Edson Arantes do Nascimento, born 23 October 1940 and died 29 December 2022, was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward.
He was one of the most successful and popular sports stars of the twentieth century, regarded as one of the best players of all time, and dubbed “the greatest” by FIFA. In 1999, the International Olympic Committee honored him as Athlete of the Century, and he was named one of Time’s 100 most influential individuals of the twentieth century. Pelé was named World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) in 2000, and he was also named FIFA Player of the Century. His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, including friendly, is a Guinness World Record.
Pelé joined Santos at the age of 15 and the Brazil national team at the age of 16. He was the only player to win three FIFA World Cups throughout his international career, in 1958, 1962, and 1970. Following the 1958 competition, he earned the moniker O Rei (The King). Pelé is Brazil’s equal-best goalscorer, with 77 goals in 92 appearances. With 643 goals in 659 games for Santos, he was the club’s all-time leading scorer.
In the club’s heyday, he guided Santos to the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores as well as the 1962 and 1963 Intercontinental Cup. With his “electrifying skill and knack for spectacular goals,” Pelé is credited with introducing the phrase “The Beautiful Game” to football. His teams traveled abroad to capitalize on his star power. Pelé was the highest-paid athlete in the world for a time during his playing career. Pelé was a global football ambassador after retiring in 1977 and had a successful career in both acting and business. He was appointed the honorary president of the New York Cosmos in 2010.
Was Pelé injured in 1966? Up
During the 1966 World Cup in England, Pelé was the most famous footballer in the world, and Brazil fielded some world champions like Garrincha, Gilmar, and Djalma Santos, along with other stars like Jairzinho, Tosto, and Gérson, raising expectations for them. Brazil was eliminated in the first round after only three matches. The World Cup was notable for severe fouls on Pelé by Bulgarian and Portuguese defenders, which left him injured.
