Farewell to Pelé, O Rei of football. The legendary Brazilian number 10 died today in Sao Paulo, aged 82. Born on October 23, 1940 in Tres Coracoes in Brazil, Pelé’s story begins in 1956 when Waldemar de Brito was noticed, who accompanied him to São Paulo in Brazil for an audition for Santos. He made his professional debut on September 7, 1956 with the first of an endless string of goals. The following year it was time for his debut in the national team at the age of 17 yet to be completed: it was July 7, 1957 when the selector Sylvio Pirilo called him up for the match against Argentina. Brazil were defeated 2-1, but Pele scored his country’s only goal.
The following year, 1958, Pelé took part in his first World Cup in Sweden, contributing to the conquest of the final victory (5-2 against Sweden: Pelé was the author of two goals). He led Brazil to World Cup victory twice more, in 1962 against Czechoslovakia and in 1970 against Italy. In his career Pelé scored a total of 97 goals for Brazil during international competitions and 1088 playing for the Santos team, which thanks to him won nine championships. After eighteen years with Santos, Pelé moved to the New York Cosmos team in 1975, leading them to the North American Soccer League title in 1977.
The farewell to football took place in an exciting match held on October 1, 1977, in front of 75,646 fans at Giants Stadium: he played the first half for Cosmos and the second half for his historic team, the Santos. After his retirement from competitive activity, Pelé continued to contribute to the world of football. Five films were made on his story and he took part in six other films, including the one with Sylvester Stallone, “Victory” (in Italian: Escape to victory). Pele is also the author of five books, one of which has been made into a film.
On January 1, 1995, Pelé was appointed Extraordinary Minister for Sport in Brazil. He resigned from his post in April 1998. In 2016 the biopic Pelé: Birth of a Legend (in Italy only Pelé) was released in cinemas. In 2022, at the end of November, he was admitted to the Einstein hospital in São Paulo for colon cancer.
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