Pelé
Edson Arantes do Nascimento arrived in the world on the 23rd of October 1940, born in the small town of Três Corações within Minas Gerais. His father worked as a footballer named Dondinho while his mother was Celeste Arantes. The family lived in poverty and moved to Bauru in São Paulo state when Edson was young. He earned extra money working as a servant in tea shops during his childhood years. A proper football was too expensive for his household so he played with a sock stuffed with newspaper tied by string or sometimes a grapefruit. His parents originally called him Dico but school friends gave him the nickname Pelé after mispronouncing the name of Vasco da Gama goalkeeper Bilé. The word Pelé has no meaning in Portuguese though it means miracle in Hebrew according to later research. He grew up playing for amateur teams like Sete de Setembro and Canto do Rio before joining Radium indoor football team. Indoor football required faster thinking because players stayed close together on the smaller pitch. This experience helped him develop quick decision-making skills that would define his future career.
Waldemar de Brito took fifteen-year-old Edson to Santos FC for a trial in 1956 claiming the boy would become the greatest player ever. He impressed coach Lula and signed a professional contract in June 1956 at age fifteen. His senior debut came on the 7th of September 1956 against Corinthians de Santo André where he scored the first goal of his prolific career in a 7, 1 victory. By 1958 he won his first major title as Santos claimed the Campeonato Paulista with fifty-eight goals from Pelé alone. That record still stands today. The club went on to win the Taça Brasil in 1960 beating Bahia in the finals while Pelé finished as top scorer with nine goals. Santos became the first Brazilian team to lift the Copa Libertadores trophy in 1962 after defeating Peñarol in the final. Pelé scored twice in the playoff match securing the historic win. They also won the Intercontinental Cup against Benfica in Lisbon where he produced one of his best performances scoring a hat-trick in a 5, 2 victory. The following year they retained both the Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup titles. In 1963 Santos defeated Boca Juniors in La Bombonera becoming the first Brazilian team to lift the trophy on Argentine soil. Pelé scored five goals throughout that tournament including a hat-trick in the second leg at Maracanã Stadium. He played alongside gifted teammates like Zito Pepe and Coutinho who partnered him in numerous attacks. Tours with Santos took them across Spain Italy Egypt Kuwait and many other countries to capitalize on his global popularity.
Brazil arrived in Sweden for the 1958 FIFA World Cup sidelined by a knee injury but colleagues insisted upon his selection. His first match was against the USSR where he assisted Vavá's second goal. At seventeen years and two hundred thirty-nine days old he became the youngest ever World Cup goalscorer when he netted against Wales in the quarter-finals. Brazil faced France in the semi-final and Pelé scored a hat-trick making him the youngest player in history to do so. On the 29th of June 1958 he became the youngest player to play in a World Cup final match at seventeen years and two hundred forty-nine days. He scored two goals as Brazil beat Sweden 5, 2 in Stockholm. The press proclaimed him the greatest revelation of the tournament and he received the Silver Ball as second best player behind Didi. In 1962 Chile hosted the next tournament but an injury kept him out after just two matches. Garrincha carried Brazil to their second title while Pelé received his winner's medal retroactively in 2007. The 1966 World Cup in England saw brutal fouls leave him injured by Bulgarian and Portuguese defenders. He scored the first goal from a free kick against Bulgaria becoming the first player to score in three successive tournaments but missed subsequent games due to persistent injuries. Brazil lost the crucial match against Portugal and were eliminated. He vowed never to play in another World Cup before changing his mind later. The 1970 Mexico tournament featured a squad often considered the greatest football team in history. Pelé scored the opening header against Italy in the final after jumping over defender Tarcisio Burgnich. His leap into Jairzinho's arms celebrating that goal remains one of the most iconic moments in World Cup history. He assisted for Brazil's third and fourth goals as they won 4, 1 keeping the Jules Rimet Trophy indefinitely. Pelé received the Golden Ball as player of the tournament and was directly responsible for fifty-three percent of Brazil's goals throughout the competition.
