Pelé 1940-2022 | The King is no more

Some will say that he scored 1283 goals, or 1281. Others, between 757 and 767. But there will remain a simple and indisputable statistic about Pelé: he is the only player to have won the World Cup three times.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, alias Pelé, died aged 82 from breast cancer colon, announced Thursday one of his daughters, Kely Nascimento. “We love you to infinity, rest in peace” she wrote on Instagram, from the Albert-Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo where he was admitted a month ago.

Metastases in the intestine, in a lung and in the liver had also been diagnosed at the beginning of the year. For a few days now, the king had not responded to the chemotherapy treatment he had been undergoing since last September.

Coming from a modest background, Pelé began shining shoes at a young age to help his parents.

His father, an amateur soccer player, noticed the talent of the boy who joined the ranks of a junior team when he was 13 years old. Two years later, in 1956, he was admitted to Santos FC, with whom he would spend his entire Brazilian club career, until 1974.

At only 17, the striker was called up to the national team for the 1958 World Cup. The notoriety of the Seleção was then in the making.

After an uneventful group stage in which Brazil conceded no goals, Pelé scored his first in the quarter-finals against Wales, leading them to a 1-0 victory.

In the semi-finals, he scored a hat-trick in a 5-2 win over France.

Then, in the final, against hosts Sweden, number 10 adds two more. The first is a classic. After a control of the chest, he obliterates a defender by passing the ball over his head before concretizing on the fly.

It is consecration. Pelé and his teammates instantly became national heroes, eight years after the painful defeat against Uruguay at home in the 1950 World Cup final, considered a “national tragedy”.

star in dictatorship

From then on, there will be nothing normal in the life of Pelé, who will struggle at times to adapt to this new reality.

The young man from Três Corações takes up the collar with Santos FC, which multiplies both titles at national level and tours in Europe, where clubs regularly court him.

Then came the 1962 World Cup in Chile. Unlike the previous one, Brazil is this time the favorite. Expectations are huge.

For Pelé, this tournament will mark the beginning of a dark period in the World Cup. After scoring against Mexico in a 2-0 win, he injured his leg in the next game. He will finish it, but will not play again until the end of the competition.

The Brazilian outfit, however, solidified their previous title by successfully defending it.

Once recovered, Pelé returns to the controls of the steamroller Santos FC. In 1962 and 1963, the Brazilian club won the Intercontinental Cup – ancestor of the FIFA Club World Cup – by defeating Portuguese and Italian teams.

Through this young medium, television, Pelé’s popularity reached new heights.

Then, in 1964, a coup d’etat ejects the democratically elected government of President João Goulart and a dictatorial regime settles in power. Brazil is falling into a dark period. But Pelé’s life will not be directly turned upside down.

The 1000^e goal that always makes people talk

In 1966, twice reigning World Cup champions, the Seleção showed up in England brimming with confidence. Too.

If his country wins, Pelé thinks of retiring.

But the opponents present a game that is both harder and more defensive. Although he scored in an entry victory over the Bulgarians, the Brazilian striker was roughed up unceremoniously.

At the second meeting, we put him back. Result: loss against Hungary. So he returned to the field for the last game in the group stage, but it will not be enough. Pelé is injured again and, losing to Portugal, Brazil hastily packs up. It’s consternation.

Disgusted by the refereeing, discouraged by his bad luck in this flagship tournament, the number 10 never wants to take part in the World Cup again.

In 1969, Pelé registered his 1000^e career goal — including friendlies — on a penalty shot.

The star then agrees to meet the president in place – Emílio Médici, just named -, despite the political context which still prevails.

In fact, measures restricting freedoms have gained ground in previous years. More than ever, the population is trapped under the yoke of an authoritarian government.

The reproaches addressed to Pelé as to his lack of judgment on the regime then gained momentum. He is said to be incapable of contesting, flat-ventrist. Reviews that will follow him all his life.

Some will defend it. In the documentary Peleon Netflix, a journalist and friend of the player evokes the parallel often drawn Conversely with Muhammad Ali who, as we know, did not have his tongue in his pocket.

The boxer, he points out, did not have to fear being tortured. Given the nature of the regime in Brazil, Pelé had no such guarantee.

And three

Pelé will finally participate in the 1970 World Cup, in Mexico. It would have been suggested to him in high places. Anyway, he wanted to win another, after the setbacks of 1966.

In return, targeted by threats of all kinds, the 29-year-old is torn by ambivalent feelings. Negative emotions that are exacerbated by a conflicted relationship, to say the least, with coach João Saldanha. The latter will finally be knocked out before the competition in favor of Mário Zagallo, ex-teammate of Pelé.

In better conditions, the striker made an impression from the first game by narrowly missing an attempt to score from the center of the field.

In the group stage, Pelé will score three times in as many wins.

In the semi-finals, Brazil tames its pet peeve, Uruguay.

Then, in the final, Pelé cements his place in history with a third World Cup victory. He scores with a header and adds a superb assist in a 4-1 correction inflicted on the Italians.

“The most beautiful moment of my life”, said the Brazilian star.

Pelé would play with Santos FC until 1974, then three more seasons with the New York Cosmos, contributing to the development of North American soccer.

Elected player of the XX^e century by FIFA, he has always claimed to have accumulated 1283 goals in 1367 games. But these figures include, among other things, friendly matches and tours. In short, many unofficial matches.

His goals, which could be described as “recognized by all”, with Santos FC, the New York Cosmos and in the national team, amount to 757.

The subject has always been a matter of debate, the main interested party having himself fed it on many occasions.

But regardless of the camp where you live, there must be consensus on one point: Pelé is one of the greatest players of all time.