The new principal in the heavenly football kingdom. The one that many consider the greatest has arrived. After a long illness, Edson Arantes do Nascimento Pele died at the age of 82.Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Alfredo Di Stefano, Eusebio, George Best, Ferenc Puskas, Garrincha, Socrates… All those football nobles got a new teammate.Pele was born on October 23 in a small town called Three Hearts (Três Corações), in the state of Minas Gerais. He gained fame in Santos and by wearing the jersey of the Brazilian national team. The largest number of football legends and renowned experts believe that he is the best football player of all time. FIFA officially placed him on a pedestal together with Maradona in December 2000, awarding him the special award ‘Player of the Century’ (FIFA Player of the Century).A inspiração e o amor marcaram a jornada de Rei Pelé, que faleceu no dia de hoje.Amor, amor e amor, para sempre..Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pelé, who peacefully passed away today.Love, love and love, forever. pic.twitter.com/CP9syIdL3i— Pelé (@Pele) December 29, 2022 A year earlier, the International Olympic Committee declared him the athlete of the century, and he was included in the Times list of the 100 most important people of the previous century.His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games are in the Guinness Book of Records as an absolute record. The most famous penmasters of the modern age wrote about those miraculous endeavors…”And when he exceeded the figure of a thousand scored goals, he continued to shake the nets. He played in more than 80 countries of the world. On one occasion, they say, he stopped a war. And it was worth much more than a two-day truce to see him play. When Pele ran, he would cut through opposing players like a blade. When he paused, opponents would get lost in the maze of his legs. When he jumped, he would soar into the air as if climbing a ladder. When he took a free kick, opponents in the wall, they would turn towards their goalkeeper, so they could see the goal”, enthused was Eduardo Galeano.Pele started playing for Santos at the age of 15. He wore the yellow jersey of the national team for the first time at the age of 16. In 14 years on the international scene, he participated in four World Cups. He won three and is the record holder for that – in Sweden in 1958, in Chile in 1962 and in Mexico in 1970. After raising the Golden Goddess Nika for the first time he was nicknamed O Rei. King. He was only 17 years old..“One day, I hope we can play football together in the sky” – Pele’s message after Diego Maradona died in 2020.Enjoy your game, legends 🙏 pic.twitter.com/t0l88bpILD— GOAL (@goal) December 29, 2022 At the World Cup, he played 14 games (he finished the competition earlier due to injuries (’62 and ’66), hit the net 12 times and served his teammates 10 more times.He scored a total of 77 goals in 92 matches for Brazil. He retired when he was at the height of his fame and playing power – at the age of 31. When the line was drawn, the following performance remained: 67 wins, 14 draws and 11 losses. With a footnote that Seleção never lost when Pele and Garrincha were on the team. His last match for Brazil was a friendly against Yugoslavia, a 2-2 draw at the Maracana, in Rio de Janeiro.When it comes to the club level, Pele is the best scorer in the history of Santos: 643 goals in 659 official matches. In the golden era of the club from Sao Paulo, he led it to two titles in the Copa Libertadores (1962, 1963), i.e. to two trophies in the Intercontinental Cup (1962, 1963), which brought Santos the highest honor as club world champion.Pele is the first and most responsible for connecting the term Joga Bonito with football. He played almost equally well with both feet, but also with his head. He usually operated in the final third of the pitch, however his wide range of skills, speed and dribbling, particularly his vision, allowed him to drop deep into his own half and initiate plays. Hence the large number of goals from solo runs that have become his trademark.He executed free kicks and penalties perfectly, although he avoided shots from ‘the spot’. He thought it was a ‘cowardly way to score’.Fifty years ago, Pele was the star of a football circus in Sheffield. Today, he’s hanging on to his lifeEdson Arantes do Nascimento Pele was the highest-paid athlete on the planet for a good part of his career. He earned the most playing for the New York super team Cosmos in the period 1975-1977. In those two years, he allegedly collected 7,000,000 dollars, not only playing, but promoting football in America.With Cosmos, he won the NASL championship in 1977. The most famous names in that composition, besides Pele, were Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto and Giorgio Quinaglia.The King of Football played the last game of his career on October 1, 1977. In the first half, he wore the Cosmos jersey, and then played the second half in Santos’s jersey. The American team won 2-1, with Pele’s goal from a free kick, the last of his career.Toward the end of the game, a heavy downpour fell on New York. Brazilian newspapers used it for tomorrow’s headlines: “Even the sky cried”.3 x winner and 12 WC goals. The reason so many of us picked up a ball RIP #Pele pic.twitter.com/rsHqP35c7j— Mike Phelan (@Mike_Phelan_1) December 29, 2022 CLUB CAREERBauru (1953 – 1956)Santos (1956 – 1974)New York Cosmos (1975 – 1977)NATIONAL TEAM CAREERBrazil (1958 – 1971) – 92 matches; 77 goalsTHE MOST IMPORTANT TROPHIESClub- Brazilian Championship (1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968)- Copa Libertadores (1962, 1963)- NASL Championship (1977)National team- FIFA World Cup (1958, 1962, 1970)Pelé’s impact on the game will never be forgotten ❤️ pic.twitter.com/HheteimXO7— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 29, 2022
