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Pelé says Adeus: The football legend has passed away.
With Pelé goes the greatest in history, the first global superstar football has seen. The quote from Ronald Reagan has been handed down: “My name is Ronald Reagan, I am the President of the United States of America. But you don’t need to introduce yourself because everyone knows who Pele is.”
Whether Reagan, Jimmy Carter, John F. Kennedy, Pope John Paul II or Nelson Mandela, Pelé captivated everyone with his radiant smile. And with his ability to play football better than anyone of his generation, he conquered the world, even if he only left his home country for the USA in the late autumn of his career.
“Everyone, really everyone wanted to shake his hand and have a photo with him,” British pop star Mick Jagger once said of Pelé’s visit to the famous New York nightclub Studio 54. “To be able to say that you had celebrated with Pelé was the greatest honor. » Even after his active career, the Brazilian was the ideal advertising medium and ambassador. Politicians also wanted to take him for themselves in the meantime.
A single appearance in Switzerland
Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born on October 23, 1940 in poor circumstances in Três Corações (three hearts) in the state of Minas Gerais. His parents gave him the name Edson based on the American inventor Thomas Edison. He received his nickname Pelé during his childhood. The name should come from the fact that Pelé’s role model is the footballer Bilé, but he can’t pronounce this name correctly.
His talent is evident early on. Pelé made his debut at FC Santos at 15 and at 16 in the Seleção, for which he scored in his first international match against Argentina. The youthful age leads to a controversy. “I had to see a psychologist. He was against me playing. That is too great a psychological responsibility for a 16-year-old,” said Pelé when Blick visited him in São Paulo in 2002.
However, neither national coach Vicente Feola nor the player are impressed because Pelé’s style of play is unique. His feeling for the ball: insane. His anticipation: terrific. His athleticism: impressive. His movements on the field are a feast for the eyes. Pelé dribbles, tricks and scores goals. At the end of the 20-year career there are 1281 in 1363 games, some of them in unofficial friendlies.
Pelé scored one of these in his only appearance in Switzerland on June 15, 1968, when FC Santos made a guest appearance in Zurich’s Letzigrund. On a show tour through Europe, where Pelé is said to earn around 50,000 dollars per game, the Brazilians make a stop in Zurich. The ball magicians lost 4:5 to their superstar against the FCZ in the pouring rain. Köbi Kuhn and Fritz Künzli are among the goal scorers alongside Pelé.
World Cup 1958: The Birth of the King
Pelé earned his nickname “O Rei” in 1958 when, as a 17-year-old, he catapulted himself into the global spotlight at the World Cup in Sweden. The tournament in Scandinavia marks the birth of the magic number 10. The fact that Pelé wears this number is more of a coincidence. From now on, however, it is only reserved for the artists: Zico, Platini, Maradona, Zidane, Messi, Neymar.
After Pelé didn’t play the first two games, coach Feola brings him in against Russia in the third group game. In the knockout stages, the teenager led Brazil to the World Cup alongside Garrincha, Vava, Didi and Zagallo, setting several all-time records along the way.
He scored the only goal in the quarterfinals against Wales, three in the semifinals against France and two in the final against Sweden. “When I saw Pelé play, I just wanted to hang up my football boots,” said France’s Just Fontaine, the tournament’s top scorer with 13 goals.
Brazil’s icon is dead: The unique career of Pelé in the video(01:53)
When Pelé Blick talked about his first World Cup in 2002, he spoke of a “culture shock” that he suffered in 1958. When he and his teammates saw women lying topless by the lakes in the sun during the long forest runs in Sweden, he didn’t dare to look: “I was raised Catholic. I was ashamed.”
By winning the World Cup, he’s also making good on a promise he made to his father, Dondinho, who was a footballer himself. “I can still remember the 1950s very well. Back when Brazil lost to Uruguay in the Maracanã in their last World Cup game, I saw my father crying at home. I was almost ten years old. I said to my father: I’ll bring you this trophy home. Eight years later I had it in my hands.”
Triple world champion
After 1958, the world knows Pelé. The first global soccer star is born. Due to the veto of the Brazilian government, he remained loyal to his parent club for 18 years, even if there were repeated advances from Europe. Among others, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are said to have expressed their interest in the superstar. Pelé is a serial champion with FC Santos, with whom he also wins the Copa Libertadores twice.
At the 1962 World Cup in Chile, the Seleção defended the title, with Pelé being injured in the second game. In 1966 in England, too, this was tackled hard by the opponents, Brazil failed in the first round. In 1970 in Mexico, however, the king was resurrected. Once again Brazil, led by Pelé, trumps big.
These are Pelé’s greatest achievements
Brazilian national team:
- 3x world champion title: 1958, 1962, 1970
- Record goalscorer (shared with Neymar) with 77 goals in 92 games
FC Santos:
- 10x State Championship of Sao Paulo: 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973)
- 4x Torneio Rio-Sao Paulo (tournament between clubs from Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo): 1959, 1963, 1964, 1966
- 6x Brazilian Champion: 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968
- 2x Copa Libertadores: 1962, 1963
- 2x World Cup: 1962, 1963
New York Cosmos:
- 1x North American Soccer League Champion: 1977
Personal awards:
- South America’s Footballers of the 20th Century: 1973
- Players of the 20th Century (FIFA): 1998
- Sportsmen of the 20th Century (IOC): 1999
- FIFA Ballon d’Or Honorary Award: 2013
- Over 1200 goals scored in his career
Brazilian national team:
- 3x world champion title: 1958, 1962, 1970
- Record goalscorer (shared with Neymar) with 77 goals in 92 games
FC Santos:
- 10x State Championship of Sao Paulo: 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973)
- 4x Torneio Rio-Sao Paulo (tournament between clubs from Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo): 1959, 1963, 1964, 1966
- 6x Brazilian Champion: 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968
- 2x Copa Libertadores: 1962, 1963
- 2x World Cup: 1962, 1963
New York Cosmos:
- 1x North American Soccer League Champion: 1977
Personal awards:
- South America’s Footballers of the 20th Century: 1973
- Players of the 20th Century (FIFA): 1998
- Sportsmen of the 20th Century (IOC): 1999
- FIFA Ballon d’Or Honorary Award: 2013
- Over 1200 goals scored in his career
The tournament marks the birth of the «Jogo Bonito», the beautiful game. In the final, Brazil outclassed Italy 4-1. Pelé scores to make it 1-0 and is the only player to become world champion for the third time. The Italian Tarcisio Burgnich says afterwards: «Before the final I said to myself: Pelé is made of flesh and bones, just like me. After that, I realized I was wrong.”
A year later, Pelé is playing his 92nd and final international match, which is watched by 180,000 spectators at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. He scored 77 goals for the Seleção, a few weeks ago at the World Cup in Qatar Neymar drew level with him. In 1975, Pelé moved to the USA, where he ended his career at New York Cosmos. After the turn of the millennium, he was voted the footballer of the 20th century by FIFA, among others.
He once said about himself: “There will only be one Pelé, just as there was only one Frank Sinatra or only one Michelangelo. I was the best.” Now «O Rei», the king of football, has fallen asleep forever.