PELÉ
Edson Arantes do Nascimento
October23, 1940)
Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer
Brazil Legendary Footballer and Humanitarian Former Minister of Sports of Brazil
World-known record breaker name as Pelé is a retired Brazilian professional footballer . In Brazil, he is hailed as a national hero for his accomplishments in football and for his outspoken support of policies that improve the social conditions of the poor. In 1961, Brazil President Jânio Quadros had Pelé declared a national treasure. During his career, he became known as “The Black Pearl” (A Pérola Negra), “The King of Football” (O Rei do Futebol), “The King Pelé” (O Rei Pelé) or simply “The King” (O Rei). In 1995, Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso appointed Pelé to the position of Extraordinary Minister for Sport, and he was also appointed a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. In 1997, he received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace.
He played as a forward. He is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time. Pelé has also been known for connecting the phrase “The Beautiful Game” with football. In 1999, he was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). That year, France Football asked their former Ballon d’Or winners to choose the Football Player of the Century; they selected Pelé. In 1999, Pelé was elected Athlete of the Century by the IOC. That year, Time named him in their list of 100 most influential people of the 20th century. In 2013 he received the FIFA Ballon d’Or Prix d’Honneur in recognition of his career and achievements as a global icon of football.
Pelé is the most successful league goal-scorer in the world, with an average of 541 league goals. Pelé during his life in the game he scored 1281 goals in 1363 games, which included unofficial friendlies and tour games. He was listed in the Guinness World Records for most career goals scored in football for this. He was for a time the highest paid athlete in the world. Pelé began playing for Santos at age 15 and the Brazil national football team at 16. During his international career, he won three FIFA World Cups: 1958, 1962 and 1970, being the only player ever to do so. Pelé is the all-time leading goalscorer for Brazil with 77 goals in 91 games. At club level he is also the record goalscorer for Santos, and led them to the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores. Pelé’s “electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals” made him a star around the world, and his club team Santos toured internationally in order to take full advantage of his popularity. In 1992, he was appointed a UN ambassador for ecology and the environment. He was also awarded Brazil’s Gold Medal for outstanding services to the sport in 1995. In 2012, Pelé was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh for “significant contribution to humanitarian and environmental causes, as well as his sporting achievements”.He was knighted by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in 1997.
Since retiring in 1977, Pelé has been a worldwide ambassador for football and has made many acting and commercial ventures. In 2010, he was named the Honorary President of the New York Cosmos. Pelé has published several autobiographies, starred in documentary films, and composed musical pieces, including the soundtrack for the film Pelé in 1977.
Pelé’s goalscoring record is often reported by FIFA as being 1,281 goals in 1,363 games. This figure includes goals scored by Pelé in friendly club matches, including international tours Pelé completed with Santos and the New York Cosmos, and a few games Pelé played in for the Brazilian armed forces teams during his national service in Brazil and the Selection Team of São Paulo State for the Brazilian Championship of States (Campeonato Brasileiro de Seleções Estaduais). He was listed in the Guinness World Records for most career goals scored in football. In 2000, IFFHS declared Pelé as the “World’s Best and successful Top Division Goal Scorer of all time” with 541 goals in 560 games and honoured him with a trophy.Pelé was the recipient of the International Peace Award in 1978. In 1980 he was named Athlete of the Century by the French sports publication L’Equipe, and he received the same honour in 1999 from the International Olympic Committee. In 2014 the Pelé Museum opened in Santos, Brazil. In addition to his accomplishments in sports, he published several best-selling autobiographies and starred in several successful documentary and semi-documentary films. He also composed numerous musical pieces, including the soundtrack for the film Pelé (1977).
Pele died on Thursday, December 29, 2022 at the age of 82 of multiple organ failure as a result of the cancer, at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital, São Paulo, State of São Paulo, Brazil.
Pelé’s funeral, which involved his body being publicly displayed in an open coffin which was draped with the flags of Brazil and Santos FC, began at Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos on 2 January 2023. There were more than 230,000 people in attendance. Brazil television channels suspended normal broadcasting to cover the funeral procession. Pelé’s wife Marcia Aoki, his son Edinho, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez and president of the Brazilian Football Confederation Ednaldo Rodrigues were among those in attendance.It would continue on 3 January 2023. Newly sworn-in Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was also among those who attended the wake. After the funeral procession, Pelé was buried at the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica.
Brazilian dictionary adds Pelé as adjective, synonym of best
A Brazilian dictionary has added “Pelé” as an adjective to use when describing someone who is “exceptional, incomparable, unique.”
