Biography of football legend Pele

Back in Brazil, Pele helped Santos win the league in 1958, and finished the season as the league's top scorer.

His team lost the title in 1959, but Pele's goals in the following season (33 goals) brought them back to the top.

In 1962, there was a famous victory over the European champions Benfica.

Pele's hat-trick in Lisbon led to the loss of the Portuguese team, and earned him the respect of goalkeeper Costa Pereira.

Pereira said: “I went into the match hoping to stop a great man, but I went too far in my aspirations, because this is someone who was not born on the same planet as us.”

Transmission prevention

There was disappointment in the 1962 World Cup, when Pele was injured in an early match, an injury that prevented him from playing for the rest of the tournament.

That hasn't stopped the rush of wealthy clubs, including Manchester United and Real Madrid, trying to sign the man already described as the world's greatest footballer.

In anticipation of the idea of ​​their star moving abroad, the Brazilian government declared it a "national treasure" to prevent its transfer.

The 1966 World Cup was a huge disappointment for Pele and for Brazil. Pele became a target and big mistakes were made against him (Foules), especially in the matches between Portugal and Bulgaria.

Brazil failed to progress beyond the first round, and Pele's injuries from the tackles meant he could not play at his best.

Back home, Santos was on the decline, and Pele began to contribute less to his team.

In 1969, Pele scored his thousandth career goal. Some fans were disappointed, as it was a penalty rather than one of his sensational goals.

He was approaching the age of 1970, and he was reluctant to commit to playing for Brazil at the XNUMX World Cup in Mexico.

He also had to be investigated by his country's military dictatorship, which suspected him of having left-wing sympathies.

In the end, he scored 4 goals in what was to be his final World Cup appearance, as part of a Brazilian team considered the greatest in history.

His most iconic moment came in the group match against England. His header looked destined for the net when Gordon Banks made the 'Save of the Century', the England goalkeeper somehow deflecting the ball out of the net.

Despite this, Brazil's 4-1 victory over Italy in the final secured them the Jules Rimet Trophy forever as they won it three times, with Pele scoring, of course.

His last match for Brazil came on July 18, 1971 against Yugoslavia in Rio, and he retired from Brazilian club football in 1974.

Two years later he signed a contract with the New York Cosmos, and his name alone has greatly raised the bar of soccer in the United States.

Post sports

In 1977, his old club Santos faced the New York Cosmos in a sold-out match on the occasion of his retirement, and he played a career with every side.

Already one of the highest paid athletes in the world, Pele has continued to be a money-making machine in his retirement.

Five years later, he was knighted in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

He played a leading role in attempts to end corruption in Brazilian football, although he left his role at UNESCO after being accused of corrupt practices, and there was absolutely no evidence of that.

He married singer Asurya Lemos Sykesas for the second time, and they had twins, but they later separated.

In 2016, he married Marcia Sebele Aoki, a Japanese-Brazilian businesswoman, whom he first met in 1980.

There were allegations that he had other children born as a result of relationships, but the star refused to acknowledge them. He was one of the rare personalities who went beyond his sport to become a figure known all over the world.

Later in life, he struggled to cope with the effects of hip surgery, confining himself to a wheelchair and often unable to walk.

But in his prime, his sport brought entertainment to millions. His innate talent has earned him the respect of his teammates and opponents alike.

The great Hungarian striker Ferenc Puskas refused to even classify Pele as a mere player. “Pele was on top of that,” he said.

But it was Nelson Mandela who best summed up what made Pele such a star.

Mandela said of him: “To watch him play is to witness the joy of a child mixed with the extraordinary grace of a man