After nineteen seasons with Santos FC Pelé retired from Brazilian club football though he continued playing occasionally until 1975. A year later he came out of semi-retirement to sign with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. At a chaotic press conference at New York's 21 Club media spokesman John O'Reilly stated no one had ever seen a superstar like Pelé. Everyone wanted to touch him shake his hand or get a photo with him. During his first public appearance in Boston fans surrounded him so tightly he was injured and evacuated on a stretcher. He made his debut for the Cosmos on the 15th of June 1975 against Dallas Tornado scoring one goal in a 2, 2 draw. Giorgio Chinaglia followed him to the Cosmos then Franz Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto joined the team. Other stars including Johan Cruyff Eusébio Bobby Moore George Best and Gordon Banks soon arrived in the league. In 1975 Pelé played a friendly game for Lebanese club Nejmeh scoring two goals before forty thousand spectators watched the match. He led the Cosmos to the 1977 Soccer Bowl winning their second title with a 2, 1 victory over Seattle Sounders. The Cosmos attracted an NASL record sixty-two thousand three hundred ninety-four fans to Giants Stadium for a 3, 0 win past Tampa Bay Rowdies where thirty-seven-year-old Pelé scored a hat-trick. They also drew seventy-seven thousand eight hundred ninety-one fans for an 8, 3 rout of Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Pelé finished his official playing career on the 28th of August 1977 leading New York Cosmos to their second Soccer Bowl title. On the 1st of October 1977 he closed out his career in an exhibition match between Cosmos and Santos at Giants Stadium. The game ended 2, 1 with Pelé scoring his final goal from a thirty-yard free-kick for the Cosmos.
Pelé connected the phrase The Beautiful Game with football through his electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals. He was known for anticipating opponents' movements and finishing chances with accurate powerful shots using either foot. His unique style combined speed creativity technical skill physical power stamina and athleticism. He frequently used sudden changes of direction and elaborate feints to beat players including his trademark move called drible da vaca. Another signature move was the paradinha or little stop which allowed him to control the ball precisely. He excelled in the air due to heading accuracy timing and elevation. Renowned for bending shots he was an accurate free-kick taker ranked second of all time with seventy successful attempts though often refraining from penalties believing them cowardly ways to score. As a striker he operated inside the penalty area but could also function as an inside forward second striker or attacking midfielder behind strikers. His wide range of skills made him a complete player recognized for precise passing and ability to provide assists. He stood out for charismatic leadership and sportsmanship on pitch. A warm embrace of Bobby Moore following Brazil versus England at 1970 World Cup embodied this spirit according to The New York Times. Pelé earned reputation as big game player scoring crucial goals in important matches throughout his career.
After retiring in 1977 Pelé became worldwide ambassador for football making many acting and commercial ventures. In 1994 he was appointed UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador while Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso named him extraordinary minister for sport in 1995. During tenure multiple reforms against corruption in state football associations were presented before he resigned the 30th of April 1998. He received honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace ceremony in 1997. Pelé helped inaugurate 2006 FIFA World Cup alongside supermodel Claudia Schiffer. In 1992 he was appointed UN ambassador for ecology and environment receiving Brazil's gold medal for outstanding services to sport in 1995. An honorary degree came from University of Edinburgh in 2012 for significant contribution to humanitarian environmental causes and sporting achievements. He assisted Rio de Janeiro bid for 2016 Summer Olympics and spearheaded presentation to Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa General Assembly in Abuja Nigeria July 2009. On the 12th of August 2012 he attended Olympic hunger summit hosted by British prime minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street London. Later same day appeared at closing ceremony of 2012 Summer Olympics following handover section to next host city Rio de Janeiro. In March 2016 filed lawsuit against Samsung Electronics seeking thirty million dollars claiming false endorsement though case settled out-of-court years later. Founded Pelé Foundation in 2018 endeavoring to empower impoverished disenfranchised children globally. Auctioned more than sixteen hundred items from collection raising three point six million pounds for charity in 2016.
