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Pelé, the king of Brazilian football who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most iconic sports figures of the past century, died Thursday. He is 82 years old.
The standard bearer of the “beautiful game” has been undergoing treatment for colon cancer since 2021. He has been hospitalized for the past month with various ailments.
His agent Joe Fraga confirmed the death.
Grace, athleticism and mesmerizing movements players and fans transfixed. He orchestrated a fast and fluid style that revolutionized the sport – a samba-like flair that reflected his country’s elegance on the field.
He took Brazil to the heights of football and became a global ambassador for the sport in a journey that began in the streets of the state of Sao Paulo, where he would kick socks filled with newspapers or cloth.
In the conversation about the greatest players in football, only the late Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are mentioned along with Pelé.
Different sources, counting different sets of games, list Pelé’s goals at anywhere between 650 (league matches) and 1,281 (all senior matches, some against lower-level competition).
The player who will be nicknamed “The King” was introduced to the world at 17 in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the youngest player ever in the tournament. He was carried off the field on the shoulders of teammates after scoring two goals in Brazil’s 5-2 win over the host nation in the final.
Injury limited him to just two matches in Brazil’s 1962 world title defense, but Pelé was the icon of his country’s 1970 World Cup victory in Mexico. He scored in the final and set up Carlos Alberto with a carefree pass for the final goal in a 4-1 win over Italy.
World wide fame
The image of Pelé in a bright yellow Brazil jersey, with the number 10 stamped on the back, lives on with soccer fans everywhere. Like his trademark goal celebration – a jump with his right fist above his head.
Pelé’s fame was such that in 1967 factions in Nigeria’s civil war agreed to a brief truce in order to play an exhibition match in the country. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997. When he visited Washington to help popularize the game in North America, the US president raised his hand first.
“My name is Ronald Reagan, I am the president of the United States,” the host told his guest. “But you don’t need to introduce yourself because everyone knows who Pelé is.”
Pelé is Brazil’s first modern black national hero but rarely speaks out about racism in a country where the rich and powerful tend to come from the white minority.
Opposing fans taunt Pelé with monkey chants at home and around the world.
“He said he wouldn’t play if he had to stop every time he heard that song,” said Angelica Basthi, one of Pelé’s biographers. “He is the key to the pride of black people in Brazil, but he does not want to be the flag bearer.”
Eclectic life after football
Pelé’s life after football took many forms. He is a politician – the outstanding minister of sports in Brazil – a wealthy businessman, and an ambassador for UNESCO and the United Nations.
He had roles in movies, soap operas and even composed songs and recorded CDs of Brazilian popular music.
As his health deteriorated, his travels and appearances became less frequent. He was often seen in a wheelchair in recent years and did not attend the ceremony to unveil his statue representing Brazil’s 1970 World Cup team. Pelé spent his 80th birthday in isolation with some family members in a beach house.
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, in the small town of Tres Coracoes in the interior of the state of Minas Gerais on October 23, 1940, Pelé grew up shining shoes to buy modest football equipment.
Pelé’s talent caught his attention at the age of 11, and local professional players took him to Santos’ youth squad. It didn’t take long for him to break into the senior squad.
Despite his youth and 5-foot-8 frame, he scored against adults with the same ease as his teammates back home. He made his debut with the Brazilian club at the age of 16 in 1956, and the club quickly gained worldwide recognition.
The name Pelé comes from him mispronouncing the name of a player called Bile.
He entered the 1958 World Cup as a substitute but was a key player for his country’s winning team. His first goal, where he rolled the ball over a defender’s head and ran around him for a volley, was voted one of the best in World Cup history.
The 1966 World Cup in England — won by the hosts — was bittersweet for Pelé, who is now considered the best player in the world. Brazil lost in the group stage and Pelé, angered by the harsh treatment, vowed this was his last World Cup.
He changed his mind and became rejuvenated in the 1970 World Cup. In the match against England, he launched a header for a certain score, but the great goalkeeper Gordon Banks turned the ball over the bar with an amazing move. Pelé compared the save – one of the best in the history of the World Cup – to “salmon climbing up a waterfall.” Then, he scored the opening goal in the final against Italy, the last World Cup match.
Record 95 national team goals
In all, Pelé played 114 matches with Brazil, scoring a record 95 goals, including 77 in official matches.
His run with Santos lasted three decades until he semi-retired after the 1972 season. Wealthy European clubs tried to sign him, but the Brazilian government intervened to prevent him from being sold, declaring him a national treasure.
In 1975, he joined the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. Despite being 34 years old and past, Pelé gave football a higher profile in North America. He led the Cosmos to the 1977 league title and scored 64 goals in three seasons.
Pelé ended his career on October 1, 1977, in an exhibition between Cosmos and Santos in front of a New Jersey crowd of around 77,000. He played half a game with each club. Among the dignitaries on hand, perhaps the only famous athlete in the world – Muhammad Ali.
Pelé would go through difficult times in his personal life, especially when his son Edinho was arrested on drug charges. Pelé has two daughters and five children from his first two marriages, with Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi and Assiria Seixas Lemos. He later married businesswoman Marcia Cibele Aoki.
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