scoring a goal on his official debut.
His talent was noticeable since he was a boy, but few thought he would become a player, especially because of his physical condition: coaches saw him as too weak and unable to play professional football.
Little by little he got physically stronger and as his physique grew, so did his game. He made his debut for Santos in 1956 and in 1957 he was the top scorer in the ballista competition.41 goals in 38 games.
At the country level, Its breakthrough came at the 1958 World Cup, when Brazil won its first World Cup. Pele, like all Brazilians, was a thorn in the side of the 1950 Maracanã, which Verdemarela lost in the final against Uruguay on home soil.
Seeing his father and his close relatives devastated by that defeat, young Pele, then 10 years old, promised his father: “I’m going to be a footballer, I’m going to win the World Cup.”
In Sweden, he missed the first games due to a knee injury. But he showed his full potential when he had to play from the third match against Russia, the last match of the group stage. He became the world champion at the age of 17 His talent and goal-scoring ability showed: everyone was already talking about him at the time.
Later, it was also inscribed at the 1962 World Cup in Chile, an injury kept him out of most matches, and his last World Cup appearance was in Mexico 1970, where he was seen at his best. He remained at Santos in Brazil until 1974, and continued his career at United States Cosmos from 1975 until his retirement.
With the Brazilian national team he played 112 matches in both official and unofficial games and scored 95 goals..
His achievements at club level, apart from local matches with Santos, Two Copa Libertadores and two Intercontinental.
Pele was undoubtedly the best player in the world during his time. Although subjectivity ends at this point in an eternal football debate deciding whether he is better than Maradona, Messi, Di Stefano or Cruyff, for many, the best in history.
The truth is, O’Rei is an incomparable player, skilled, elegant puncher, goalscorer, excellent header, and strong enough to face opponents who tried to force him directly off the field in times of no change. , yellow cards and very few TV cameras recorded the mistreatment experienced by different footballers on the field of play.
After his retirement, he continued to be associated with sports and football, but not as a coach. They named him in positions such as his country’s sports minister, UNICEF ambassador, FIFA collaborator and Santos’ executive advisor. In 1980 he was named “Football Player of the Century” and in 2000 he was ranked second as Athlete of the Century behind boxer Muhammad Ali.
His tally of goals is still a matter of debate: some say 1,282 between official and unofficial matches. A huge number. Others include only officers and count as 767.
The world football legend died of cancer at the age of 82.
There’s no doubt about it: Pele O’Rey is one of the best soccer players from South America who has captivated the world.
