Edson Arantis do Nascimento is the most famous and possibly greatest footballer of all time, was born in Brazil on October 23, 1940. He grew up in a poor family. From childhood he was fond of the game, in which he later became an idol for millions, although his first balls were made from socks and newspapers.
From 1956, when he signed his first professional contract, to his farewell match in 1977, he scored 757 goals (or 1,283, depending on which count) and won three World Cups. Pele is called the Black Pearl and the King of Football. No other player has come close to his accomplishments. He was recognized the best footballer XX century according to the FIFA Football Commission and the best athlete XX century according to the International Olympic Committee.
In the summer of 1958, the incredibly talented but still very young Pele flew to Sweden with the Brazilian national team for the World Cup. When he returned home, his name was known all over the planet.
Phenomenon
Pele (right) with his Santos teammates in 1957. Photo: Popperfoto / Getty Images.
Pele was not yet 16 years old when he joined Santos, his first professional club, for which he played his first international match and scored his first goal, as a result of which on July 7, 1957, Brazil beat Argentina with a score of 2: 1. In less than a year, Pele will become football star in Sweden.
Examination
Doctors examine Pele in 1958. Photo: Popperfoto / Getty Images.
In 1958, Pele was selected for the Brazilian national team for the World Cup, after which he suffered a knee injury that prevented him from participating in the first two games of the tournament. (The Brazilians won against Austria and drew with England.) The young striker entered the starting lineup of his team against the USSR national team.
Debut
Pele (third from left) lines up with the Brazilian national team before the national team match Soviet Union... Photo: Popperfoto / Getty Images.
On June 15, 1958, Pele became the youngest participant in the world championships, this record held by him for 24 years. (In 1982, the record was broken by the Northern Irish footballer Norman Whiteside, who at the time was 17 years and 41 days old, six months less than Pele in 1958.) Brazilian footballer Vava, Pele's teammate, scored two goals against the Soviet national team, and Brazil beat the USSR 2-0.
Strategist
Pele, known as the "grandmaster" of the pass, for board game... Photo: Popperfoto / Getty Images.
First goal
Pele's teammates congratulate him on the winning goal. Photo: Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images.
In the quarterfinals, Brazil played against Wales. In the 66th minute, Pele opened the scoring and scored the only goal of the match. Brazil advanced to the semi-finals and Pele entered his name in the record books as the youngest player to ever score a goal in the World Cup.
Distribution of autographs
Photo: adoc-photos / Corbis via Getty Images.
Photo: PA Images via Getty Images.
Hat trick
Pele scores the first of three goals on June 24. Photo: Popperfoto / Getty Images.
On June 24, Pele scored three goals - the third, fourth and fifth, as a result of which the Brazilian national team beat the French national team with a score of 5: 2. French footballer Just Fontaine, the record holder for the most goals scored in one World Cup (13 goals at the 1958 World Cup), later said: “ When I saw Pele's game, I felt that it was time for me to have a well-deserved rest.».
View from the stands
Pele scores another goal against France.
On the front pages
Pele and his teammates look through the newspapers before the match against Sweden. Photo: Philippe Le Tellier / Paris Match via Getty Images.
Pele relaxes in training. Photo: Keystone / Getty Images.
Two kings
Future King of Football and King of Sweden at the World Cup Final. Photo: Keystone / Getty Images.“And when the king of Sweden came down from the stands to the field to shake my hand, it flashed through my head:“ God, does my father know about this there, in Brazil? ”.
Playing with the Swedes
Pele and Swedish goalkeeper Kalle Svensson in the World Cup final. Photo: Popperfoto / Getty Images.
On June 29, Brazil met at the championship with the host country - Sweden. The hosts of the tournament scored the first goal in the fourth minute of the match, but Brazil seized the initiative and twice drove the ball into the opponents' goal.
Defeat of the Swedes
Photo: Bettmann Archive.
In the 55th minute, Pele scored a spectacular goal.
Pele at number 10 with his teammates on the field after winning the World Cup. Photo: Popperfoto / Getty Images.
