Brazilian football icon Pelé, considered one of the best footballers in the world, has passed away at the age of 82.Pelé was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on October 23, 1940, in the city of Três Corações, in the central-south Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.Pelé's father was João Ramos do Nascimento, a former footballer better known by the name Dondinho. He and Pelé's mother, Celeste Arantes do Nascimento, were very poor. They moved to Bauru, a city in the hinterlands of São Paulo, when Pelé was 4 years old.Outside the field, Pelé was married three times. His final wife was Márcia Aoki (pictured), with whom he had a relationship from 2016 until his demise.

Football in Pelé's childhood

From an early age, Pelé was encouraged to play football by his father. However, it was Waldemar Brito, a former player and coach, who discovered the young man's talent and invited him to join Clube Atlético de Bauru. Pelé, at the time nicknamed Dico, was only 11 years old.



Going to Santos

A few years after having drafted Pelé for his team, Brito thought that the boy's skills deserved a bigger team. That's when he decided to take him to Santos Futebol Clube.Pelé joined Santos FC in 1956, aged 16. Upon arriving there, Waldemar Brito foretold the team that: “This boy is going to be the best soccer player in the world”. His epic prediction is published on the club's official website.The victory in Sweden in 1958 spearheaded what many consider to be the Golden Age of the Brazilian National Team, with two more world cups in 1962 and 1970.


The success of young Pelé

In fact, it didn't take long for Pelé to be widely recognized across the country. He was the top scorer in the Paulista championship, with 36 goals. From there, his career took off. Pelé accumulated an infinity of titles.He spent almost 20 years at Santos FC, from 1956 to 1974. During this period, the eternal number 10 shirt helped the club to win ten state titles and 6 national championships (Taça Brasil and Torneio Robertão), in addition to two Copa Libertadores and two World Championships. Clubs, in 1962 and 1963.

Photo: At Vila Belmiro Stadium, in Santos, 2014.


Against Wales

Pelé's first goal in a World Cup was against Wales, in the quarters. At Sweden 1958, he also became the youngest player to win the World Cup.



His 1000th goal

It was also for Santos FC that Pelé scored his thousandth goal, in a penalty kick, at the Maracanã stadium, in Rio de Janeiro, in 1969. He was 29 years old.

At the World Cup

A few months after being drafted by Santos, he was invited to play for the Brazilian National Team at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. He was, at 17, the youngest player to score a goal at the tournament. This record was broken in 2022 by Spanish player Gavi in Qatar.


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Iconic number 10

Interestingly, it was during that World Cup that Pelé was assigned his iconic number 10 by the FIFA officials since the managers of the Brazilian National Team neglected to send player numbers for the tournament.


Retirement

The veteran player had his last match in 1977, in a historic game between the NY Cosmos and Santos FC. In addition to numerous championship titles, Pelé was named Best Player of the Century by FIFA and the Best Player of the Century by the International Olympic Committee.


Battle against cancer

The Brazilian footballer had been fighting cancer since September 2021, when he was diagnosed with colon cancer.

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In late November, the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo reported that Pelé was committed to São Paulo's Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein due to a respiratory infection and that he was no longer responding to chemotherapy.


Thank you and godspeed

Now the world of sports gathers to say goodbye to an athlete that redefined football in Brazil and around the globe, becoming one of the biggest and most iconic athletes of the 20th century.