Soccer Pele
One of the all time greats of the game of football (soccer to our American readers) if not the greatest is of course Pele. Pele, born Edison (though he prefers Edson) Arantes do Nascimento on Oct. 23, 1940 in Brazil is nothing short of a legend in the sport. Even those who have never in their life watched a football match know his name.
When people think of soccer, they think of Pele. He seemed to be born to play soccer. He possessed amazing skills and seemed to make the ball do exactly what he wanted. He had astonishing speed as well as ball control. He was agile, lithe, and strong. He is well known for his unique dribbling and passing techniques. The crowd absolutely loved to watch him play; he always seemed to pull of some amazing feat every time he was in possession of the ball. His skill allowed him to score 1,283 first-class goals, 12 of which were made during World Cup tournaments, in 1958, 1968 and 1970. Pele was the only football player in the games history to claim three World Cup trophies.
Pele was discovered and nurtured by Waldemar de Brito, who began coaching him in 1954. In a mere two years, he began playing professionally and by 1957, Pele was in a starting position on Santos. The same year, Pele won a World Cup - by 1962, he was fielding (and considering) offers from European clubs. The Brazilian government, fearing that Pele would leave for greener pastures, declared him a national treasure, which effectively prevented him from going to a team outside of the country.
He would continue to plat for Santos until 1972, when he formally retired after 17 seasons. He would still occasionally play in more competitive matches however. In 1975, Pele came out of retirement and took a position with the New York Cosmos, part of the fledgling North American League. While he was no longer a young star, Pele spurred a lot of interest in the game in the U.S. and led the Cosmos to a 1977 NASL championship.
Pele still holds a legendary status in Brazil and his fame lives on worldwide. The contributions Pele made to football led to his being named ambassador of football to the world by FIFA. Using his fame both to increase interest in football and well as to raise awareness of the plight of the less privileged around the world, Pele is universally acknowledged as the King of Football, along with being a American Soccer National Soccer Hall of Famer.
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