The World Lost a Legend in Pelé

The man who lit up the world in green and yellow three times has unfortunately passed away.

Pelé died yesterday at the age of 82 years old from multiple organ failure, a complication caused by colon cancer.

While many of us know him from his exploits on the soccer field, an even greater number of people have come to know him due to his kindness.

Many famous footballers have come out to wish their condolences to the man many consider to be the best player of all-time, but also, one of the best people of all-time.

Pelé was born in 1940 in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil as Edson Arantes do Nascimento, with his first name named after Thomas Edison. Edson Arantes do Nascimento came from humble beginnings, growing up in the in-land city of Bauru in the State of São Paulo. He would work as a servant at restaurants and other jobs to make extra money and would learn the game playing with makeshift balls such as grapefruits or rolled up newspapers inside socks. 

Despite this adversity early on, Pelé rose up to become a giant at the youth levels winning two youth São Paulo State Championships for his local club, Bauru Athletic Club. 

He would not only play for this local club, but many others during his youth, and even would grow accustomed to futsal, an indoor version of soccer that is usually played on a basketball surface like wood.

Futsal was created in 1930 at a YMCA in Montevideo, Uruguay, and by the 1950s, it was becoming big across all of South America, including Bauru. So, at the age of 14, Pelé got the chance to play for his first senior level team, in futsal. He would score 14 or 15 goals in this tournament. He also would lead his team to win the first futsal championship in Bauru. It is his futsal playing career that Pelé credits to making him a faster thinker and quicker player in the outdoor version of the sport.

Pelé was blessed to have a Brazilian legend, Waldemar de Brito, as his coach at Bauru Athletic Club, and when Pelé reached 15 years of age, Waldemar de Brito would have Pelé move to the coast of his home state of São Paulo to a port city called Santos. Waldemar de Brito told the football club there, Santos Futebol Clube (Santos FC), that Pelé would become the world’s best player! 

Luckily for Pelé, Santos FC, Brazil, and Waldemar de Brito’s credibility, Pelé really lived up to this grandiose prediction.

Pelé would impress early on and would earn his first professional contract later that year. His first professional match was a friendly against Corinthians Futebol Clube de Santo André where Santos FC won 7-1 and Pelé scored his first professional goal! Coincidentally, this match was on Brazilian Independence Day, 7 September 1956, a foreshadowing to the importance both Pelé and Brazil would have in each other’s destinies. 

During his first full-season with Santos FC, Pelé would lead the goal-scoring charts in the São Paulo State League (Campeonato Paulista Série A1 (Paulistão)) with 17 goals. Thus, at the young age of 16, Pelé would already be recruited to play on A Seleção, Brazil’s National Team. However, despite these two incredible accomplishments, Santos FC had actually failed to win the Paulistão, finishing second. 

So, the next season was a must for Pelé. He vastly improved on his scoring numbers, amassing 58 goals in just 38 matches! Santos FC earned 64 points (29-6-3) and would win the Paulistão for then just the 4th time in their history! 

But, this was not even his major accomplishment that year. 

Earlier in June of 1958, in between the Campeonato Paulista, Pelé had been selected to play for the Brazilian National Team for the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden. 

Pelé was only 17.

Brazil was matched up in Group D with England, Austria, and the Soviet Union. It was a difficult group to say the least.

Brazil opened up with a 3-0 win over Austria, and then would tie England 0-0. 

In a battle to win the group, Brazil knocked off the Soviet Union, 2-0. 

Brazil would enter the Quarter-final, with the young Pelé having yet to score.

The anticipation did not have to wait much longer. 

Pelé got a second chance against British opposition, this time Wales. 

The match was a tight affair, but in the 66th Minute, Pelé broke the tie scoring his first World Cup goal! Brazil would win the match 1-0.

But, it was the next match that Pelé would become world famous in. 

It was the FIFA World Cup Semi-final and just north of Sweden’s capital city at the Råsunda Stadium in Solna, Brazil was playing France! 

Vavá opened the scoring for Brazil scoring in the 2nd Minute, followed by French legendary striker Just Fontaine equalizing in the 9th Minute. To close the half, Brazil's Didi scored in the 39th Minute. Brazil led 2-1 at the half.

Yet, what was to come next would live in the minds of the footballing world for eternity!

Pelé scored not one, not two, but scored three goals in the second half (52’, 64’, and 75’) to put Brazil up 5-1. A hat-trick for a 17 year old, simply unbelievable. Brazil won that match 5-2 and advanced to the World Cup Final.