In the 90th minute, Pele scored a goal again, this time with his head. It was his second goal of the game, Brazil won 5-2. " And then I suddenly passed out in front of the gate and, - recalls Pele in his autobiography "Confessions of a Lover in Life", published in 2006. - Garrincha ran up and lifted my legs so that the blood would flow to my head. When I woke up, the game was over. I was overwhelmed with emotion».
Pele celebrates Brazil's victory. Photo: Philippe Le Tellier / Paris Match via Getty Images.
Takeoff
The Brazilian national team and Pele retained the championship title in the next two World Cups (three times in a row).
Photo: Philippe Le Tellier / Paris Match via Getty Images.
Photo: Philippe Le Tellier / Paris Match via Getty Images.
In 1977, Pele, having collected an extraordinary collection of awards and titles, played a farewell match and completed football career... But his popularity, like his craft, has remained phenomenal. In 1994 he became Ambassador of UNESCO, in 1995 - the Minister of Sports of Brazil, and in 1999 the IOC named him the greatest athlete of the century.
When he wrote the book I Am Pele, many illiterate Brazilians began to learn to read and write in order to read the memoirs of a famous compatriot. He has been photographed more than any movie star and appropriated record number titles of honorary citizen of cities and countries.
It all started in Sweden. Photo: Popperfoto / Getty Images.
In the history of World Cups, there is only one player who won the trophy three times - this is Edson Arantis do Nascimento, or simply . The legendary Brazilian took part in four world championships, played 14 matches and scored 12 goals. When you watch an old video with the goals of the King of Football, you are amazed at the combination of superior technique, plasticity and physical strength.
His debut was the 1958 World Championship in Sweden. In his first match with the USSR national team on group stage the Santos striker did not score, but four days later, a single goal brought the Brazilians a victory over Wales in the quarterfinals. How beautifully I did everything in this episode (on the video - 00.15)! He took the ball to his chest, left the defender in a fool with a sharp movement and sent the ball into the net. By the way, this is still the “youngest” goal in the history of the World Championships: the striker at that time was only 17 years old, seven months and 27 days old.
"Father, don't cry, I will win the World Cup for you!"
The great Pele recalls the 1958 World Cup and his goals in the final match.
Started great at the 1958 World Cup and continued even brighter. In the semifinals, he scored a hat-trick against the French national team, and in the final he scored two goals for the hosts. Winning goal Swedes (on video - 01.10) can also be watched a hundred times. The Brazilian again handled the ball with his chest, and in an even more difficult situation, deftly threw it over the opponent and hit the target.
At the 1962 World Cup in Chile, Pele played only two starting matches - with Mexico and Czechoslovakia. He missed the rest of the tournament due to injury. The striker could become the main star of the championship, but he was forced to watch from the sidelines as the Brazilian national team breaks England, Chile and Czechoslovakia in the playoffs in the final. Pele managed to score to Mexico, and this goal (on the video - 01:00) became one of the most beautiful ones performed by the legendary Brazilian at the world championships. The unstoppable striker defeated four opponents on the way to someone else's goal!
The English World Cup 1966 Brazilian national team failed, failing to qualify from the group with Portugal, Hungary and Bulgaria. Pele scored only a victorious goal against the Bulgarians from a free-kick (00.25 on the video). However, at the next 1970 World Cup in Mexico, the leader of the Seleçao attacks was recognized best player tournament. Brazil now easily won the group with England, Romania and Czechoslovakia. In the 1st round, Pele scored one goal against the Czechoslovakians, and in the 3rd round he scored a double against the Romanians. With Peru in the quarterfinals and Uruguay in the semifinals, the Brazilians coped without accurate strikes from the striker, but in the final meeting with Italy it was Pele who opened the score. After throwing into the penalty area, he chose the correct position and irresistibly hit his head (on the video - 01.40).
“Sorry to be immodest, but I've never seen a player better than me at the 1970 World Cup,” says Pele. And you can't argue with him.