Story of King Pele

Story of King Pele Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé, born on October 23, 1940 in Minas de Gerais, Brazil; Pelé would grow up in Bauru, São Paulo, playing soccer with handmade balls and working in tea shops, to earn some money; At the age of eleven he began to play he joined the Canto do Río youth soccer team. At the age of 14 he would enter the Bauru Athletic club in the youth category; then Pelé was discovered by Valdemar de Brito, a talent scout who saw him play with the amateur team and took on the task of taking him to Santos; He began training with the lower divisions, making his official debut before turning 16. He played his first game against Corinthians, this was on September 7, 1956, the king would score the first goal of his professional career, in the triumph of his team 7-1. In the 1957 season he would be the top scorer in the league in Brazil and months later he would be called to wear the shirt of the Brazil senior soccer team, he made his official debut on July 7, 1957 against Argentina, scoring the first goal for his team at age 16. Then he participated in the 1958 World Cup and his first match was against the USSR, being the youngest player in the tournament and the youngest to play in a senior soccer World Cup. Pelé scored two goals in the final that Brazil beat Sweden 5-2. In 1962 Pelé's Santos played in the Copa Libertadores and would be champion, the first time that a Brazilian club won this trophy; The last international match with his team would be on July 18, 1971 against Yugoslavia, in Rio de Janeiro; After the 1972 season, Pelé would retire from soccer for a while, until 1975 when he was convinced to play for the New York Cosmos, using his public figure to attract more fans to the new soccer in the United States; until 1977, when he closed his career with a friendly match between Santos Fc and the New York Cosmos on October 1. Some personal data; On February 21, 1966, he would marry Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi, with whom he would father two daughters, Kelly Cristina (1967) and Kelly (1978), as well as a son, Edson (1970). By the year 1982 the couple divorced; In 1992 Pelé was appointed ambassador to the UN for ecology and the environment, In 1999 he would be chosen as the best player in the world in the 20th century by Fifa and the athlete of the century by the IOC; These are a few relevant facts about his personal life, since finally on December 29, 2022 he passed away from colon cancer that deteriorated his body irreparably. And remember that if you want to know more, visit our original post on our blog, share this information with your friends, see you on the web.