In 2021 Pelé diagnosed with colon cancer underwent surgery same month treated with several rounds chemotherapy. Early 2022 metastasis detected in intestine lung and liver. November 29 admitted to Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital São Paulo due respiratory infection after contracting COVID-19 reassessment treatment colon cancer. December 3 reported unresponsive to chemotherapy replaced with palliative care. Tumour advanced requiring greater care related renal cardiac dysfunctions so not allowed spend Christmas home family wanted. Died the 29th of December 2022 at 3:27 pm age eighty-two multiple organ failure complication colon cancer. Death certificate stated kidney failure heart failure bronchopneumonia colon adenocarcinoma caused death. Hundred-year-old mother Dona Celeste survived him unaware of his death vegetative state since 2019 died June 2024. Outgoing Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro declared three-day national mourning period. National flags twenty-one member associations FIFA flown half-mast headquarters Zürich. Landmarks stadiums lit honour included Christ Redeemer statue Maracanã Stadium Rio de Janeiro CONMEBOL headquarters Paraguay Wembley Stadium London. Applause minute silence matches honour Pelé. Funeral began the 2nd of January 2023 body publicly displayed open coffin draped Brazil Santos FC flags Vila Belmiro stadium Santos. Thousands fans flooded streets attend first day funeral some wait three hours line. Public wake continued the 3rd of January saw more than two hundred thirty thousand people attendance. Many wore yellow green No. 10 Brazilian jerseys black white Santos club jersey Pelé wore during career. Brazil television channels suspended normal broadcasting cover funeral procession. Wife Marcia Aoki son Edinho FIFA president Gianni Infantino CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez Brazilian Football Confederation president Ednaldo Rodrigues among attendees. Newly sworn in Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also attended wake. After funeral procession buried Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica Kigali Pelé Stadium Rwanda renamed March 2023 Paul Kagame Gianni Infantino part 73rd FIFA Congress. Nickname became synonymous exceptional incomparable unique Michaelis Portuguese-language dictionary after campaign one hundred twenty-five thousand signatories.
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Common questions
When and where was Edson Arantes do Nascimento born?
Edson Arantes do Nascimento arrived in the world on the 23rd of October 1940, born in the small town of Três Corações within Minas Gerais. His family lived in poverty and moved to Bauru in São Paulo state when he was young.
How did Pelé get his nickname after being called Dico by his parents?
School friends gave him the nickname Pelé after mispronouncing the name of Vasco da Gama goalkeeper Bilé. The word Pelé has no meaning in Portuguese though it means miracle in Hebrew according to later research.
What major titles did Santos FC win with Pelé between 1958 and 1963?
Santos claimed the Campeonato Paulista in 1958 with fifty-eight goals from Pelé alone and won the Taça Brasil in 1960. They became the first Brazilian team to lift the Copa Libertadores trophy in 1962 after defeating Peñarol in the final and also won the Intercontinental Cup against Benfica in Lisbon that same year.
Which World Cup tournaments did Pelé participate in and what records did he set?
Pelé participated in the 1958, 1962, 1966, and 1970 FIFA World Cups. He became the youngest ever World Cup goalscorer at seventeen years and two hundred thirty-nine days old during the 1958 tournament and scored a hat-trick against France making him the youngest player in history to do so.
When did Pelé retire from professional football and which club did he join next?
After nineteen seasons with Santos FC Pelé retired from Brazilian club football though he continued playing occasionally until 1975. A year later he came out of semi-retirement to sign with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League on the 1st of October 1977 closing out his career in an exhibition match between Cosmos and Santos at Giants Stadium.
What caused Pelé's death and when was it announced?
Tumour advanced requiring greater care related renal cardiac dysfunctions so not allowed spend Christmas home family wanted. Died the 29th of December 2022 at 3:27 pm age eighty-two multiple organ failure complication colon cancer.