The Brazilian catapulted himself on the world stage as a teenage phenomenon in 1958, and transcended his sport thereafter.
He remains the only player to have won the World Cup three times - and, in 2000, was named as Player of the Century by FIFA.
At his best, defences simply could not live with Pelé - he possessed skill, pace, and strength, could hit a powerful shot with either foot, and leapt like a salmon.
Indeed, perhaps the best-remembered moment in England involving Pelé at a World Cup came in the 1970 tournament when he made a towering jump at the far post and directed a header towards the bottom corner in a group match against the Three Lions.
In response, England's World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks produced that now iconic save.
Notably, though, Brazil fashioned a similar move two weeks later in the World Cup Final against Italy - and, on that occasion, Pelé found the net to make it 1-0 with the last of his 12 goals in World Cup finals.
Pelé had, of course, started young. At the 1958 World Cup, aged 17, he was a relative unknown and did not make an appearance until the third group game against the Soviet Union when he became the then-youngest player in finals history.
The teenager provided an assist on debut but really announced himself on the world stage in the semi finals as Brazil beat France in a 5-2 thrashing which included a 23-minute second half hat-trick by the Santos striker.
In the final, Brazil won 5-2 again, against hosts Sweden, as Pelé made it five goals for the tournament with a brace.
Next, though, came two frustrating World Cup tournaments in the 1960s, as the young forward became a marked man.
In 1962, Pelé only played the first couple of games before suffering a thigh injury while attempting a classic long-range shot, although Brazil retained the title.
However, there was no such consolation at the 1966 World Cup in England as Pelé was subjected to a number of brutal fouls from the Bulgaria and Portugal defenders - and the Seleção were dumped out in the group stages.
Four years later at the 1970 World Cup, Brazil - in response - had built their strongest ever team.
Pelé, by then aged 29, was in his prime - and, even in a deeper role, he would carry the ball from midfield areas to set up the likes of Jairzinho, Rivellino, and Tostao. He also still contributed four goals.
Of course, the crowning moment in 1970 came when, after a flowing team move, Pelé played a blind pass straight into Carlos Alberto's running trajectory - and, without breaking stride, the latter fiercely struck the ball in the bottom corner to make it 4-1.
With a third World Cup win out of four, FIFA allowed Brazil to retain the Jules Rimet trophy for perpetuity - while the tournament in Mexico, broadcast for the first time in glorious technicolour, also secured Pelé's worldwide legacy.
Thereafter, Pelé's biggest moments of the 1970s came in exhibition football in places as far flung as Hong Kong where he once scored a hat-trick as his club, Sao Paulo-based Santos, came from behind to beat Newcastle United 4-2.
In 1973, Santos made the last of their semi-regular visits to England where they played Fulham and, bizarrely, Plymouth Argyle - who actually won 3-2.
Later, Pelé attempted to popularise football in the United States by joining the New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League (NASL) but the competition suffered a sharp decline following his retirement in 1977.
Pelé starred as himself as one of the players in the hit 1981 film Escape To Victory and, inevitably - with such a high profile - eventually engaged in the murky arena of Brazilian politics.
Named Sports Minister by President Fernando Henrique Cardoso for a three-year period between 1995 and 1998, it was a role in which Pelé was clearly never at ease.
Meanwhile, his subsequent advertisement of Viagra, a drug to assist with erectile disfunction, also caused him to suffer some rather unmerited, if predictable, mockery.
Worst of all, though, some members of younger generations had, by the time of his death, begun to besmirch Pelé's football achievements - although, in this regard, he also did not help himself.
Pelé claimed to have scored 1,283 goals in 1,366 matches but many have disputed his count on the basis that he included goals scored in friendlies or matches against semi-professional and even amateur teams.
For the record, Wikipedia shows Pelé as having scored 775 goals in 840 official games - however, this far more veriable statistic results in a ratio which is just about as prolific.
At his death, Pelé was still Brazil's record goalscorer with 77 goals in 92 caps, having only recently been joined on that total by Neymar at the 2022 World Cup.
In other words, Pelé was a true football great whichever way you look at it. He helped to coin a phrase recognised throughout football - The Beautiful Game - or O Jogo Bonito in Portuguese, which itself serves an appropriate epitaph for the man.
Pelé was the Beautiful Game - and the Beautiful Game was Pelé.
No comments:
Post a Comment