It was essentially an away match for Brazil as the host nation, Sweden, would enter Råsunda Stadium. While Sweden scored first, Brazil would score the next four, Pelé scoring Brazil’s third (55’) to put the Canaries up 3-1. The final score would end up Brazil 5 Sweden 2, with Pelé scoring one more time in the 90th Minute of the match. Pelé and his native Brazil would win the 1958 FIFA World Cup, their first World Championship in association football with the 17 year old Pelé scoring 6 goals, tied for second most. 

Pelé and Brazil were now World Champions. 

He came back to Brazil to continue his career for both Santos FC and Brazil’s National Team. 

Already a two-time leading goal scorer in the Campeonato Paulista, Pelé would go onto score the most goals in the São Paulo State Championship for the next seven seasons with goal tallies equaling: 44, 34, 47, 37, 22, 34, and 49. Pelé achieved this two more times in his career in 1969 (11 goals), and 1973 (26 goals). 

These individual exploits were good, but it was Pelé’s team achievements which became center in the 1960s.

Pelé would win the Campeonato Paulista for the second time with Santos FC in 1960, and would follow this up with two more São Paulo State titles in a row. This three year period also saw Santos FC win their first Brazilian National Championship in 1961, in the Taça Brasil. 

Due to Brazil’s large size, the national championship in Brazil was first contested in 1959, and these early editions were more like a cup competition. 

This 1961 victory was special as Pelé would lead Santos FC past EC Bahia in the Final, a team that beat them in the inaugural edition’s Final two seasons earlier. Pelé led all scorers for Santos FC with 7 goals. 

This allowed Pelé to compete in his and his club’s first Copa Libertadores, the South American Club Championship, for 1962.

Santos FC did not disappoint getting to the Final with a 4-2-0 record. In the Final, Santos FC played Uruguayan side, two-time defending South American Champions, and the defending Club World Champions, Club Atlético Peñarol (CA Peñarol). Santos FC defeated CA Peñarol away 2-1, and then lost at home 2-3. Thus, a neutral play-off Final was held in Buenos Aires, in front of 60,000 fans at the Estadio Monumental. And Pelé did not disappoint, scoring two goals (48’ and 89’) to lead Santos FC to South American glory with a 3-0 win!

Next up was the 1962 Intercontinental Cup, the World Championship for Clubs. 

Santos FC would play Sport Lisboa e Benfica (SL Benfica) of Portugal in the Final, the two-time defending European Champions. SL Benfica featured star player Eusébio, a player many Europeans considered equal to South America’s best player, Pelé. 

The first leg held at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro saw Pelé score twice (11’ and 85’) to lead Santos FC to a 3-2 victory. In the second leg at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Pelé had an even more impressive match scoring three goals (15’, 25’, and 64’) to lead Santos FC to a 5-2 victory, and an overall 8-4 aggregate victory over SL Benfica. Santos FC and Pelé were now Club World Champions!

Yet 1962 could not be capped off without one more special trophy.

Brazil and Pelé once again featured in the World Cup, and Brazil was placed into Group 3 with Czechoslovakia, Mexico, and Spain. The 1962 World Cup was in nearby Chile.

Pelé would score his only goal of this World Cup in Brazil’s first match against Mexico in a 2-0 win. Brazil would then tie Czechoslovakia 0-0, and beat Spain 2-1. In the Quarter-finals, Brazil beat England 3-1, then Brazil went onto defeat host nation, Chile, 4-2 in the Semi-finals, and Brazil would win the World Cup Final 3-1 over Czechoslovakia. 

Pelé had completed it all in 1962, as Pelé also had won that season’s Taça Brasil and Campeonato Paulista, in addition to the Copa Libertadores, Intercontinental Cup, and the FIFA World Cup as mentioned before. 

Pelé’s club career continued to flourish as he would win the 1963 Copa Libertadores over Argentinian side, Club Atlético Boca Juniors, as well as the 1963 Intercontinental Cup over Associazione Calcio Milan (AC Milan) of Italy. These two trophies would be the last edition Pelé would ever win of each, but his exploits in the São Paulo State Championship and Brazilian National Championship continued. Pelé and Santos FC would win Brazil’s national championship in 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, and 1968, in addition to their 1961 title, and then would win the Campeonato Paulista in 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, and 1973. Pelé and Santos FC also won Intercontinental Champions' Supercup in 1968 in a 1-0 away win over Football Club Internazionale Milano (Inter Milan) of Italy at the San Siro in Milan. Additionally, Pelé won four editions of the Torneio Rio-São Paulo (1959, 1963, 1964, and 1966) with Santos FC.

