Newsman: Pelé, who famously described himself “I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint,” who transcended his sport and who was mentioned by the Dutch soccer star Cruyff saying – “Pele was only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic,” the soccer legend, Brazilian king of soccer who won three World Cups and became the sport’s first global icon, arguably soccer’s greatest ever player has died at the age of 82 Thursday. Pelé was soccer’s global face for decades and is regarded by many as its best player of all time.
“Everything that we are, is thanks to you,” his daughter Kely Nascimento wrote in a post on Instagram, under an image of family members holding Pele’s hands. “We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”
His agent Joe Fraga confirmed his death.
Pelé finished his career as He was that rarity; like Muhammad Ali. He’d been battling complications from colon cancer and had been admitted into a hospital in São Paulo last month.
Modern greats such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the spiritual and philosophical descendants of Pelé, who had the ever-present willingness to try the audacious, and had the raw ability to make it work. He showed the magic of flashing footwork and exquisite ball control, that technique could trump brute force, that delicate movement and inspired thought was the game’s most dangerous yet picturesque weapon.
A worldwide audience got its first glimpse of Pelé during the 1958 World Cup, at the age of 17. After senior members of the Brazil team applied pressure to the coaching staff, Pelé was brought onto the team for the latter stages of the tournament, and dominated.
He arguably saved his best for last on the biggest stage of all. Brazil’s performance in winning the 1970 World Cup in Mexico was perhaps history’s greatest, a brilliant team led by the biggest star on the planet.
Pelé was 29 years old and starting to decline physically, but that did not prevent him from destroying the competition. Brazil won each of its six games, capped by a 4-1 demolition of Italy in the final.
The number of goals scored during his career varies depending on the source, Pelé counted 1,283 goals for all matches played, official and unofficial. The Guinness Book of World Records lists him as the world’s most prolific scorer with 1,279 goals. That includes being the all-time leading scorer for Brazilian club Santos with 643 goals in official matches, according to the club, and 77 international goals — tied with Neymar — according to FIFA.
He was born as Edson Arantes do Nascimento on Oct. 23, 1940, and came to be known by a single word recognized around the world — Pelé.
Born into poverty –Pelé grew up shining shoes to buy his modest soccer gear used to kick a grapefruit around Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. He watched his father playing professionally in a small town in southeastern Brazil. He rose from humble beginnings in rural Brazil to eternalize a powerful and creative style of play.
It is widely known ,those who met Pelé routinely found two surprises. One was the true and genuine warmth of his nature. The other was his relatively slight stature, at 5-foot-8 and not overly muscular.
In soccer he will be immortally remembered as a giant, in terms of personality, ability and impact on his sport’s history.
The genesis of the nickname Pelé is unclear, even to the footballer.
But he once wrote in the British newspaper The Guardian that it likely started with school classmates teasing him for mangling the nickname of another player, Bilé. It is also widely said that The name Pelé came from him mispronouncing the name of a player called Bilé.
Pelé was admitted to a hospital in São Paulo in late November for a respiratory infection and for complications related to colon cancer. Last week, the hospital said his health had worsened as his cancer progressed. He died on Thursday from multiple organ failure due to the progression of colon cancer, according to a statement from Albert Einstein Hospital.
Pelé was hospitalized on Nov. 29 to treat a respiratory infection that was aggravated by COVID-19. The soccer legend had also been undergoing treatment after having a colon tumor removed in September 2021. Medical officials said he died of multiple organ failure as a result of the cancer, according to the Associated Press.
For more than 60 years, the name Pelé has been synonymous with soccer. He played in four World Cups and is the only player in history to win three, but his legacy stretched far beyond his trophy haul and remarkable goal-scoring record.
Tributes have been pouring in for the soccer legend. Pelé’s first club, Santos FC, responded to the news on Twitter with the words “eternal” shared next to an image of a crown.
“Pelé changed everything. He transformed football into art, entertainment,” Brazilian star Neymar said on Instagram. “Football and Brazil elevated their standing thanks to the King! He is gone, but his magic will endure. Pelé is eternal!”
Portuguese star forward Cristiano Ronaldo sent his condolences to Brazil in a post on Instagram, saying “a mere “goodbye” to the eternal King Pelé will never be enough to express the pain that currently engulfs the entire football world.”
Kylian Mbappé of Paris Saint-Germain said of Pelé’s death: “The king of football has left us but his legacy will never be forgotten.”
