Pelé
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (known as Pelé), Born on October 23, 1940, in Três
Corações, Brazil, soccer legend Pelé became a superstar with his performance in
the 1958 World Cup. Pelé played professionally in Brazil for two decades,
winning three World Cups along the way, before joining the New York Cosmos late
in his career. Named FIFA co-Player of the Century in 1999, he is a global
ambassador for soccer and other humanitarian causes.
Childhood
Pelé was born on October 23, 1940 in Três Corações, Brazil, the first
child of João Ramos and Dona Celeste. Named after Thomas Edison and nicknamed
"Dico," Pelé moved with his family to the city of Bauru as a young
boy.
João Ramos, better known
as "Dondinho," struggled to earn a living as a soccer player, and
Pelé grew up in poverty. Still, he developed a rudimentary talent for soccer by
kicking a rolled-up sock stuffed with rags around the streets of Bauru. The
origin of the "Pelé" nickname is unclear, though he recalled
despising it when his friends first referred to him that way.
As an adolescent, Pelé
joined a youth squad coached by Waldemar de Brito, a former member of the
Brazilian national soccer team. De Brito eventually convinced Pelé's family to
let the budding phenom leave home and try out for the Santos professional soccer
club when he was 15.
Personal life
On 21 February 1966,
Pelé married Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi. They had two daughters and one son:
Kelly Cristina (born 13 January 1967), who married Dr. Arthur DeLuca, Jennifer
(b. 1978), and their son Edson ("Edinho", b. 27 August
1970). The couple divorced in 1982. In 1977, Brazilian media reported that
Pelé had his right kidney removed.
From 1981 to 1986, Pelé was romantically linked with the
model Xuxa, and was seen as influential move in launching her career. She
was 17 when they started dating. In April 1994, Pelé married psychologist
and gospel singer Assíria Lemos Seixas, who gave birth on 28
September 1996 to twins Joshua and Celeste through fertility treatments. The
couple divorced in 2008.
Pelé had at least two more children from former affairs. Sandra
Machado, who was born from an affair Pelé had in 1964 with her housemaid Anizia
Machado, fought for years to be acknowledged by Pelé, who refused to submit
to DNA tests. Although she was recognized by courts as his
biologically daughter based on DNA evidence in 1993, Pelé never acknowledged
his eldest daughter even after her death in 2006, nor her two children, Octavio
and Gabriel. Pelé also had another daughter, Flávia Kurtz, in an
extramarital affair in 1968 with journalist Lenita Kurtz. Flávia was recognized
by him as his daughter.
At the age of 73, Pelé announced his intention to marry 41-year-old
Marcia Aoki, a Japanese-Brazilian importer of medical equipment from Penápolis,
São Paulo, whom he has been dating since 2010. They first met in the mid-1980s
in New York, before meeting again in 2008. In 1970, Pelé was investigated
by the Brazilian military dictatorship for suspected leftist sympathies.
Declassified documents showed Pelé was investigated after being handed a
manifesto calling for the release of political prisoners. Pelé himself did not
get further involved within political struggles in the country. He has
been criticized in the public opinion for his conservative views. In June 2013,
he was criticized in the public opinion for his conservative views. During
the Brazilian protests. Pelé asked for people to "forget the demonstrations"
and support the Brazil national team. In November 2012, Pelé underwent a
successful hip operation. In May 2014, his son Edinho was jailed for 33
years for laundering money from drug trafficking Pelé has stated in 2013
that he is a Catholic.
Soccer's National Treasure
Pelé signed with Santos and
immediately started practicing with the team's regulars. He scored the first
professional goal of his career before he turned 16, led the league in goals in
his first full season and was recruited to play for the Brazilian national team.
The world was
officially introduced to Pelé in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Displaying
remarkable speed, athleticism and field vision, the 17-year-old erupted to
score three goals in a 5-2 semifinal win over France, then netted two more in
the finals, a 5-2 win over the host country.
