Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known by the name Pelé, the greatest football player in history, passed away on Thursday at the age of 82.
Pelé won 37 titles during his brilliant career, which lasted just over 20 years, and set an all-time record of 1,279 goals. He is the only athlete in history to win three World Cup titles.
Why was he called Pelé?
Pelé was a soccer player who became one of the sport’s most recognisable figures. What about his name, though?
Joao Ramos do Nascimento, better known by his on-field moniker Dondinho, was the father of Pelé and a Brazilian centre forward. Pelé’s father, who served as both a mentor and a trainer, encouraged him. Dondinho played for various clubs, including Fluminense FC and Atletico Mineiro. Due to his father joining a new team, Pelé had to move to a different city, where he got his well-known moniker.
When someone kicks the ball with their foot in Portuguese, they say “Pe.” Young Edson’s teammates began calling him “Pe-Lé” when he misfired when kicking the ball, even though he didn’t enjoy the name at first. Pelé acknowledged in his memoirs that neither he nor his companions knew what the name “Pelé” meant. Although the word “pelé” has no meaning in his language, it has the meaning of “miracle” in Hebrew.
Thomas Edison, an American inventor, served as the model for the name “Edson.” Pelé claimed in interviews that his parents took inspiration from the fact that he was born early in the day, when the light was first visible. His parents chose the name Edson since Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.
Why was he called “Bile” before his nickname “Pelé” got famous?
When Edson Arantes was a young boy, his teammates kept him in goal to give the opposition an advantage, according to Pelé’s uncle Jorge. Pelé was such a skilled striker that his opponents had no chance against him. Some compared his saves to those of Bile, his father’s teammate in goal. They started referring to him as “Bile” before changing it to “Pelé.”
Early Days
Pelé was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on October 23, 1940, in the town of Tres Coracoes in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. In Sao Paulo’s Bauru neighbourhood, Pelé was raised in abject poverty. He worked as a servant in tea houses to make additional cash. His father, Dondinho, a Brazilian footballer himself, taught him how to play. In his early years, Pelé participated in futsal, an indoor version of football, which he described as a unique challenge. Because everyone is so near one another on the field and futsal is played faster than football on grass, he claimed, players must think faster.
When Brazil faced Uruguay in the World Cup finals on July 16, 1950, many people expected the hosts to win their first World Cup. The biggest surprise for Brazilian supporters was the final score, which read 2-1 in favour of Uruguay. When 9-year-old Edson overheard his father sobbing as Brazilian hopes were dashed, he vowed to win the World Cup for him.
Pelé looked up to Dondinho and had every intention of following in his father’s footsteps, but after seeing her husband’s professional career come to an end due to a knee injury just before getting his big shot at a top-tier Brazilian club, his mother was not supportive.
Professional Career
With Santos, Pelé debuted at the age of 15. He scored 618 goals in 636 games while spending the majority of his career with this Brazilian team. He also contributed to Brazil’s victories in the 1958, 1962, and 1970 World Cups. Out of the four World Cups he participated in, he is the only player to have won it three times. Pelé was instrumental in raising the game’s popularity in the US both before and after his retirement.
At the age of 16, Pelé made his first appearance for the Brazil national team. With 77 goals in 92 games, Pelé is tied for the most goals scored by a Brazilian. At the most recent World Cup in Qatar, Neymar, a prominent Brazilian football player, tied his record for most goals scored for the national team. With 643 goals in 659 games, Pelé was Santos’ all-time leading scorer at the club level. He guided his team to the 1962 and 1963 Intercontinental Cups as well as the Copa Libertadores titles.
On July 7, 1957, at the Maracana, Pelé played in his first international game, which Brazil lost 2-1 to Argentina. At 16 years and 9 months, he scored his first goal for Brazil in the game, making him the nation’s youngest goal scorer. The record has never been broken. Pelé, who was 17 years and 8 months old, made history on June 29, 1958, when he played in the first World Cup final. He contributed two goals to Brazil’s 5-2 victory over Sweden in Stockholm, which gave them their first World Cup victory.
On July 18, 1971, Pelé played in his final international game in Rio de Janeiro against Yugoslavia. Brazil won 62 games, lost 11, and had 14 games finish in draws when Pelé was on the field.
Pelé played for the NASL’s New York Cosmos from 1975 until 1977. In 700 appearances with the official club, he scored 655 goals. He shared the FIFA Player of the Century award with Diego Maradona of Argentina and was the first Brazilian minister of sports in history. He has numerous records. The International Olympic Committee also named Pelé the Athlete of the Century in 1999. In 1363 appearances, including unofficial games, Pele has scored 1281 goals.
Style of Play
Pelé was a prolific goal scorer who frequently finished off opportunities with precise, potent shots. He could use both of his feet for that. He was praised for his accurate passing and capacity to make connections with teammates.
Because of his diverse set of skills, he used to play in a variety of attacking positions. Later in his career, he developed a deeper role as a playmaker and played as an attacking midfielder. He displayed superb technique, equilibrium, flair, agility, and dribbling abilities. Despite being diminutive in stature, he excelled in the air thanks to his precise heading, elevation, and timing. He was a proficient penalty and free-kick shooter.
Pelé was a very significant athlete who earned the moniker “O Rei,” which translates to “The King,” after making his debut at the 1958 World Cup.
Personal Life
Pelé had multiple affairs in addition to his three marriages. He married Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi in 1966. They have one son and two daughters. In 1982, the couple got a divorce.
Pelé wed gospel singer and psychotherapist Assiria Lemos Seixas in April 1994. In the following year, Joshua and Celeste were born. They separated in 2008.
Pelé married Marcia Aoki, 41, whom he had been seeing since 2010, when he was 73.
Health And Demise
Pelé had been in and out of the hospital over the previous few years due to a variety of medical conditions, including pain following hip surgery, before passing away on December 29. He received cancer therapy for two days in the hospital in January before being released. Last year, a colon tumour was removed from him. On November 29, he went back to the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo for a review of the chemotherapy he had received for colon cancer that was discovered in September 2021.
According to a statement made by Albert Einstein Hospital, Pelé passed away on December 29 from multiple organ failure brought on by the advancement of colon cancer.
