SANTO PAULO: According to his family, Brazilian football icon Pele passed away on Thursday at the age of 82. He was widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, won three World Cups, and was in charge of the “beautiful game.”
“All that we are is thanks to you. We are indebted to you. On Instagram, daughter Kely Nascimento wrote, “Rest in peace.”
Pele is the only footballer in history to have won three World Cups—in 1958, 1962, and 1970—and was named athlete of the century by the International Olympic Committee in 1999.
Nicknamed “O Rei” (The Lord), he scored in excess of 1,000 objectives in quite possibly of the most celebrated profession in sport, prior to resigning in 1977.
He had been struggling with kidney issues and colon cancer, which he had to have treated with chemotherapy and surgery in September 2021.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele’s real name, was born on October 23, 1940, in the south-eastern city of Tres Coracoes in Brazil. He grew up selling peanuts on the street to help his family survive.
He is named after the well-known American inventor Thomas Edison by his parents.
However, due to his incorrect pronunciation of Bile, the name of a goalkeeper at Vasco de Sao Lourenco, where his father played football, he was quickly given the nickname Pele.
Pele astonished from the age of 15, when he began playing expertly with Santos. He led the team to a slew of championships, including two consecutive International Cup victories against Benfica in 1962 and AC Milan in 1963.
He was hailed as a “national treasure” in Brazil for embodying the sublime style of play known as “samba football.” He was famous for his skill with the ball. From 1956 to 1974, he played for Santos, the Brazilian national team, and the New York Cosmos, scoring 1,281 goals in 1,363 matches.
Be that as it may, past his records, he will be associated with upsetting the game, his consistently present number 10 on his back.
He was the first international football star, and despite being only 1.70 meters (or just under 5 feet 7 inches) tall, he used his extraordinary athleticism to help the game become a sporting and commercial success.
He also played with heart, as evidenced by the iconic black-and-white footage of the 17-year-old sensation crying after assisting Brazil in winning the 1958 World Cup.
He had promised to bring the trophy home one day after seeing his father cry when Brazil lost the World Cup final to Uruguay at home in 1950.
Pele reached the pinnacle of his greatness during the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, which was the first to be broadcast in color. There, he played on a team that many people think is the best team ever, along with players like Rivellino, Tostao, and Jairzinho.
When Santos or the national team traveled abroad, he was frequently greeted like a king or queen. According to legend, his arrival in Nigeria in 1969 marked the beginning of a 48-hour truce in the bloody Biafra war.
Pele turned down offers to play in Europe, but at the end of his career, he signed a brief, lucrative contract with the Cosmos, bringing his fame to the land of “soccer.”
He was a movie star, a singer, and a sports minister from 1995 to 1998, one of Brazil’s first black cabinet members. His reign went beyond the field.
But in Brazil, he was sometimes criticized for what some saw as his arrogant, vain personality and for keeping quiet about racism and social issues.
Pele, in contrast to his rival for the title of greatest of all time, the Argentine rebel Diego Maradona, was regarded as being close to those in power, including the military regime that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985.
Final match
The number of times Pele made an appearance in public had decreased, and he frequently used a walker or wheelchair.
He was hospitalized a few times for urinary diseases, on the other hand in 2021 and 2022 for the colon malignant growth that obvious the start of the end.
However, he dealt with his health issues with his trademark wit.
In September 2021, following surgery to remove his colon tumor, he posted on Instagram, “I will face this match with a smile on my face.”
When his longtime friend and rival Maradona died of a heart attack in 2020, he was deeply moved.
He wrote, “The world has lost a legend.”
