Pele’s real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento. He was born on October 23, 1940 in Tres Coracoes, Minas Gerais state, southern Brazil. Pele’s father is former Fluminense player Dondinho. His mother is Celeste Arantes. In the family, Pele is the eldest brother, he also has a younger sister.

According to Brazilian media, Pele was named after the great inventor, Thomas Edison. But it is unclear whether it was because his parents decided to omit the letter “i” or because of an error during the birth registration process, the Football King eventually took the name Edson Arantes do Nascimento.

Initially, Pele’s family called him by the nickname “Dico”. However, when going to school or playing football on the street, his friends often called him by the familiar name “Pele” because the pronunciation was quite similar to the name of famous local goalkeeper Vasco da Gama Bile, whom Pele deeply loved and admired.

From an early age, Pele soon showed his natural football talent. When he was 10 years old, he even built his own football team to compete with other street opponents. Pele participated in local amateur soccer tournaments and won countless victories. In 1956, he decided to sign a professional contract for Santos Club.

Pele signed a professional contract with Santos at the age of 16 (Photo: Globo)

Under the Sao Paulo state team’s shirt, Pele quickly shined. At the age of 16, he scored his first career goal. And that season, the young man made a strong impression with the title of top scorer.

In July 1957, when he was only 16 years and 9 months old, Pele scored to help Brazil beat rival Argentina 2-1 at the Maracana. The goal helps him still hold the record for the youngest player to score in Selecao history.

Thanks to a string of impressive performances, Pele caught the eye of coach Vicente Feola. At the age of 17, young talent Santos caused a fever in the land of samba when he was called up to the Brazilian national team for the 1958 World Cup.

Why is Pele the only player called “King of Soccer”?

The biggest football festival on the planet in Sweden became Pele’s show. Even though he only entered the field in the final match of the group stage due to a knee injury before the World Cup, the 17-year-old prodigy still shined brightly with 6 goals, 1 goal in the quarter-finals, a hat-trick in the semi-finals and a double in the final match. concluded, bringing Brazil to the top of the world for the first time.

The victory in the 1958 World Cup turned Pele into a living saint in the eyes of samba fans. His talent is recognized worldwide. Many big teams in Europe such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus or Napoli are ready to roll out the red carpet to welcome Pele.

However, Pele could not move to Europe to play because of the surprising story. In 1961, Brazilian President Janio Quadros decided to use his power to push the Parliament to introduce a law that would consider Pele as… “national treasure” for 10 years. Therefore, throughout his career, Pele was almost exclusively with Santos, before moving to the US to retire with the New York Cosmos.

Unable to compete at the highest level in Europe, Pele still makes the whole world crazy every World Cup. He helped Brazil win two more championships in 1962 and 1970, and also helped the Selecao become the first team to score a hat-trick of championships, permanently winning the Jules Rimet Gold Cup. Pele owns an unprecedented record, the only player to win the World Cup 3 times .

During Pele’s time, football was still a free game. Players often have to protect themselves from injuries. Football rules at that time were not yet complete, nor were there clear and strict punishments, so defenders were free to attack. Therefore, the risk of serious injury is very high. Yet throughout his playing career, Pele rarely had to leave the field and still shined brightly.

Pele is the only player in history to score a hat-trick to win the World Cup (Photo: Getty)

In 1999, Pele was voted the best player of the 20th century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). In the same year, the prestigious magazine France Football recommended the owners of the title Ball Gold chose the Best Player of the Century, and they chose Pele. Also in 1999, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) elected Pele as Athlete of the Century. While Time magazine named the King of Football on the list of 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

In 2013, Pele received FIFA’s honorary Golden Ball title in recognition of his contributions as a global football icon. Throughout his career, Pele scored 1281 goals in 1363 matches, including unofficial friendlies. This achievement helped the Brazilian legend be listed in the Guinness Book of Records for the most goals.

At the club level, Pele is currently the player who scores the most goals for Santos, and also helped the Sao Paulo state team win the Copa Libertadores two consecutive years, 1962 and 1963. He is given many high nicknames by fans. precious, such as: “The King of Football” (O Rei do Futebol), “The Black Pearl” (Pérola Negra), “King Pele” (O Rei Pelé) or simply “The King ” (O Rei).

Relatives were present at the hospital, accompanying Football King Pele in the battle of life and death.