Pele obit

Brazilian football (soccer) icon Pele has died at the age of 82

His daughter Kely Nascimento paid tribute to her father: "We are thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace."

 

 He was not on the list.

Brazilian football star Pele has died at the age of 82, his agent has confirmed.

The former Santos FC star, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, had been at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in Sao Paulo since 29 November.

A medical report just before Christmas showed that he needed care for cardiac and renal dysfunction, having been battling colon cancer since September 2021.

His daughter Kely Nascimento paid tribute to her father on Instagram: "We are thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace."

Pele - originally named Edson Arantes do Nascimento - began playing for Santos at the age of 15 and the Brazilian national team a year later, bursting onto the world football scene as a 17-year-old in the 1958 World Cup.

During his international career, he won three World Cups - in 1958, 1962 and 1970 - the only player to achieve this.

He died on Thursday at 3.27pm Brazilian time due to multiple organ failure resulting from his colon cancer, the hospital said in a statement.

Gary Lineker was among those hailing Pele's legacy following the news of his death.

He said on Twitter: "The most divine of footballers and joyous of men.

"He played a game only a few chosen ones have come close to."

England World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst said Pele "remains the greatest of all time".

He said: "I have so many memories of Pele, without doubt the best footballer I ever played against (with Bobby Moore being the best footballer I ever played alongside).

"For me Pele remains the greatest of all time and I was proud to be on the the pitch with him. RIP Pele and thank you."

Lionel Messi, another footballer widely considered to be one of the greatest of all time, shared his own simple reflection: "Rest in peace".

Pele's role in Brazil's third victory, in Mexico in 1970, has gone down in football folklore, as he played a key role in arguably the sport's greatest ever international team.

His glittering 20-year career from 1957 to 1977 saw him score 757 goals in 831 games, although Santos claim his tally was closer to 1,000.

A post on Pele's official Instagram account following his death said the icon "enchanted the world".

 

"Inspiration and love marked the journey of King Pelé, who peacefully passed away today.

"On his journey, Edson enchanted the world with his genius in sport, stopped a war, carried out social works all over the world and spread what he most believed to be the cure for all our problems: love.

"His message today becomes a legacy for future generations.

"Love, love and love, forever."

How many hours have been spent arguing, analysing and disagreeing over who was the greatest footballer of all time? 

There's no doubt Pele is at the top of many lists.

No other man has three World Cup wins on his CV - even if he was injured and sat out most of Brazil's victory in 1962. Lionel Messi has won one World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo has more goals than Pele, Maradona was probably the better dribbler.

Then there's Di Stefano, Puskas, Cruyff, Bobby Charlton, George Best - the list of contenders stirs up some special memories.

Fellow Brazilian Marta has a similar status in the women's game - she's the first footballer of any gender to score at five World Cups.

Greatness though, isn't just measured in playing stats.

Pele defined a nation and introduced Brazilian football to the world.

In 1967 he and his team were in Nigeria where the west African nation's civil war was actually put on hold for 48 hours so that people could watch the great man play.

That's the hallmark of greatness.

It's not just the goals but the power to change the way people feel - about themselves, their team, their country and the game they love. The game Pele was born to play.

In 1999, he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and was included in the Time list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. In 2000, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century. His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which includes friendlies, is recognised as a Guinness World Record.

Pelé began playing for Santos at age 15 and the Brazil national team at 16. During his international career, he won three FIFA World Cups: 1958, 1962 and 1970, the only player to do so. He was nicknamed O Rei (The King) following the 1958 tournament. Pelé is the joint-top goalscorer for Brazil with 77 goals in 92 games. At the club level, he was Santos's all-time top goalscorer with 643 goals in 659 games. In a golden era for Santos, he led the club to the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores, and to the 1962 and 1963 Intercontinental Cup. Credited with connecting the phrase "The Beautiful Game" with football, Pelé's "electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals" made him a star around the world, and his teams toured internationally to take full advantage of his popularity. During his playing days, Pelé was for a period the best-paid athlete in the world. After retiring in 1977, Pelé was a worldwide ambassador for football and made many acting and commercial ventures. In 2010, he was named the honorary president of the New York Cosmos.

After the 1974 season (his 19th with Santos), Pelé retired from Brazilian club football although he continued to occasionally play for Santos in official competitive matches. A year later, he came out of semi-retirement to sign with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1975 season. At a chaotic press conference at New York's 21 Club, the Cosmos unveiled Pelé. John O'Reilly, the club's media spokesman, stated, "We had superstars in the United States but nothing at the level of Pelé. Everyone wanted to touch him, shake his hand, get a photo with him." Though well past his prime at this point, Pelé was credited with significantly increasing public awareness and interest of the sport in the US.[49] During his first public appearance in Boston, he was injured by a crowd of fans who had surrounded him and was evacuated on a stretcher.

Pelé entering the field to play his first game with the Cosmos, 15 June 1975

Pelé made his debut for the Cosmos on 15 June 1975 against the Dallas Tornado at Downing Stadium, scoring one goal in a 2–2 draw. Pelé opened the door for many other stars to play in North America. Giorgio Chinaglia followed him to the Cosmos, then Franz Beckenbauer and his former Santos teammate Carlos Alberto. Over the next few years other players came to the league, including Johan Cruyff, Eusébio, Bobby Moore, George Best and Gordon Banks.

In 1975, one week before the Lebanese Civil War, Pelé played a friendly game for the Lebanese club Nejmeh against a team of Lebanese Premier League stars,[52] scoring two goals which were not included in his official tally. On the day of the game, 40,000 spectators were at the stadium from early morning to watch the match.

Pelé led the Cosmos to the 1977 Soccer Bowl, in his third and final season with the club.[54] In June 1977, the Cosmos attracted an NASL record 62,394 fans to Giants Stadium for a 3–0 victory past the Tampa Bay Rowdies with a 37-year-old Pelé scoring a hat-trick. In the first leg of the quarter-finals, they attracted a US record crowd of 77,891 for what turned into an 8–3 rout of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Giants Stadium. In the second leg of the semi-finals against the Rochester Lancers, the Cosmos won 4–1. Pelé finished his official playing career on 28 August 1977, by leading the New York Cosmos to their second Soccer Bowl title with a 2–1 win over the Seattle Sounders at the Civic Stadium in Portland, Oregon.