Pelé

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known worldwide as Pelé, was born on 23 October 1940 in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The son of footballer João Ramos do Nascimento, nicknamed Dondinho, and Celeste Arantes, he grew up in Bauru, São Paulo. He joined Santos FC as a teenager in 1956, and his first-team debut quickly turned a gifted forward into a national figure. In 1957 he became the Campeonato Paulista’s leading scorer, beginning a sequence of scoring titles for Santos.

Pelé entered the 1958 World Cup in Sweden at seventeen. After missing Brazil’s opening matches through injury, he scored against Wales in the quarter-final, then struck a hat-trick against France in the semi-final. Brazil beat Sweden 5–2 in the final; Pelé scored twice, including a celebrated lob over a defender. He became the youngest player to win a World Cup. Brazil retained the trophy in 1962, although an injury restricted his participation, and won again in 1970 in Mexico.

The 1970 tournament gave Pelé his famous international finale. In a Brazil side featuring Jairzinho, Tostão, Rivelino and Carlos Alberto, he scored four goals and helped create Carlos Alberto’s goal in the 4–1 final victory over Italy. His headed goal in that final came from Rivelino’s cross. Pelé finished his Brazil career with 77 goals in 92 official appearances, a total later matched by Neymar.

At Santos, Pelé helped build one of club football’s defining teams. Santos won the Copa Libertadores in 1962 and 1963 and defeated Benfica and AC Milan respectively in the Intercontinental Cup ties. The club also collected numerous Campeonato Paulista and Brazilian national titles during his years there. Pelé’s cited career total of 1,281 goals in 1,363 matches includes friendlies and tour matches; his official-match totals differ by statistical method.

In 1975 Pelé joined the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League, drawing attention to football in the United States. His final match, a friendly between Cosmos and Santos at Giants Stadium in 1977, saw him play one half for each club and score for Cosmos. Off the field, he was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 1994 and served as Brazil’s Extraordinary Minister for Sport from 1995 to 1998. FIFA named him co-Player of the Century with Diego Maradona in 2000, though the honors arose from separate voting processes. Pelé died in São Paulo on 29 December 2022, aged 82, after treatment for colon cancer.