On the 29th of December 2022, football lost
the man who made the game beautiful. Edson Arantes De Nascimento, popularly
known as Pelé, was born in Brazil in 1940. The son of a retired footballer, he
grew up in poverty in rural Sāo Paulo, but this did not hinder Pele’s
determination to follow in his father’s footsteps. When his family could not
afford to buy a ball, he would practice in the yard with stuffed newspaper or
fruits.
اضافة اعلان
At a young age, Pelé was making big
impressions. His domination of local futsal and youth leagues caught the
attention of his coach, who traveled hundreds of kilometers with the young Pelé
to sign him with top-division team Santos. At just sixteen, he started playing
for Brazil’s national team; Pelé could only go up from there.
A year after his Brazil debut, Pelé was
part of a World Cup squad that was doubted by many. But the young player’s
phenomenal football IQ and extraordinary technical ability played a key role in
winning the nation its first title. Sixty-four years later, he is still the
youngest World Cup winner in history. In an era of football known for its rough
and aggressive playing style, Pelé dazzled crowds as he weaved and dribbled through
countless defenders, racking up six goals in only four matches played.
Brazilians of all races celebrated his team’s victories together, and through watching him become an international icon, the Brazilian public developed a deep sense of pride in their national identity.
A game changerThe discovery of Pelé changed football
forever. Soon after the beginning of his professional career, he came to be
regarded as the sport’s first global superstar. Worldwide recognition of Brazil
skyrocketed as its team became a force to be reckoned with, dispelling European
myths of supremacy on and off the pitch. Along with boosting the national
team’s emergence as a football powerhouse, Pelé led Santos F.C. to stardom,
touring the world and beating the best clubs in Europe. Though he only stood at
173cm, Pele ensured Brazil’s reputation stood tall.
Within his country’s borders, Pelé’s social
impact was extensive. Brazilians of all races celebrated his team’s victories together,
and through watching him become an international icon, the Brazilian public
developed a deep sense of pride in their national identity. As Juca Kfouri
said, “[Pelé] made Brazilians love themselves again.” In the middle of the 20th
century, the fact that the world’s most famous athlete was a Black man was
incredibly momentous. Unsurprisingly, Pelé’s success gave hope to Brazil’s
large yet marginalized Black community.
‘Official national treasure’The 1960s saw more accolades for Pelé and his
teams. Internationally, Brazil convincingly won the 1962 World Cup. At the club
level, it was with Pelé that Santos, once trophy-less in the Brazilian league,
nutmegged and chipped their way to five Serié
A titles in a row. With Pelé’s contributions making all the difference,
Santos also won back-to-back Copa Libertadores (the South American equivalent
of the Champions League) in 1962 and 1963.
It was not only Pele’s unmatched skill but
also his inspiring presence that guided his teams to victory. Top European
teams desperately tried to sign him, but Santos fans revolted each and every
time a possible transfer was mentioned. Former Brazilian President Janio
Quadros went as far as to publicly declare Pelé an “official national treasure”
to prevent him from leaving.
For a good part of the 20th century, the world would stop to see “The King” play, and today, the world stops to mourn his loss.
Naturally, every career has ups and downs,
and this is true even for “The King”. Injury-stricken Pelé could not make
much of an impact as the Selecão crashed out of the 1966 World Cup in
the first round, and doubt ensued. Public pressure compelled a reluctant Pelé
to play in the 1970 World Cup, where he, along with Carlos Alberto, Rivelino,
Jairzinho, and others formed what many consider the best international football
squad in history. Their flawless Jogo Bonito saw them stomp the other
footballing giants of their day convincingly to claim a third World Cup title.
The man who made football the world’s
sportPelé retired from international football and
left Santos for the New York Cosmos before hanging up his boots for good in
1977. Afterwards, Pele became a UNESCO goodwill ambassador and at one point
Brazil’s Minister of Sport. He worked tirelessly to do humanitarian work and
promote “The Beautiful Game”, a term he popularized.
1,390 games, 1,301 goals, three World Cups,
FIFA player of the century. These are the astonishing accomplishments of
Brazil’s ambassador to the world, the man who made football the world’s sport.
No one has surmounted these feats yet, but there has been competition after
Pele’s retirement. Maradona, Ronaldo Nazarío, Zidane, Romario, and Ronaldinho
are legends who played after Pelé. The most recent generation has watched Messi
and Cristiano Ronaldo constantly one-up each other in an effort to be the best
in the world, while Mbappe and Haaland are some of the newer faces of the game.
Aside from numbers and celebrity status,
what really made Pelé unique was the fact that even though there were other
skilled players in his generation, “The King” was simply ten tiers above them.
No one surpassed him in his time, and it is certainly a challenge for any
future player who aspires to do so. The levels of praise he received were bordering
on blasphemous at times, because fans simply could not comprehend the sheer
completeness of the one and only Pelé.
Such a consequential cultural figure could
not avoid controversy. Many accused him of appeasing Brazil’s military
dictatorship, which killed and tortured hundreds, since he did not refuse to
meet with or publicly oppose the dictator. In response, Pelé said that he was
“totally convinced that [he] helped Brazil a lot more with [his] football, with
[his] way of being, than the politicians whose job it was to do the very same
thing.”
1,390 games, 1,301 goals, three World Cups, FIFA player of the century. These are the astonishing accomplishments of Brazil’s ambassador to the world, the man who made football the world’s sport.
Pelé did have an immense and positive
global impact, demonstrated when the two warring sides of Nigeria’s Civil War
declared a 48 hour ceasefire to watch Pelé’s Santos play a friendly in Lagos.
In such a fractured country, divided along deep ethnic and religious lines,
seeing Pelé’s magic style of football brought thousands of people together at
one moment. Perhaps his smooth turns and silky feints did bring hope to the
world.
For a good part of the 20th century, the
world would stop to see “The King” play, and today, the world stops to mourn
his loss. Maybe someone will beat him and become the greatest footballer ever —
some contend that others have. But Pelé, who was the face of football, will
forever remain its brightest star.
Mohammad Rasoul Kailani is a
first year student at the University of Toronto. Amongst various other topics,
his interests are in Middle Eastern affairs.
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