Sao Paulo: Pele, the Brazilian soccer legend who set a record by winning three World Cups, passed away on Thursday. Pele was one of the most influential athletes of the 20th century. He was 82.
The epitome of the beautiful game had been receiving colon cancer therapy since 2021. He had been hospitalised for the previous month due to a number of illnesses. Joe Fraga, his agent, confirmed his demise.
Pele, who is recognised as one of soccer’s all-time greats, spent nearly two decades as the sport’s leading scorer for Brazilian club Santos and the Brazil national team, mesmerising spectators and astounded rivals.
Players and spectators were mesmerised by his elegance, agility, and captivating manoeuvres. He organised a quick, flowing style that transformed the game, personifying his nation’s grace on the field with a samba-like flare.
In a career that started on the streets of Sao Paulo state, where he would kick a sock filled with newspapers or rags, he led Brazil to the pinnacles of soccer and developed into a global ambassador for his sport.
Only the late Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo are listed with Pele when discussing the best soccer players.
There are many sources that report Pele’s goal totals as ranging from 650 (league games) to 1,281 (including other sets of games) (all senior matches, some against low-level competition).
The 1958 World Cup in Sweden included the youngest player ever, a 17-year-old named The King, who would go on to become known as The King.
After contributing two goals to Brazil’s 5-2 triumph against the host nation in the championship game, he was carried off the field on the shoulders of his teammates.
When Brazil defended its global championship in 1962, injury only allowed him to play in two games, but Pele was the face of his nation’s World Cup victory in Mexico in 1970.
He assisted Carlos Alberto with a carefree ball for the last goal in a 4-1 triumph against Italy. He also scored in the championship.
Soccer fans all across the world will always remember Pele wearing a vivid yellow Brazil jersey with the No. 10 imprinted on the back.
As well as his signature goal celebration, which consists of a hop and a right fist thrust above his head.
Due of Pele’s renown, Nigerian civil war groups agreed to a temporary cease-fire in 1967 so that he could play an exhibition match there. In 1997, the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, knighted him.
