13 things to know about late football legend Pele

By Daily Sports Nigeria on December 30, 2022

Brazil football legend, Pele, who died on Thursday at the age of 82, was regarded as the game’s greatest player.

Pele was the best-loved footballer of his or any other generation, the eternal master of the beautiful game.

Here are 13 things to know about Pele:

1. Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento in October 1940, Pele played his first game for Santos as a 15-year-old in 1956.

2. Pele won the World Cup with Brazil in 1958, 1962 and 1970. His sumptuous range of skills made him the embodiment of his country’s golden age of football.

3. When Pele finally retired in 1977, he had scored more than 1,000 goals.

4. Pele scored 77 for Brazil, a mark only equalled at the recent World Cup by Neymar.

5. Pele’s impact on his sport went far beyond the pitch as he also became a money-making phenomenon, lending his name to sportswear, credit cards and watches among an array of products.

6. Pele earned a call-up to the national team in 1957, scoring on his debut against Argentina. In 1958, he was picked for the World Cup in Sweden.

7. Still only 17, Pele had become the youngest World Cup winner in history. The next two tournaments, however, were to be unhappy experiences.

8. Twenty-one by the time of the 1962 World Cup in Chile, an older, stronger Pele had been expected to take the tournament by storm.

9. Though he was to continue playing club football for his beloved Santos and later the New York Cosmos, Pele retired from international duty in 1971, making an emotional farewell in front of 180,000 fans at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.

10. In 1977, he inspired New York to the national title in his final season with the club which featured fellow greats Franz Beckenbauer, Italian striker Giorgio Chinaglia and former Brazil captain Carlos Alberto.

11. He appeared in the 1981 film, Escape to Victory, about Allied Prisoners of War during World War II along with the likes of Michael Caine, Sylvester Stallone and Moore.

12. Between 1995 and 1998, he was even Brazil’s Extraordinary Minister for Sport, while he also regularly appeared in public as an ambassador for numerous commercial brands.

13. He married for the third time in 2016, tying the knot with Marcia Aoki.

Source Punch Ng

Posted December 30, 2022


 

You may also like...
Nigeria lacked killer instinct against Saudi Arabia –...

Curtain falls on voting for 2017 Nigerian Sports...

Nigerian Awards for Sporting Excellence holds Dec. 2...

Zambia beat Guinea-Bissau to boost 2019 AFCON hopes...

Messi would welcome Neymar return from PSG

Tyson Fury: He’s ready to relinquish title but...

 

Latest News King Mohammed VI Commends Atlas Lionesses for Historic WAFCON 2024 Performance HRH Eze Christian Nwokedi Preaches Patriotism and Leadership Qualities To Reset Nigeria - As he Tumps up Super Falcon's resilience. Lagos SWAN Appoints SWANECO As Buildup To Election Begins Esther Okoronkwo: Canadian club hails Super Falcons star who stepped up when it mattered in WAFCON final Super Falcons Over Ran Morocco In Grudge Comeback Game Confirming Mission X Isak situation has to be right for Newcastle - Howe Hojlund's fight to answer Man Utd's striker question Inter to make €45m Lookman offer next week Man Utd won't sell players on the cheap - Amorim Players fear consequences of speaking out - Fifpro Messi ‘very upset’ after MLS suspension for All-Star no-show WAFCON 2024 Finale: The Grudge Game Of Wits, Brawns Ensues As Hosts Morocco Dares Nigeria

 

Most Read Rangers International going, going . . . (55,598 views) Amaju Pinnick: A cat with nine lives (46,769 views) Second Term: Amaju Pinnick, Other NFF Heavyweights Home to Roost •How Pinnick Broke the Jinx (44,768 views) Missing $150,000 IAAF Grant: Solomon Dalung’s Hide and Seek game (44,362 views) Current issues in Nigerian sports: Matters arising (44,361 views) Sports Development: Zenith Bank on the zenith (44,346 views) Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s solid footprints, commitment to sports development in Kano State (44,161 views) NFF Presidency: Pinnick, Maigari, Ogunjobi, Okoye in Battle for Supremacy (43,710 views) Olopade, BET9A wave of revolution in NNL (42,809 views) Commonwealth Games 2018: Shame of Muhammadu Buhari, Solomon Dalung (41,428 views) Ibrahimovic’s Man U exit: Whose decision is it? And in whose interest? (39,861 views) John Mikel Obi: Segun Odegbami’s Outrageous Call! (39,292 views)

 

Phone numbers

Tel: +234(0)8066020976
+234(0)8055068145
+234(0)7013416146
+234(0)8094272884

Email addresses

info@dailysportsng.com
support@dailysportsng.com
publisher@dailysportsng.com

Office address

No 3, Adetoun Close, Off College Road, Ogba, Ikeja Lagos.
Website: www.dailysportsng.com

Social Media