Pelé (1940-2022)

Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born on (23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), he was better known by his nickname Pelé. He was a Brazilian professional footballer who played regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and was labelled “the greatest” by FIFA. He was known as among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century.

Pele was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee in 1999 and also was included in the Time list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. He was also voted World Player of the Century by (IFFHS)n 2000. He was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century. Pele had 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which is recognized as a Guinness World Record./\

Childhood & Early Life

Pele’s friends started calling him Pele after his favourite football player Vasco da Gama ‘Bile’, whom he mispronounced as ‘Pele’. He was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento to Dondinho and Dona Celeste Arantes and Pele was the first child of the couple. And also has a younger sibling. Pele’s father is a scroller player. His family was stuck in poverty, and Pele took up various odd jobs as a child to earn extra money. Pele received his first lessons in soccer from his father and played for various teams at a young age.

He found himself a place at the Bauru Athletic Club juniors, which was coached by Waldemar de Brito he was blessed with a talent for the game and a style of his own. From 1954 to 1956, Pele also led the team to three consecutive victories. Pele won several local indoor football competitions and championships.

Career

At the age of 15, Pele began playing for Santos and the Brazil national team at 16. He won three FIFA World Cups: 1958, 1962, and 1970, during his international career. Pele is known as the joint-top goalscorer for Brazil with 77 goals in 92 games. Pele was Santos’s all-time top goalscorer with 643 goals in 659 games at the club level. ”

The Beautiful Game” with football, made him a star worldwide, and his teams toured internationally to take full advantage of his popularity. Pelé was for a period the best-paid athlete in the world during his playing days. He was a worldwide ambassador for football and made many acting and commercial ventures after retiring in 1977. Pele was named the honorary president of the New York Cosmos in 2010.

Awards And Orders

Honors

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968.
• Copa Libertadores: 1962, 1963.
• Intercontinental Cup: 1962, 1963.
• Intercontinental Supercup: 1968.
• Campeonato Paulista: 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973.
• Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 1959, 1963, 1964, 1966.

New York Cosmos

• North American Soccer League, Soccer Bowl: 1977.
• North American Soccer League, Atlantic Conference Championship: 1977.

Brazil

• FIFA World Cup: 1958, 1962, 1970.
• Taça do Atlântico: 1960.
• Roca Cup: 1957, 1963.
• Taça Oswaldo Cruz: 1958, 1962, 1968.
• Copa Bernardo O’Higgins: 1959.

Family & Personal Life

In 1966, Pele’s first marriage was with Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi. They were blessed with two daughters and they divorced in 1982.
He was romantically involved with Xuxa, whom, he aided to become a model from 1981 until 1986.
Pele married psychologist and gospel singer Assíria Lemos Seixas in 1994. And the couple gave birth to twins, Joshua and Celeste. Then the couple separated.
On December 2022, Pele died of Colon Cancer at the age of 82, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

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