Brazilian soccer legend Pelé who famously said he was born to play football like Beethoven was born to write music, and Michelangelo was born to paint, has died at 82.
Pelé was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento in Três Corações – an inland city roughly 155 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro.
As a youngster started playing soccer barefoot with socks and rags rolled up into a ball.
Later Pelé would become a household name when he amazed the world in 1958 during his World Cup debut aged 17.
At the time, he scored Brazil’s only goal in the quarter-final victory against Wales.
Dubbed the Brazilian king of soccer, Pelé would later lead his country to win a record three World Cup wins and became one of the towering sports figures of the last century.
Late in November, Pelé was hospitalized in Sao Paulo with complications from colon cancer and a respiratory infection.
But his condition worsened.
Rest well King you lived a good life. I can just imagine how much you had to endure back in to those days when you played and when you kicked butt against those white players, even in your own country you were treated like crap to a certain extent I saw the documentary’s years ago. Say hello to Muhammad Ali rest in peace pal you are amongst the greatest
Rest Great King. You are with the ancestors now. You did so much for the beautiful game despite the challenges you faced…for that, you are even greater now and history will remember you..you are far greater than those who put their bigoted ideologies before our common humanity….and for that they will be be relegated to the dark corners of history while your star will shine forever… we will remember you great King ..Rest now in the arms of the ancestors….Your contribution went a long way to prove the greatness of a people in the face of racism. You left a legacy and for that, we thank you immensely.
The King of the beautiful game. Many of the moves on the field we name after other players were done by Pele decades before.
He not only played up front but could drop back and work from the middle if required as he did later in his career.
To show his greatness we have to remember he played for Santos for 19 years and never moved to Europe. Imagine how much more spectacular his career would have looked if he had played for Barcelona or Real Madrid. This separates him from all the other pretenders.
Rest in Peace Great One!
Resrt in Peace Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known mononymously as Pelé, was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled “the greatest” by FIFA, he was among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century. Wikipedia
Born: October 23, 1940, Três Corações, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil
Died: December 29, 2022, Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital, São Paulo, State of São Paulo, Brazil
Spouse: Marcia Aoki (m. 2016), Assíria Nascimento (m. 1994–2008), Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi (m. 1966–1982)
Children: Edinho, Sandra Regina Arantes do Nascimento, MORE
Full name: Edson Arantes do Nascimento
Number: 10 (New York Cosmos / Forward), 10 (Santos FC / Forward)
Height: 5′ 8″