![]() Pelé later reminisced about his lone finals goal, “I have a special feeling for that goal because I scored it with my head. Tarcisio Burgnich, the Italian defenseman marking Pelé was later recorded as saying, “I told myself before the game, ‘he’s made of skin and bones just like everyone else’. Of this World Cup Pelé confessed, “I wanted to put to rest once and for all, the idea that I couldn’t enter a World Cup series without getting hurt.” Following through, the healthy Pelé-led Brazilian team beat Italy 4-1 in the finals, with Pelé’s single goal being Brazil’s 100 th World Cup goal, a huge milestone. The King of Soccer had to wait another four years until the 1970 World Cup in Mexico to bring the world championship back to Brazil. Once again the Brazilian footballer was forced to watch from the sideline, as this time his team failed in trying to win their third World Cup in a row. Brazil lost to Hungary in the next round 3-1 without Pelé. Unfortunately, the successive rounds against Bulgarian and Portuguese defender’s constant battering injured Pelé in an all too familiar fashion. In the first round, Brazil was victorious with a 2-0 win against Bulgaria in which Pelé scored a single goal. In the 1966 World Cup in England, Pelé, who by this point was on the radar of all opponents, was targeted and tackled aggressively by opposing teams. His Brazilian team once again was victorious, but Pelé was unable to contribute from the sidelines. After scoring a single goal in the first round game against Mexico, the 21 year-old superstar Pelé left the second round matchup vs. The 1962 World Cup in Chile ended differently for Pelé than the past tournament, although for Brazil the result was the same. In similar amazement, Pelé, teary-eyed and emotional after the game confessed, “I felt like I was living in a dream.” From this day on Pelé was known as the ‘King of Soccer’, making consecutive appearances in the quad-annual World Cups. Sweden player Sigge Parling later commented that “…fter the fifth goal, I felt like applauding” in response to Pelé’s second goal in the final minute of play. In the final matchup versus host Sweden, Pelé scored two goals to help the Brazilians win 5-2. He went on to score a hat trick in the semifinals versus France within 23 minutes. ![]() In the quarterfinal matchup against Wales he became the youngest World Cup goal scorer of all time at the age of 17 years, 239 days. At the 1958 Sweden World Cup, which was his debut in the world tournament, Pelé “.merged from nowhere to light up the tournament with his dazzling skills”, scoring six goals throughout the tournament. ![]() Pelé wound his way onto the world stage playing for the Brazilian national team at the age of 17. By the next season, he was the top scorer in his league.” It was not long until the rest of the world became aware of Pelé’s existence in fact, the Italians tried to buy the teenager for $1 million, but the “Brazilian Congress went into emergency session, the Italians were politely told to ‘forget it’ and Pelé was declared a ‘non-exportable national treasure’.” This seemed to be the beginning of Pelé’s identity as being more than just a great footballer. At the age of 15, Waldemar de Brito, one of Brazil’s best players found Pelé and brought him to show to directors of a professional team in Santos declaring, “This boy will be the greatest soccer player in the world” He made the team, and was quickly a legend. Having been born into a very poor family, Pelé recounts “We couldn’t afford a ball, so we did what most other kids did: we would stuff the largest man’s sock we could find with rags or crumpled-up newspaper, roll it into as close a ball shape as we could manage, and tie it around with string.” When he wasn’t on the playing field he shined shoes for pennies to help his impoverished family. His father, Dondinho, played football for the Brazilian club team Fluminense, and as a result, Pelé was brought up into the football world. Here we explore the celebrated career of the Brazilian footballer:Įdison Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé, was born in Três Coraçōes, Brazil on October 23 rd 1940. His prowess dazzled fans and left opponents scratching their heads. An unparalleled scorer, The ‘King of Football’ had a magnificent career filled with mind-blowing goals and spectacular plays.
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