The greatest footballer ever, Edson Arantes do Nascimento (a.k.a. Pele) finally lost the battle with colon cancer and the other underlying ailments that caused him to be bedridden in the last two months. The news of his passage was the final full stop to his many ‘Deaths’ published by desperate news hounds and online counterpart who are looking for traffic to their sites, using Pele’s death as their click-bait.
Even when Pele was still on the life support machine, he was pronounced ‘dead’ several times. It took the intervention of his immediate family to refute these reports as figment of the imaginations of such reporters. Of course, with doctors pronouncing Pele’s case as terminal and needing family care in the near end of his life span, it was just a matter of time for the clock to stop ticking for him.
How it all began….
Pele started out as a young boy at Bauru FC in Sao Paulo State under the guidance of former Brazil international Waldemar de Brito. When he came to the attention of Brazil’s elite, he chose to join his mentor’s former club Santos.
According to Wikipedia, it was not long before he was making his senior debut, aged 15, on 7 September 1956, scoring the first of more than 1,000 career goals in a 7-1 win against Corinthians Santo Andre.
Pele ensured Santos dominated not only in Brazil but also further afield, winning the Copa Libertadores – South America’s equivalent of the Champions League – in 1962 and 1963 with victories against Penarol of Uruguay in a play-off and then against Argentina’s Boca Juniors, 5-3 on aggregate.
It was inevitable international honours would follow swiftly and he donned the famous Brazil shirt for the first time on 9 July 1957 against Argentina at the Maracana aged 16 years and nine months, scoring number one of 77 goals in 92 appearances for his country in a 2-1 defeat.
Pele’s great rival of the age was Portugal’s legend Eusebio, but when the pair were in opposition in the 1962 Intercontinental Cup, played between the winners of the Copa Libertadores & the European Cup, there was only one winner. Pele was on target twice in Santos’ 3-2 win against Benfica in the Maracana before scoring a hat-trick in a 5-2 victory in return at the Stadium of Light.
In Brazil, Pele will also be associated with the white shirt of Santos, for whom he scored 619 goals in 638 appearances which, coupled with his glorious deeds for his country, gave him – in his homeland at least – the undisputed title of the game’s greatest player.
Great World Cup Moments
Pele charmed the globe as a 17-year-old when he scored twice as Brazil beat Sweden 5-2 in the 1958 World Cup final but shone brightest in the galaxy of stars assembled in their legendary 1970 World Cup team, scoring the opening goal in a 4-1 win against Italy in the final in Mexico’s Aztec Stadium.
Pele’s story bookended those two great Brazil sides and when, in the modern game, much is made of the “number 10” role and indeed the shirt itself, Edson Arantes do Nascimento will be regarded by many as the first and the greatest.
When the argument of who was the game’s finest is conducted – almost always in a World Cup context – Brazil’s great rivals Argentina will make the case for the late Diego Maradona, who almost single-handedly, literally according to England after his infamous “Hand Of God” quarter-final goal, took them to World Cup glory in 1986.
Argentines will even offer up Maradona’s successor Lionel Messi as another rival to Pele’s greatness in an argument that will never be fully settled to the satisfaction of either of these great South American adversaries.
Pele, though, did not have Maradona’s dark side, one example of which saw the latter ejected from the 1994 World Cup in the United States after testing positive for the drug ephedrine. Messi, however, has since gone on to claim World Cup glory with Argentina at the 2022 tournament.
Pele suffered World Cup disappointments too, none more than when he was brutally kicked out of the competition in England in 1966. He left the scene of the 3-1 defeat by Portugal at Goodison Park draped in a blanket after a succession of fouls that left him limping on one leg, with his right knee heavily bandaged. During the match, he had stayed on and continued throwing himself into the physical challenges to prove bravery accompanied brilliance, as substitutes were not permitted.
That knee injury was caused by earlier savage challenges in Brazil’s first game against Bulgaria and Pele was so disgusted by his treatment that he vowed never to play in another World Cup – a decision the game was grateful he later reversed.
