'He turned football into art': World pays tribute to sporting great Pele
Brazilian football great Pele died on Thursday (Dec 29), aged 82, after a long battle with cancer.
The only man to have won the World Cup three times as a player, Pele rose from poverty to become one of the greatest and best-known athletes in modern history.
Tributes poured in from prominent figures all over the world to mourn his death.
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One of the greatest footballers of all time
Legendary Brazilian Footballer Won 3 World Cups
Pelé Passes Away At Age 82. He Won First World Cup At Age 17. Even to non-football fans across the world, he requires no introduction. Pelé is one of the greatest footballers of all time. Among the many achievements the Brazilian is known for, arguably the greatest is his record of three World Cup trophies.
Pelé’s passing was announced on his official Facebook page in a post on Friday (30 Dec) morning, Singapore time. It’s still 29 Dec in Brazil, where he has been hospitalised since November. The “King” had enchanted the world with his sporting skills and even stopped a war, the tribute said, adding, "His message today becomes a legacy for future generations". His daughter Kely Nascimento confirmed her father’s death in a heartbreaking post on Instagram, saying “everything we are is because of you”. She also shared a photo of the family holding the legend’s hand as he lay in his bed at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Pelé had been confined to hospital since 29 Nov for doctors to re-evaluate the treatment he was getting for colon cancer. He had been suffering from the disease since September 2021, according to ESPN. That meant that he’d missed attending the just-concluded World Cup in Qatar from 21 Nov to 18 Dec. Despite being warded, he still found time to console fellow Brazilian Neymar when Brazil crashed out of the competition to Croatia. However, Pelé remained in hospital through Christmas, as his family were ominously called to his bedside across the festive season. Sadly, he has left us just four days after Christmas.
Pele dies aged 82
Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi lead tributes to Brazil legend
Tributes for Pele poured in from around the world in after his death at the age of 82; Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi among football stars to honour the Brazil legend; Christ the Redeemer and the Wembley arch were both lit up in the colours of Brazil.
Less than two weeks ago Pele congratulated Messi on winning the World Cup with Argentina in a heartfelt post on Instagram, while offering his consolation to France forward Mbappe after he fell short despite scoring a hat-trick.
"Today, football continues to tell its story, as always, in an enthralling way," Pele wrote. "Messi winning his first World Cup, as his trajectory deserved. My dear friend, Mbappé, scoring four goals in a final. What a gift it was to watch this spectacle to the future of our sport."
Tributes pour in across the globe for World Cup great ‘King’ Pele
Tributes have poured in from across the globe to Brazil great Pele following his death at the age of 82.
The three-time World Cup winner died on Thursday having been in hospital in Sao Paulo since late November. Pele, widely regarded as the best footballer to have graced the game, was a prodigious scorer of goals, and is credited with 1,281 of them across the length of his career by the official Fifa website.
A tweet from the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) read simply “King Pele”, accompanied by three crown emojis. Brazil forward Neymar – who moved level with Pele’s record of 77 international goals during the 2022 World Cup – posted his own emotional tribute on Instagram.
Biography of Pelé
A member of three Brazilian World Cup-champion teams, Pelé is considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time
Soccer legend Pelé became a superstar with his performance in the 1958 World Cup. Pelé played professionally in Brazil for two decades, winning three World Cups along the way, before joining the New York Cosmos late in his career. Named FIFA co-Player of the Century in 1999, he was a global ambassador for soccer and other humanitarian causes.
Pelé was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on October 23, 1940 in Três Corações, Brazil, the first child of João Ramos and Dona Celeste. Named after Thomas Edison and nicknamed "Dico," Pelé moved with his family to the city of Bauru as a young boy. João Ramos, better known as "Dondinho," struggled to earn a living as a soccer player, and Pelé grew up in poverty. Still, he developed a rudimentary talent for soccer by kicking a rolled-up sock stuffed with rags around the streets of Bauru. The origin of the "Pelé" nickname is unclear, though he recalled despising it when his friends first referred to him that way. As an adolescent, Pelé joined a youth squad coached by Waldemar de Brito, a former member of the Brazilian national soccer team. De Brito eventually convinced Pelé's family to let the budding phenom leave home and try out for the Santos professional soccer club when he was 15.
Pelé signed with Santos and immediately started practicing with the team's regulars. He scored the first professional goal of his career before he turned 16, led the league in goals in his first full season and was recruited to play for the Brazilian national team. The world was officially introduced to Pelé in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Displaying remarkable speed, athleticism and field vision, the 17-year-old erupted to score three goals in a 5-2 semifinal win over France, then netted two more in the finals, a 5-2 win over the host country. The young superstar received hefty offers to play for European clubs, and Brazilian President Jânio Quadros eventually had Pelé declared a national treasure, making it legally difficult for him to play in another country. Regardless, Santos club ownership ensured its star attraction was well paid by scheduling lucrative exhibition matches with teams around the world.
Pelé
Portrait of Pelé taken in Baltimore, Maryland 1995
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈɛdsõ(w) aˈɾɐ̃tʃiz du nasiˈmẽtu]; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), known mononymously as Pelé (Portuguese pronunciation: [peˈlɛ]), 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. In 1999, he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and was included in the Time list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. In 2000, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century. His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which includes friendlies, is recognised as a Guinness World Record.
Pelé began playing for Santos at age 15 and the Brazil national team at 16. During his international career, he won three FIFA World Cups: 1958, 1962 and 1970, the only player to do so. He was nicknamed O Rei (The King) following the 1958 tournament. Pelé is the joint-top goalscorer for Brazil with 77 goals in 92 games. At the club level, he was Santos' all-time top goalscorer with 643 goals in 659 games. In a golden era for Santos, he led the club to the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores, and to the 1962 and 1963 Intercontinental Cup. Credited with connecting the phrase "The Beautiful Game" with football, Pelé's "electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals" made him a star around the world, and his teams toured internationally to take full advantage of his popularity. During his playing days, Pelé was for a period the best-paid athlete in the world. After retiring in 1977, Pelé was a worldwide ambassador for football and made many acting and commercial ventures. In 2010, he was named the honorary president of the New York Cosmos.
Averaging almost a goal per game throughout his career, Pelé was adept at striking the ball with either foot in addition to anticipating his opponents' movements on the field. While predominantly a striker, he could also drop deep and take on a playmaking role, providing assists with his vision and passing ability, and he would also use his dribbling skills to go past opponents. In Brazil, he was 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. His emergence at the 1958 World Cup, where he became the first black global sporting star, was a source of inspiration. Throughout his career and in his retirement, Pelé received numerous individual and team awards for his performance in the field, his record-breaking achievements, and his legacy in the sport.
