Sao Paulo ∙ Football legend Pele (82) passed away. He had been admitted to the hospital for a few days due to a urinary tract infection. He died in a hospital in Sao Paulo. Pele’s agent Joe Fraga confirmed the death.
Pele is one of the best footballers the world has ever seen. Pele broke into the Brazil football team while impressing for his first professional club, Santos. When Pele wore the Brazil jersey for the first time on July 7, 1957, he was only sixteen years old. The first match was against traditional rivals Argentina. Brazil lost 1-2 to Argentina that day, but Pele made his debut by scoring the lone goal for Brazil. In 1958, at the age of seventeen, he captured the attention of the entire football world with his World Cup final against Sweden.
Pele was the first to give Brazil, one of the greatest teams of all time, the World Cup. Brazil won the World Cup three times under Pele. First in 1958, then in 1962, and finally in 1970. But in 1962, due to injury, Pele withdrew during the World Cup. Pele, who participated in a total of four World Cups (1958, 62, 66, 70) and played fourteen matches, is still the wonder of the World Cup. Pele also holds a handful of records at the World Cup.
∙ From shoe polisher to footballer
Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born on October 23, 1940 in the city of Tres Correas and played four World Cups with the most goals. With a world record three cup wins, he took football to heaven and proclaimed: “Football, what a beautiful game!”
From the age of seven, he grew up showing his senses with football. Those indrajalams were to become football legends later! Pele was lucky to be born as the son of Dontinho, João Remos do Nascimento, who was a mid-level professional footballer. Dontinho, who wandered from city to city in search of life, finally found refuge in Bourou, where the black boy, nicknamed ‘Dico’, hit the first ball on the streets of September 7th. But when his father stopped playing due to injury, Pele’s initial destiny was to start a life as a street and railway station shoe polisher; Ball in left hand, shoe polish kit in right hand! Yet as he continued to play in barefoot teams on the streets, his friends gave him another name: Pele. They meant foot, dirt or soil. At the age of 11, Pele, a goal machine, was born in a boy’s tournament sponsored by the Mayor of Bournemouth!
The boy was destined to score 1281 goals in the future. A historic moment was born when his father’s friend and 1934 Brazil World Cup teammate Varder de Brito caught a glimpse of the world’s hottest football star at the age of eleven. Used to wearing only trousers and a bunion, Pele wore full pants, a shirt and shoes for the first time when he arrived at the Santos club at the age of fifteen! Days of training later, seals of approval. First in junior and amateur teams. Then became the youngest professional player in Santos’ full team. A regular member of the professional team at the age of sixteen, the number 10 jersey of the national team at the age of seventeen. It was all the early days of world recognition that the number 10 jersey was Pele’s only. In football, the number 10 players became Pele’s representatives with gold glitter!
∙ Achievements
World Cup Victory: 1958, 1962, 1970
Copa America Top Scorer: 1959
World Cup Total Matches: 14
Win: 12, Draw: 1, Loss: 1
World Cup Goals: Sweden World Cup (1958) – 6, Chile (1962) – 1 England (1966) – 1, Mexico (1970) – 4, Total 12
∙ Honors
FIFA Player of the Century, FIFA Order of Merit: 2004
IOC Athlete of the Year, South American Footballer: 1973
FIFA World Cup Player of the Year: 1970
FIFA World Cup Second Best Player: 1958
Total Goals: (Team, Match, Goal)
Santos Club 1114 1088,
Brazil National Team 112 95
New York Cosmos 64 40
Other teams (Army XI, Allstar XI etc.) 73 58
Total 1363 1281
English Summary: Brazilian football legend Pele dies at age 82