Brazilian Legendary Footballer "Pele" dies at 82

Pele, arguably the greatest player in football history, died yesterday at the age of 82.

The Minas Gerais state of Brazil's Pelé, who was born into poverty and once kicked a grapefruit around, ended his playing days as arguably the sport's greatest player.

Pelé was that exceptional case; like Muhammad Ali, he was a sports star who went above and beyond in his field.

The Brazilian personified o Jogo bonito, or "the beautiful game," bringing joy and creativity to a sport that was frequently mired in rigidity.

Neymar Jr., a current member of the Brazil national team, wrote after hearing of Pelé's passing, "Pele changed everything."

"He elevated football to the level of entertainment and art. He gave the underprivileged, particularly Black people, a voice. He increased Brazil's visibility.

In the renowned yellow and blue of Brazil, "O Rei" ("The King") accomplished almost everything possible, from shining as a 17-year-old in 1958 on his way to his first World Cup victory to winning the Golden Ball as a player of the 1970 World Cup as he won a third global title.

During the course of his 21-year career, he is credited with scoring a total of 1,281 goals, a world record, in 1,363 games played, including 77 goals in 92 international games.

Pele was recognized in 2000 as Fifa's Player of the Century. He is the only player to have won the World Cup three times, in 1958, 1962, and 1970.

There will be three days of national mourning, according to President Jair Bolsonaro.

Over the past few years, Pele had developed kidney and prostate issues. After the colon tumor was found in routine tests, he underwent surgery to remove it in September 2021 at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo. Late in November 2022, he was readmitted to the hospital.

According to the hospital, Pele passed away as a result of "multiple organ failure, a result of the progression of colon cancer associated with his prior clinical condition."

Posted on Pele's Twitter page: "King Pele, who passed away peacefully today, was a man of inspiration and love. Love, love, and more love, always."

According to the Brazilian Football Confederation: "Beyond being the greatest athlete of all time, Pele was much more.

"Our football king was the best representation of a triumphant Brazil who never backed down from a challenge. He promised his father a World Cup, and he gave us three instead.

"We are so appreciative of the King's legacy for giving us a new Brazil. Pele, I'm grateful."

What made Pele so great

1. Scored a reported 1,281 goals in 1,363 games.    

2. Made 14 appearances at the World Cup finals, scoring 12 goals.

3. Racked up 126 goals in 1959 alone.

4. Only player to win three World Cups.

Work of a master

At the 1958 World Cup, Pelé made his debut to the world.

"Nobody in Sweden knew what Brazil was when we arrived. They are familiar with Uruguay and Argentina. For us, it was a surprise," said Pelé.

The youngest player ever to participate in a World Cup was Pelé of Brazil when he did so at the age of 17 years and 7 months. Norman Whiteside of Northern Ireland broke Pelé's record in 1982.

After leaving the world in awe at the 1958 World Cup, Pelé hung up his boots for the Seleço almost 15 years later, leaving his country the distinction of having fielded the most successful World Cup team in history as well as the most feared squad in all of international soccer.

During the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, which was also the first World Cup to be broadcast in colour, Pelé achieved his greatest moment for Brazil.

Pelé blazed a trail of technicolour splendour throughout that competition, a blur of yellow and gold that seduced and charmed rival teams.

His four goals, which included an assist on Carlos Alberto's stunning goal in the championship game against Italy, earned him player of the competition honours.

"Pelé stated that winning the World Cup was the apex of his sporting career."

The perfect way to sum up Pelé's superhuman brilliance was said by the Italian defender Tarcisio Burgnich: "I told myself before the game, he's made of skin and bones just like everyone else. However, I erred.

Even Pelé's non-scoring moments contributed to his legend status, most notably England goalkeeper Gordon Banks' incredible save from the Brazilian's strong header in a group game, which is regarded as the best save ever made.

Pelé paid tribute to Banks in a 2019 Facebook post after the goalkeeper passed away, saying, "The save was one of the best I have ever seen - in real life and in all the thousands of games I have watched since."

In football, you can immediately tell how well you hit the ball. That header was hit exactly as I had hoped. Where I intended for it to go. I was prepared to rejoice.

However, Banks suddenly materialised in front of my eyes like a blue phantom.

Pelé admitted in 2015 that he had plenty of interest from Europe to make the move across the Atlantic, but chose not to out of loyalty and “love” for Santos; yet another reason why he is so beloved in his native country.

"In the past, it was a profession filled with love, now it’s just a profession,” Pelé said.

“There isn’t that love of playing for my club, playing for my country. Clearly, a footballer needs to make a living from the game. It’s different from my time.”

Coping with pressure

 Pelé's influence as a soccer player was so great that, according to a recent Netflix documentary, he also became the emblem of a new nation.

To deal with that, I believe he develops the persona of Pelé, who essentially sacrifices his own identity to become Brazil. The documentary's co-director, Ben Nicholas, is Brazilian.

As well as shouldering the burden of a country’s aspirations on the world stage, Pelé faced difficulties when the Brazilian military rose to power in 1964 and began to use football as a tactical and political strategy, particularly by trying to make the 1970 World Cup a "government issue."

The footballing GOAT debate is one which will rage on until the end of time-Is that Pelé? Diego Maradona or someone else? Or how about Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?

However, Brazil's unbridled devotion to Pelé is unmatched and goes beyond just admiring him as a great footballer to include him as a totem pole for the country as a whole.