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Famous
Football Players > Pele
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Pele
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, KBE (born October 23,
1940), nicknamed Pelé, a Brazilian, is a former football player
and thought by many to be the finest player of all time. Often considered
the complete attacking player, he was completely two-footed, a prolific
finisher, exceptional at dribbling and passing, and was a remarkably
good tackler for a forward. He was also famed for his speed and strength
on the ball. Over the course of his career, Pelé scored over
a thousand goals and won three World Cups. Since his full retirement
in 1977 he has served as an ambassador for the sport.
Biography
Edson was born in Três Corações, Minas Gerais,
Brazil, the son of Fluminense footballer João Ramos do Nascimento,
also known as Dondinho. He was named after American inventor Thomas
Edison, and did not receive the nickname "Pelé" until
his school days. He originally disliked the nickname, but the more
he complained the more he was called by it. Later in life, when reflecting
that the world came to know the name, he stated his belief that it
was chosen for him by God.
Growing up in poverty on the streets of Bauru, São Paulo, he
could not afford a football and usually played with either a sock
stuffed with papers or a grapefruit. He was given his first leather
ball on his sixth birthday by his father's teammate, Sosa. At the
age of eleven, Pelé was scouted by Brazilian legend Waldemar
de Brito and was invited to join de Brito's amateur team, Clube Atlético
Bauru. In 1956, Pele's mentor took him to the city of São Paulo,
to try out for professional club Santos. De Brito told the directors
at Santos that the 15-year-old would be "the greatest football
player in the world". Pelé was offered professional terms
and scored four goals in his first league game. When the new season
started, Pelé was given a starting place in the first team
and, at the age of just sixteen, became the top scorer in the league.
Just ten months after signing professionally, the teenager was called
up to the Brazilian national team.
In 1958, Pelé became the youngest ever World Cup winner in
Sweden at 17, scoring two goals in the final as Brazil crushed Sweden
5–2 in Stockholm. He played in three more Brazilian World Cup teams
in 1962, 1966 and 1970, two of which Brazil won (1962 and 1970). Although
his contributions were limited in the 1962 and 1966 campaigns because
of injuries inflicted by the dirty play of opposition players, the
1970 tournament in Mexico was to be Pelé's last. The 1970 team,
featuring famous players like Rivelino, Jairzinho, and Tostão,
is often considered to be the greatest team ever. Brazil defeated
Italy 4–1 in the final, with Pelé scoring one and gloriously
setting up Carlos Alberto for another in what some still consider
to be the finest ever World Cup.
Pelé's technique and deft touch combined with his dribbling
skills and scoring ability cannot be overstated. His most spectacular
signature move was probably the "bicycle kick". He scored
over twelve hundred career goals in all competitions, the biggest
haul by far among famous players.
After his retirement from Brazilian football on October 3, 1974, he
joined the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. He
played his last game as a professional on October 1, 1977 in front
of a capacity crowd at Giants Stadium against his old club, Santos;
he played the first half with the Cosmos and the second half with
Santos. The exhibition game was sold out six weeks beforehand. He
also played in a friendly match with the Lebanese club Nejmeh in 1974
(see Football in Lebanon).
In 1995, President Cardoso appointed Pelé to the position of
Minister of Sports.
Pelé is a long-standing contributor for children's rights at
UNICEF and acts as the figurehead of a charity for erectile dysfunction.
Pelé is certainly one of the most famous men in football, with
his nickname being recognized even by those unfamiliar with the sport.
In 2005, Pelé drew international media attention due to the
imprisonment of Edson Cholbi Nascimento, his son and ex-goalkeeper
of Santos FC, who was arrested in an operation to dismantle a drug
gang in southeastern Brazil. Nascimento, 35, was arrested along with
some 50 other people after an eight-month investigation into a cocaine
trafficking operation in the port city of Santos.
Accolades
Pelé is in third place in the list of all-time top goalscorers
in World Cup play, with 12 goals, and was part of three World Cup
winning teams, although he did not play in the 1962 final through
injury and did not recieve a medal. He ended his career with a total
of 1281 goals in 1363 matches, becoming the highest goalscorer in
professional football ever. In his 92 appearances for the Brazilian
team, he scored 77 goals.
He was awarded Brazil's Gold Medal for outstanding services to the
sport, before becoming Sports Minister in 1994. In 1997, he was given
an honorary British knighthood.
In 1992, Pelé was appointed a United Nations Ambassador for
Ecology and the Environment.
In 1995, he was appointed an Ambassador for UNESCO at the Goodwill
Games.
He was voted athlete of the century by the International Olympic Committee
(IOC) in 1999.
In December 2000, Pelé was named Footballer of the Century
by a "Family of Football" committee appointed by FIFA, after
a web poll favored Diego Maradona. (For details of the controversial
process, see Sports Illustrated Article).
In the same year, Pelé received the Laureus World Sports Awards
Lifetime Achievement Award from South African President Nelson Mandela.
Pelé is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.
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