Santos, Brazil A famous sports writer once said that “if Pelé had not been born a man, he would have been born a footballer”.
Pelé – real name Edson Arantes do Nascimento – one of the greatest footballers the world has ever seen, died Thursday at the age of 82.
Born in the state of Minas Gerais in 1940, Pelé’s family moved to a nearby town called Bauru in search of a better life. He grew up in poverty and his parents couldn’t even afford a soccer ball. An old sock filled with newspapers was the first “ball” his magic feet hit, but it was enough for him to fall in love with the game and people to start noticing he was different.
When Pelé was 15, a local coach, Waldemar de Brito, took him to play for the Santos football club. Upon arriving in the town that shares the club’s name, Brito told the manager: “This kid will be the best in the world.”
Within minutes, the coach was impressed with Pele and signed him on the spot. That was 1956. Two years later, Pelé would be in Sweden, leading Brazil to a World Cup title, the first of six for the team. He scored two goals in the final against Sweden. He was still 17 years old.
At the final whistle, the prodigy passed out on the pitch as he was carried by the celebrating crowd.
Pelé was known to be easy-going, kind, cheerful, and a reliable friend.
Pelé has always been a very nice guy. We spent so much time talking. He had no star attitude,” Didi, 84, one of Pele’s oldest friends and his 55-year-old hairdresser, told Al Jazeera.
“I tell my grandchildren that I had a more famous client than anyone else. He’s a man better known in the world than Coca-Cola. So I’m proud of him and that’s very rare for someone to have a client like this.
Pelé had a certain way of speaking Portuguese, something he would turn into a trademark. He constantly ended his sentences with “hear?” which means “understand?”.
It seems like he always wanted to make sure to make conversations easier, just like he would smooth the game for his teammates.
In addition to skills and charisma, a certain mysticism has always surrounded the character of the king of football. Pelé came from a town called Três Corações, which translates to Three Hearts.
One of his many famous quotes, made during his last game ever played in 1977 in New York, honored children and with his limited English he just said “love, love, love”.
On the pitch, Pelé became an instant celebrity following the 1958 World Cup triumph. Upon his return to Brazil, he helped Santos build a dynasty, winning 25 titles in the 1960s. Despite his worldwide fame, Pelé continued to lead a down-to-earth life in Santos. He would share a guesthouse with other players and cycle around town.
“The pay was pretty bad but he did it for the love of the game and we had so much fun,” Carlos ‘Lala’, 86, a goalkeeper and former Pelé team-mate at Santos, told Al Jazeera.
Despite being a very ethnically diverse country, Brazil is not often represented by people of color. So having someone black as its biggest celebrity and star had a cultural impact on the country.
Apart from being the best footballer in the world, Pelé has also ventured into show business. A music lover, he recorded an album with legendary Brazilian singer Elis Regina and starred in a handful of films, making him a pop star as well.
In 1962, Brazil won a second successful World Cup with an injured Pelé supporting the team.
It was in 1970, during the first World Cup broadcast in color, that Pelé put the icing on the cake of his footballing heritage. The team that had Clodoaldo, Rivelino and Tostão, put on one of the most famous World Cup performances in history.
In the final, a 4-1 victory over Italy, Pelé scored with a header – the team’s first goal – which some said he managed by freezing in the air. He celebrated the goal in his usual way: jumping and punching the air.
“I said to myself before the match that Pelé is made of skin and bones like everyone else. But I was wrong, ”said Tarciso Burnigch, the Italian defender designated to mark Pelé in the final.
It was Pele’s 12th and last World Cup goal.
In 1969, he became the first player to score 1,000 goals. The 1,000th goal was at the Maracanã, in Rio de Janeiro, known as the mecca of football.
In 1974 he left Santos and played his last years in New York, at a club called Cosmos.
It was the only team he played for other than Santos and the Brazil national team.
Like us [the security team] We were always with the team, traveling, at games, we had a lot of contact with them, so we developed a friendship,” Pedro de Liberato, Pelé’s security guard and then his neighbor, told Al Jazeera.
“Pelé was always very cheerful, always joking with people,” the 90-year-old added.
Pele wore the number 10 shirt but he didn’t know which number he would have and it was randomly assigned to the 10.
The number 10 shirt has been associated with the best in the world ever since – Maradona, Roberto Baggio, Zinedine Zidane and Lionel Messi are just a few of them who have worn it.
Pelé retired after playing 1,363 games, winning 37 titles, scoring 1,281 goals, including 92 career hat tricks.
He spent his post-football life involved in social activism, including as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.
In 1995 he took public office as Minister for Sport, introducing legislation which grants players their own rights after a certain age. Pelé also commentated on the games for television.
In recent years, Pelé has had health problems. Along with battling cancer, he also suffered from severe hip pain and spent most of his later years in a wheelchair.
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