“The greatest of them all! The King, inspiration, example, the only, the eternal!!” wrote Jacob Whitehead about Pele who was called ‘Pérola Negra’, or Black Pearl. Known as The King of Soccer’ ‘O Rei’ Pelé was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic,” Dutch-born great Johan Cruyff once said rightly about him.
Much more than a football idol, he was the greatest athlete of all time. Maximum reference for all generations and that is so true about Pele. That slim 17-year-old boy who lifted Brazil to its first World Cup title in 1958 and later to two more boys from the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais is no more. He lived as a legend and dies at 82 as the world’s ‘King of Soccer at the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in São Paulo, where he was being treated for colon cancer.
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In Brazil, a country driven by deep divisions Pelé’s death united bitter political foes — in grief. In a country shot through with economic disparity, he played soccer barefoot, with a ball from rags stuffed into a sock. Despite his modest size, at 5-foot-8, Pelé was widely acclaimed as the world’s best player. His rise was meteoric.
At 10, he started getting coaching from Waldemar de Brito, a friend of his father’s and a former player for Brazil’s national team. Pelé developed quickly. And with an introduction from de Brito, he signed his first professional contract, with Santos, at 15.
Pelé was called up to Brazil’s national team at 16. And he made his World Cup debut at 17. At his first World Cup, he scored three goals in the semi-final over France and two more in the 5-2 final over host Sweden.
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Only the other day Pele being the Brazilian prayed for the victory of Lionel Messi the player from his rival country Argentina from the hospital bed and in him he left his legacy. Sportswriter Juca Kfouri said “Pelé was one of the best-known names in human history — rivaling that of even Jesus. “Pelé is alive,” he wrote.’ Edson died’. Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born in Três Corações in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state in October 1940. His birth certificate is dated the 21st, but he observed Oct. 23 as his birthday. Yes, Edson died. Pele cannot die. He will live in his shining shoes, in the dream of the best footballers of the century and in the heart of billion soccer lovers.
Still, when Brazil’s military dictatorship came to power in 1964, Pele could not do anything against the dictatorship and he told in grief, “I am Brazilian. I want what’s best for my people. I was no Superman. I didn’t work miracles or anything.” When Pelé was 5, his father joined a football club in the São Paulo suburb of Bauru, where he relocated his wife and three children. To help subsidize the family’s income, Pelé shined shoes as a child. But his love of soccer was so great, and his lack of interest in his studies so profound, that he quit school after the fourth grade to play the game in the streets and ply a short-lived trade as a cobbler’s apprentice.
“Pele, when he got the ball he always did something special, which often ended up in a goal,” tweeted Ciro Nogueira There isn’t a corner of the earth that doesn’t know his name.”
Neighboring Argentina, a bitter footballing rival, also mourned. FIFA in 2000 voted Pelé and Argentine soccer icon Diego Maradona as the greatest players in the sport’s history. He was the national treasure for Brazil since his days in the Santos and was effectively synonymous with the sport.
After retiring from Santos, he took on the role of soccer evangelist. He signed with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League in 1975. His three seasons with the team are credited with popularizing youth soccer in the United States, enabling the country to host the World Cup in 1994 and establish Major League Soccer, which started play two years later. He retired from competitive play in 1977.
In the more than six decades since he first lifted Brazil’s national team to World Cup glory on the soccer pitch, crafting the enduring image of the “beautiful game” style of Brazilian soccer and catapulting to global sports superstardom, fans and analysts have searched far and wide for “the next Pelé and after the FIFA World Cup at Quatar 2022 the world thinks that Messi from Argentina might have donned the mantle of Pele. But Pele is Pele who cannot be replaced by anyone except Pele himself. Beyond his unmatched three World Cup championships, his creative, acrobatic play, love for the game and infectious joy made him a global icon. “Eternal,” tweeted Santos, the Brazilian club that he joined as a slim teenager and with which he spent nearly two decades of his career, with a photo of a crown. He was the King the real King of Soccer ‘O Rei ‘as one of his nicknames focused it. He was hailed as the king of soccer, but it was Pelé’s other nickname — the Pérola Negra, or Black Pearl — that best evoked the rare brilliance he packed into his diminutive frame. Pelé, who for decades staked a claim as the world’s most celebrated athlete.
The Brazilian enjoyed one of the most remarkable careers of all time, with his divine footballing quality launching him to worldwide stardom. The plethora of trophies he lifted, the abundance of goals he scored and the monumental number of minds he captivated are testament to his sheer impact on, not just the beautiful game, but so many people’s lives.
Indeed, the admiration for the legendary Brazilian is quite evidently reflected in what Franz Beckenbauer said about him, “Pele is the greatest player of all time. He reigned supreme for 20 years. All the others – Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini – rank beneath him. There’s no one to compare with Pele.”
His great secret was improvisation. Those things he did were in one moment. He had an extraordinary perception of the game. For many he was an artist, he was someone who can lighten up a dark room. Pele was the most complete player.
Bobby Charlton’s words echo in our ears, “I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player.” The formidable Brazilian had a global impact, surpassing the boundaries of football to become an ambassador, actor and all-around archetype of good. Pele played football for 22 years, and in that time he did more to promote world friendship and fraternity than any other ambassador anywhere.
Dr. Ratan Bhattacharjee is a poet and writer and he may be reached at: [email protected]