Pele, the world-renowned soccer star who popularized the sport internationally, died Thursday, the Associated Press reports. He was 82 years old.
The former player, who grew up in Brazil, spent about a month in the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo due to his advanced cancer and was recently placed in intensive care due to impaired kidney and heart function. In 2021, he underwent surgery to remove a polyp on the right side of his colon, after which he started chemotherapy.
Throughout his decorated professional career as a striker, Pele, who wore the iconic No. 10 jersey during his playing days, garnered a wealth of accolades including being named “The Greatest” by FIFA, and being named Sportsman of the Century by the International Olympic Games. Committee and inclusion of the 100 most important people of the twentieth century in the list of time. His 1,279 goals in 1,363 career games is a Guinness World Record. On the field, Pele started playing for Santos FC at the age of 15 and joined the Brazilian national team at the age of 16. His international career with Brazil is still highly regarded – he is the only player to win three FIFA World Cups (1958, 1962 and 1970). After his victory in 1958, Pele was nicknamed the King (“O Rei”) and was quickly considered one of the sport’s best players. For Brazil, he is the country’s top scorer with 77 goals in 92 matches. For Santos, he is the club’s all-time top scorer, with 643 goals in 659 matches.
Pelé is credited with popularizing the term “the beautiful game” in association with football, as his global popularity was a catalyst for the general growth of the sport around the world. The teams he played for often traveled and played internationally to capitalize on Pele’s worldwide popularity. For a while during his playing days, Pele was considered the highest paid athlete in the world when, in 1975, at the age of 34, he agreed to sign with the New York Cosmos in the US for $7 million over three years. . The footballer retired in 1977, and his post-playing career included projects such as serving as a global ambassador for the sport along with numerous acting and business opportunities. In a complete moment for the Brazilian superstar, he was appointed honorary president of Cosmos in 2010 with the organization aiming to field a team in Major League Soccer.
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on October 23, 1940 in Tres Coraches, Minas Gerais, Brazil, Pele began playing sports under the guidance of his father Dondinho (born Joao Ramos do Nascimento) – a professional soccer player of his own, after playing for clubs such as Fluminese FC. It was noted that Pele often practiced with a sock stuffed with newspaper or grapefruit instead of the actual ball as his family lived in poverty in São Paulo. He began playing soccer in an organized manner during his youth, brought two youth state championships to the Bauru Athletic Club juniors and participated in the boom in indoor soccer’s popularity, winning the first indoor soccer competition in his district. Although he ended up turning to grass in the sport’s traditional style, he credited his indoor play experience with helping him think and process decisions faster on the spot.
Pele is survived by his wife Marcia Aoki and seven children: Edino, Sandra Regina, Joshua, Celeste, Kelly Cristina, Jennifer and Flavia Cristina.
[ad_2]
