Brazilian Pele, one of the legendary names of the football world, is commemorated on the first anniversary of his death. Pele, who was treated for a long time for colon cancer and died on December 29, 2022, left behind a career full of success.
According to many sports fans, Pele, the best football player in the world, passed away as one of the names that left his mark in the football world with his 3 World Cups in his career with the Brazilian National Team and his club and individual achievements.
The statue of Pele, who scored over 1000 goals with the Santos jersey he wore for 19 years in his country before ending his career in the USA’s New York Cosmos team, was erected in front of the Maracana Stadium, the birthplace of football for Brazilians.
A FOOTBALL LEGEND WHO CAME UP FROM POVERTY
His full name, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, was born on October 23, 1940, in Tres Coraçoes, Brazil, as the son of a father named Dondinho, who was also a football player, and a mother named Celeste Arantes.
The legendary Brazilian football player, the eldest child of a poor family with two children, was given the nickname “Pele” by his school friends, referring to the Vasco da Gama player Bile, whom he looked up to at that time.
Pele, who worked as a waiter in cafes at a young age and did not even own a football until a certain age, took his first step on green fields with Bauru Athletic Club and won the championship three times in a row in the Sao Paulo Youth State Championship between 1954 and 1956.
Pele’s successful career, which was taken to Santos Club for a trial by his youth team coach Waldemar de Brito, began by signing his first professional contract here in 1956.
SANTOS YEARS FULL OF SUCCESS
Pele, who became the top scorer in his first year at Santos when he was only 16 years old; Despite transfer offers from Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, he did not leave the team because the Brazilian government, which described him as a “national treasure”, did not allow his transfer.
During his 19 years with his team, Pele won 10 state and 6 league championships, two Libertadores Cups and an Intercontinental Cup each.
NATIONAL TEAM CAREER
Pele brought the golden age of the Brazilian National Team, for which he started playing from a young age.
Young Pele, who played his first match against Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in 1957, at the age of 16 years and 9 months, became the youngest player to score a goal at the national team level at that time by scoring the only goal of his team in the match they lost 2-1.
Pele, who won the championship three times with the “Sambacılar” in the World Cups in Sweden 1958, Chile 1962 and Mexico 1970, became the only player to win 3 trophies in the organization.
Pele, nicknamed “Black Pearl”, played 92 times with the Brazilian National Team between 1957 and 1971 and scored 77 goals.
HE SAID GOODBYE TO FOOTBALL IN THE USA
After leaving Santos, Pele continued his football career in the Americas.
The legendary Brazilian player, who played for New York Cosmos, one of the US league teams, between 1975 and 1977, won the league championship in his last year.
After his football career, Pele served as minister of sports in his country, football ambassador of FIFA and Santos, honorary president of New York Cosmos, and goodwill ambassador of the United Nations and UNESCO.
PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Pele was the top scorer 3 times in the Brazilian league, 11 times in the state league, and once each in the Libertadores Cup and the Cup of America.
Pele, who was in the World Cup Dream Team, won the “best young player” award in the 1952 FIFA World Cup, the “silver ball” award in the 1958 FIFA World Cup, and was awarded the FIFA Golden Ball Honor Award in 2013.
In addition, Pele was given the title of footballer and athlete of the century by FIFA, the International Olympic Committee, UNICEF and TIME magazine.
The legendary football player, who was given nicknames such as “Black Pearl”, “King of Football”, “King Pele”, became one of the players who exceeded the thousand-goal threshold. Pele entered the Guinness Book of Records by scoring 1279 goals in his career of 1363 matches.