The young superstar
received hefty offers to play for European clubs, and Brazilian President Jânio
Quadros eventually had Pelé declared a national treasure, making it legally
difficult for him to play in another country. Regardless, Santos club ownership
ensured its star attraction was well paid by scheduling lucrative exhibition
matches with teams around the world.
More World Cup Titles
Pelé aggravated a
groin injury two games into the 1962 World Cup in Chile, sitting out the final
rounds while Brazil went on to claim its second straight title. Four years
later, in England, a series of brutal attacks by opposing defenders again
forced him to the sidelines with leg injuries, and Brazil was bounced from the
World Cup after one round.
Despite the
disappointment on the world stage, the legend of Pelé continued to grow. In the
late 1960s, the two factions in the Nigerian Civil War reportedly agreed to a
48-hour ceasefire so they could watch Pelé play in an exhibition game in Lagos.
The 1970 World Cup in
Mexico marked a triumphant return to glory for Pelé and Brazil. Headlining a
formidable squad, Pelé scored four goals in the tournament, including one in
the final to give Brazil a 4-1 victory over Italy.
Pelé announced his
retirement from soccer in 1974, but he was lured back to the field the
following year to play for the New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer
League, and temporarily helped make the NASL a big attraction. He played his
final game in an exhibition between New York and Santos in October 1977,
competing for both sides, and retired with a total of 1,281 goals in 1,363
games.
Honours
International
Brazil
·
FIFA World Cup (3): 1958, 1962, 1970
·
Roca Cup (2): 1957, 1963
·
Cruz Cup (3): 1958, 1962, 1968
·
Bernardo O'Higgins Cup (1): 1959
·
Atlantic Cup (1): 1960
Club
Santos
·
Copa
Libertadores (2): 1962, 1963
·
Intercontinental Cup (2): 1962, 1963
·
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (6): 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968
·
Torneio Rio-São Paulo (4): 1959, 1963,
1964
·
Campeonato Paulista (10): 1958, 1960,
1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973
New York Cosmos
·
North American Soccer League, Soccer Bowl (1):
1977
·
North American Soccer League,
Atlantic Conference Championship (1): 1977
Individual
·
Santos
·
Copa
Libertadores Top Scorer (1): 1965
·
Campeonato Paulista Top Scorer (11): 1957,
1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1973
·
Torneio Rio-São Paulo Top Scorer (1): 1963.
·
Bola de Prata: 1970
·
Brazil
·
FIFA World Cup Best Young Player (1): 1958
·
FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (Best Player) (1):
1970
·
Copa America Best Player (1): 1959
·
Copa América Top
Scorer (1): 1959
·
FIFA Ballon d'Or
Prix d'Honneur: 2013.
·
Ballon d'Or: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1970 - Le nouveau
palmarès (the new winners)
·
FIFA Player of the Century: 2000
·
FIFA Order of Merit: 1984
·
BBC Sports
Personality of the Year Overseas Personality: 1970
·
Athlete of the Century, by Reuters News
Agency: 1999
·
Athlete of the Century, elected by International Olympic Committee: 1999
·
South American Footballer of the Year (1):
1973
·
Football Player of the Century, elected by France Football's Ballon d'Or Winners:
1999
·
Inducted into the American National Soccer Hall of Fame: 1992
·
World Team of the 20th Century: 1998
·
TIME: One of the 100 Most
Important People of the 20th century: 1999
·
Knight Commander
of the Order of the British Empire: 1997
In December 2000, Pelé and Maradona shared the prize of FIFA Player of the Century by FIFA. The award was
originally intended to be based upon votes in a web poll, but after it became
apparent that it favoured Diego Maradona,
many observers complained that the Internet nature of the poll would have meant
a skewed demographic of younger fans who would have seen Maradona play, but not
Pelé. FIFA then appointed a "Family of Football" committee of FIFA
members to decide the winner of the award together with the votes of the
readers of the FIFA Magazine.
The committee chose Pelé. Since Maradona was winning the Internet poll,
however, it was decided he and Pelé should share the award.
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