Country
Brazil
FIFA World Cup (3): 1958, 1962, 1970
Roca Cup (2): 1957, 1963
Cruz Cup (3): 1958, 1962, 1968
Bernardo O’Higgins Cup (1): 1959
Atlantic Cup (1): 1960
Club
Santos
Copa Libertadores (2): 1962, 1963
Intercontinental Cup (2): 1962, 1963
Intercontinental Supercup (1): 1968
Supercopa de Campeones Intercontinentales (1): 1968
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (6): 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968
Torneio Rio-São Paulo (4): 1959, 1963, 1964, 1966
Campeonato Paulista (10): 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973
New York Cosmos
North American Soccer League, Soccer Bowl (1): 1977
North American Soccer League, Atlantic Conference Championship (1): 1977
Individual
Santos
Copa Libertadores Top Scorer (1): 1965
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Top Scorer (3): 1961, 1963, 1964
Campeonato Paulista Top Scorer (11): 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1973
Torneio Rio-São Paulo Top Scorer (1): 1963.
Bola de Prata: 1970
Brazil
FIFA World Cup Best Young Player (1): 1958
FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (Best Player)(1): 1970
FIFA World Cup Silver Ball (1): 1958
FIFA World Cup Silver Boot (1): 1958
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team (2): 1958, 1970
FIFA World Cup All-Time Team: 1994
FIFA World Cup Dream Team: 2002
Copa America Best Player (1): 1959
Copa América Top Scorer (1): 1959
FIFA Ballon d’Or Prix d’Honneur: 2013
Ballon d’Or: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1970 – Le nouveau palmarès (the new winners)
FIFA Player of the Century: 2000
FIFA Order of Merit: 1984
FIFA Centennial Award: 2004
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality: 1970
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award: 2005
Greatest football player to have ever played the game, by Golden Foot: 2012
Athlete of the Century, by Reuters News Agency: 1999
Athlete of the Century, elected by International Olympic Committee: 1999
Athlete of the Century, elected by worldwide journalists, poll by French daily L’Equipe: 1981
South American Footballer of the Year (1): 1973
Silver ball South American Footballer of the Year (1): 1972
South America Football Player of the Century, by IFFHS International Federation of Football History and Statistics: 1999
Football Player of the Century, by IFFHS International Federation of Football History and Statistics: 1999
Football Player of the Century, elected by France Football”s Ballon d’Or Winners: 1999
UNICEF Football Player of the Century: 1999
Inducted into the American National Soccer Hall of Fame: 1993
Laureus World Sports Awards Lifetime Achievement Award from South African President Nelson Mandela: 2000
World Team of the 20th Century: 1998
World Soccer (World XI (7): 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966
World Soccer The Greatest Players of the 20th century: 1999
World Soccer Greatest XI of all time: 2013
L’Équipe’s top 50 South-American footballers in history: #1
Honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh celebrating Pelé’s “significant contribution to humanitarian and environmental causes, as well as his sporting achievements”: 2012
TIME One of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century: 1999
Painted by Andy Warhol as part of Warhol’s Athletes Series.
FIFA World Cup’s top 100 footballers of all time, by The Guardian: #
FIFA 100 Greatest Living Footballers: 2004
Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame
In December 2000, Pelé and Maradona shared the prize of FIFA Player of the Century by FIFA. The award was originally intended to be based upon votes in a web poll, but after it became apparent that it favoured Diego Maradona, many observers complained that the Internet nature of the poll would have meant a skewed demographic of younger fans who would have seen Maradona play, but not Pelé. FIFA then appointed a “Family of Football” committee of FIFA members to decide the winner of the award together with the votes of the readers of the FIFA Magazine. The committee chose Pelé. Since Maradona was winning the Internet poll, however, it was decided he and Pelé should share the award.
Orders
Knight of the Order of Rio Branco: 1967
Commander of the Order of Rio Branco: 1969
Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary: 1994
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire: 1997
Personal records
Brazil national football team All-Time Leading Scorer, 77 goals.
Intercontinental Cup: All-Time Leading Scorer: 7 goals
World record number of hat-trick: 92
International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFF): World’s most successful Top Division Goal Scorer: 541 goals.
Guinness World Records: Most career goals (football): 1283 goals in 1363 games
Guinness World Records: Most FIFA World Cup Winners’ Medals
Youngest scorer in the FIFA World Cup: 17 years and 239 days (Brazil v Wales 1958)
Youngest hat-trick in the FIFA World Cup: 17 years and 244 days (Brazil v France 1958)
Youngest player to play in a FIFA World Cup final match: 17 years and 249 days (Brazil v Sweden 1958)
Youngest scorer in the FIFA World Cup final match: 17 years and 249 days (Brazil v Sweden 1958)
Youngest winner of a FIFA World Cup: 17 years in 1958 FIFA World Cup