Former English soccer player Geoff Hurst wrote on Twitter of his memories of Pelé, calling the late star “without doubt the best footballer I ever played against (with Bobby Moore being the best footballer I ever played alongside). For me Pele remains the greatest of all time and I was proud to be on the the pitch with him. RIP Pele and thank you.”
“He walks on the field with one of those irresistible and fatal authorities. I would say that of a king,” wrote Brazilian writer Nelson Rodrigues upon watching a 17-year-old Pelé play in 1958.
“The whole world cares about football, and the biggest footballer was Brazilian,” says Brazilian sports commentator Marcelo Barreto. “I think we related to Pelé because of his creativity.”
Barreto says that Pelé’s athleticism could have easily earned him stardom in track and field as well as soccer. “He could run 100 meters in, like, 11 seconds. He could kick with the right foot and the left foot. It was like his strength was at the service of the beauty of the game.”
Marcelo Barreto says that today, Brazilians are starting to judge athletes more for the political implications of their actions. “We are slowly beginning to understand that it’s not only soccer. That soccer is not separated from our society, from our life.”
Pelé spent nearly two decades enchanting fans and dazzling opponents as the game’s most prolific scorer with Brazilian club Santos and the Brazil national team.
Pelé Pelé’s talent drew attention when he was 11, and a local professional player brought him to Santos’ youth squads. It didn’t take long for him to make it to the senior squad.
In his soccer twilight however, he was lured to play with the New York Cosmos in the fledgling North American Soccer League, spending three seasons in the Big Apple and often playing in front of packed crowds at the Meadowlands.
Pelé was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee, Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, and joint Player of the Century by FIFA. He is an honorary knight of the British Empire and served as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and Brazil’s Minister of Sports, where he oversaw new legislation on labor rights for athletes.
In the conversation about soccer’s greatest players, only the late Diego Maradona, and Lionel Messi are mentioned alongside Pelé.
Pelé’s fame was such that in 1967 factions of a civil war in Nigeria agreed to a brief cease-fire so he could play an exhibition match in the country. He was knighted by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in 1997. When he visited Washington to help popularize the game in North America, it was the U.S. president who stuck out his hand first.
“My name is Ronald Reagan, I’m the president of the United States of America,” the host said to his visitor. “But you don’t need to introduce yourself because everyone knows who Pelé is.”
Pelé rarely spoke about racism in a country where the rich and powerful tend to hail from the white minority.
Opposing fans taunted Pelé with monkey chants at home and all over the world.
“He said that he would never play if he had to stop every time he heard those chants,” said Angelica Basthi, one of Pelé’s biographers. “He is key for Black people’s pride in Brazil, but never wanted to be a flagbearer.”
Pelé ended his career on Oct. 1, 1977, in an exhibition between the Cosmos and Santos before a crowd in New Jersey of 77,000. He played half the game with each club. Among the dignitaries on hand was perhaps the only other athlete whose renown spanned the globe – Muhammad Ali.
Pelé admitted to CNN in 2015 that he had plenty of interest from Europe to make the move across the Atlantic, but chose not to out of loyalty and “love” for Santos; yet another reason why he is so beloved in his native country.
“In the past, it was a profession filled with love, now it’s just a profession,” Pelé said.
“There isn’t that love of playing for my club, playing for my country. Clearly, a footballer needs to make a living from the game. It’s different from my time.”
Pelé had two daughters out of wedlock and five children from his first two marriages, to Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi and Assiria Seixas Lemos. He later married businesswoman Marcia Cibele Aoki.
A public wake will be held for Pelé on Monday at the Urbano Caldeira stadium, popularly known as Vila Belmiro and home to Santos football club, in Brazil’s São Paulo state, according to a Thursday statement from Santos FC.
At dawn Monday, Pele’s body will be moved from the Albert Einstein Hospital to the stadium. The soccer legend’s coffin will be placed in the center of the pitch.
The wake at Vila Belmiro will continue until Tuesday 10 a.m. local time (8 a.m. ET), after which a funeral procession will carry Pelé’s coffin through the streets of the city of Santos, including the street where Pelé’s 100-year-old mother, Celeste Arantes, lives.
The cortege will continue to Pelé’s final resting place, the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica cemetery in Santos, where a private funeral, reserved for family members, will be held.