Brazil’s 1970 World Cup win was the pinnacle of Pele’s career. He was the focal point of a dream team that has become enshrined in the game’s history. Pele may have been the headline act but such names as Rivelino, Jairzinho, Tostao and Gerson, as well as the great captain and leader Carlos Alberto accompanied him.
The image of the shirtless Pele being carried aloft by team-mates and supporters after the World Cup was won in Mexico City is seared on the memory, along with that famous picture of another shirtless embrace with England captain Bobby Moore, a gesture packed with mutual respect, after Brazil’s 1-0 group game victory in Guadalajara.
Testimony to Pele’s brilliance are two occasions in the 1970 Mexico World Cup when he failed to score – and yet are used to this day as prime exhibits of the skill, power, elegance and mental speed and agility that mark him out as arguably the greatest to have ever graced the game
Pele’s Romance with Nigeria
Pele loved Nigeria and Nigerian players. In his lifetime, he visited this country officially on more than three occasions and was a great inspiration to many. After winning the World Cup twice in 1958 and 1962 with Brazil, he visited Nigeria along with his club, Santos FC, on a playing tour in 1967. And this was during the Nigerian unfortunate civil war.
It is on record that on the day Santos played the first of their matches with Green Eagles, a truce was reached by the combatants on both sides of the trenches to enable the soldiers watch Pele in action.The first match was played in Lagos while the second took place in Benin.
According to Sports Brief, Santos had pulled out of the Copa Libertadores – the South American version of the Champions League as they began a world tour. Nigeria played a 2-2 draw with Santos, and as expected Pele scored both goals for Santos.
The Brazilian club side also traveled to then Bendel State Benin and played another exhibition against the Nigerian team. According to Santos’ official website, the then state Military Governor Samuel Ogbemudia declared a public holiday and opened up the bridge that connected Benin with Biafra.
According to reports then, more than 25,000 fans trooped into the stadium to watch the historic match where Pele led his team to a 2-1 win over Nigeria. Just after, the team left Nigeria while hostilities resumed again.
Again in 1978, Pele was in Nigeria during the tour of the country by his Brazilian team Fluminese. He was in action for just 45 minutes in the friendly with Raccah Rovers inside the Ahmadu Stadium in Kaduna. Expectedly, Pele looked radiant in the traditional baban riga and Katsina cap presented to him by then Military Governor of Plateau State, Air Commodore Dan Suleiman.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento will be regarded by many as the first and the greatest. When the argument of who was the game’s finest is conducted almost always in a World Cup context – Brazil’s great rivals Argentina will make the case for the late Diego Maradona..
Argentines will even offer up Maradona’s successor Lionel Messi as another rival to Pele’s greatness in an argument that will never be fully settled to the satisfaction of either of these great South American adversaries.
Adiue sir! Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele). The greatest of the greatest GOAT. Rest on legend!
According to Wikipedia, it was not long before he was making his senior debut, aged 15, on 7 September 1956, scoring the first of more than 1,000 career goals in a 7-1 win against Corinthians Santo Andre.
It was inevitable international honours would follow swiftly and he donned the famous Brazil shirt for the first time on 9 July 1957 against Argentina at the Maracana aged 16 years and nine months, scoring number one of 77 goals in 92 appearances for his country in a 2-1 defeat.
In Brazil, Pele will also be associated with the white shirt of Santos, for whom he scored 619 goals in 638 appearances which, coupled with his glorious deeds for his country, gave him in his homeland at least – the undisputed title of the game’s greatest player.
Brazil’s 1970 World Cup win was the pinnacle of Pele’s career. He was the focal point of a dream team that has become enshrined in the game’s history. Pele may have been the headline act but such names as Rivelino, Jairzinho, Tostao and Gerson, as well as the great captain and leader Carlos Alberto accompanied him.
Testimony to Pele’s brilliance are two occasions in the 1970 Mexico World Cup when he failed to score – and yet are used to this day as prime exhibits of the skill, power, elegance and mental speed and agility that mark him out as arguably the greatest to have ever graced the game
Pele really have a chequered history. He was simply a legendary hero in his own class. Au revoir sir.
