Pele

Pele, whose original name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, was born in Tres Coracoes, Brazil, on October 23rd, 1940. He was the first child of Joao Ramos and Dona Celeste. Pele’s father, Joao Ramos, was a soccer player as well, but could barely support his family with his talent in the sport.  Some say that the dreams that Joao couldn’t compete were fulfilled by his son. At his early teenage he joined a youth club by Waldemar de Brito, who himself was a former member of the Brazilian soccer team. De Brito saw talent that Pele held and even motivated him to leave his home city and join a major club. At the age of 15, Pele tried to join Santos professional soccer club, but failed to get in the first time. However, the second time turned out to be his lucky chance getting him in the club in 1956 and scoring his first professional goal before turning the age of 16. This goal got him in the Brazilian national team as well, which, with Pele on the team, won the 1958 World Cup. Pele scored a hatrick in the semifinals match and two goals in the finals match of the World Cup. Pele was doing very well with the Santos Club as well, with the club winning Sao Paulo Champions league, a Libertadores Cup, and a Intercontinental Club Cup in the years 1962, and 1963.

He was an amazing striker with remarkably accurate and terrifically powerful shots. Pele was now a Brazilian hero and was getting several offers from Europe to join their well paying and recognized clubs. However, Brazil’s love for Pele, and Pele’s love for Brazil got him to never play in any outside clubs, making him stick to the roots of his country. In the 1962 World Cup, Pele tore a thigh muscle in the finals, but this didn’t stop Brazil from claiming the cup, making Pele have 2 world cups under his belt. In the 1966 World Cup, Pele began to notice the rough and aggressive behaviors opposing team players had against him. He got injured several times during the cup and this caused Brazil’s best player to barely be able to score any goals. Brazil shamingly got out in just the firs round of qualification. Angrily Pele decided to retire from the World Cup, but his enthusiasm to get a third victory in the tournament got him in the international field again.

An interesting fact is that Pele’s fans weren’t limited to Brazil, but went way beyond. His club Santos started touring internationally with the player. It is said that during a Civil war in Brazil in late 1960s, the opposing sides decided to declare a ceasefire for 48 hours to watch Pele play in a exhibition game in Lagos.

In 1970, the player got himself prepared for his final trial for his third world cup. He played very effectively with his now new and younger teammates Jairzinho and Rivelino, giving his country a third World Cup. Out of the 14 total matches he played in the three World Cups, he scored 12 goals. In 1974 Pele announced his retirement, which he pushed forward in 1975 due to him signing a 3 year $7 million dollar contract to promote soccer in the U.S. In 1977, when his contract terminated, he took his retirement from the sports. He even received a Nobel Peace Award in 1978, and was given the tittle Athlete of The Century in 1980 by a French publication, receiving the official title however, in 1999, by the International Olympic Committee itself.

 

The legend died a natural death in December 29, 2022, but left a dream of being a soccer player in the hearts of millions around the world. Till this day no player has won as many world cups as him.