At the national team level, Brazil and Pelé suffered disappointment in 1966 in England, where once again, Pelé was only able to produce one goal, and Brazil finished third in Group 3 behind Portugal and Hungary and in front of Bulgaria, suffering elimination in the group stage. 

But, all it took was four more years to bounce back!

The 1970 FIFA World Cup proved to be Pelé’s last and what a country to do it in, Mexico!

Brazil would be placed into Group 3, defeating Czechoslovakia (4-1), England (1-0), and Romania (3-2) to win the group with a 3-0-0 record and 6 points.  Pelé had three goals in the group stage for Brazil.

In the Quarter-finals, Brazil beat Peru 4-2, and then in the Semi-finals, Brazil beat Uruguay 3-1.

The Final saw Brazil play Italy, a then fellow two-time World Champion, in front of 107,000+ people at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. 

And Brazil did not disappoint. Brazil would defeat Italy 4-1 with Pelé scoring the opening goal in the 18th Minute. Pelé and Brazil were now 3 time World Cup Champions! 

Pelé's career for Brazil ended in 1971. He would win the World Cup a record three times, and also won some other important and now defunct trophies: 2 Roca Cups (1957 and 1963), 3 editions of the Taça Oswaldo Cruz (1958, 1962, and 1968), 1 Copa Bernardo O'Higgins (1959), and 1 Taça do Atlântico (1960). 

Pelé’s later years saw him leave Brazil to play in the United States of America (USA) for the newly formed North American Soccer League (NASL) with the New York Cosmos. 

Pelé came in the 1975 season, and stayed until 1977 where he would finish his club career winning the the Soccer Bowl '77 in his last competitive match as the New York Cosmos defeated the Seattle Sounders, 2-1, at the Civic Stadium in Portland, Oregon, today’s Providence Park.

Pelé’s career ended with 1,301 goals across 1,392 matches in his career, yet, his life was really just beginning.

After his playing days, Pelé became a leading humanitarian, Brazilian Minister of Sports, FIFA ambassador, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, UN ambassador for ecology and the environment, and has worked with many charities from SOS Children's Villages to Prince's Rainforests Project and his own, the Pelé Foundation which works to help impoverished children worldwide.

Pelé's career also went into acting including the famous Escape to Victory. 

Despite these notable attributes, it cannot be stated enough that Pelé was not perfect.

Rather, he was far from it.

He made many many mistakes morally such as being married three times and divorced twice. And there is much more I am certain one could write about.

But, today and until the funeral especially, we really should remember Pelé's best attributes because in the end, we want to see him one day in Heaven like us, which brings us to Pelé's interesting relationship with religion.

Many people may know that the two best soccer players of this century are both Catholic, Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

But, so too were most of the best players of last century including Pelé.

Pelé grew up Roman Catholic in Brazil and similar to many saints, Pelé possessed a unique quality to make people happy.

People just seemed to have joy when he was around them.

He was also very modest in his game and respected his opponents and those in the world around him.

During the 1970 World Cup, Pelé took this to heart as he would lead his team in daily prayers, not to win the World Cup, but for those in need such as those suffering in the Vietnam War.

Pelé's Catholicism was by no means as public as some devout athletes like star basketball player Kobe Bryant, but Pelé did have the fortune to meet Blessed Pope Paul VI, Saint Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis. He even signed a uniform that is in the museums in the Vatican City for Pope Francis.

Pelé often spoke for peace and against violence, and his example has spurred greater signs of Faith around Brazil since growing ill during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

In fact, Santos FC and Brazil fans could often be seen praying for Pelé in public places, at matches, and outside of the hospital he was at.

Pelé was very thankful for these gestures and responded to his supporters how he had "a lot of hope" and "a lot of faith in God". 

This example is why Pelé was so important because he normalized prayer, he normalized hope, and he normalized being a joyful person.

Many analysts have been sharing stories of him the past two days now and this video from ESPN FC really did a good job of explaining just how amazing it was to be around Pelé. 

He just knew how to bring people together and how to make people more loving. 

The importance of his life to Brazil, but also to other nations like the USA was unparalleled to most people. 

He was a person that often represented the best parts of being Catholic: a person who strives to be the best version of himself or herself, but also strives to make others the best versions of themselves.

These attributes were seen in his numerous charity matches and tours around the world to bring the best version of the sport to all people.

A man who was destined to be great from the very beginning being named after Thomas Edison, went on to light the world up in another way. 

The world will mourn Pelé these next few weeks. Let us pray for him, his family, and all those he loved and who loved him in this difficult time.