He is THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND.
Pelé is a household name, even if you weren't around since he last tied up a football boot in rage. While the greatest footballer of all time has now been retired for 40 years, his achievements are still remembered today. The objectives have been seen by everyone. We've all seen the black-and-white video of a boy breaking through every world's finest defenders. We've also seen the hazy technicolor visuals of a player at the pinnacle of his abilities, heading one of the greatest football teams of all time to yet another World Cup victory.
Apart from being known as being one of the best soccer players of all time, there's more to him than that. We're delving deeper into Pele's life and unearthing several lesser-known truths.
1) Pelé is named after Thomas Edison, the inventor of the lightbulb. In his career, the young Edson "Pelé" Arantes do Nascimento displayed a great deal of ingenuity and lit up many a football pitch with his abilities.
2) When Brazil lost the World Cup final to Uruguay in 1950, Pelé saw his father crying. He promised his father that Brazil will win the World Cup, and he did.
3) Pelé joined Santos at the age of 15 and scored four goals in his first match against FC Corinthians.
4) The Brazilian and Santos striker was not really content with just single goal. He had 92 hat tricks, 31 four-goal games, six five-goal games, and once netted eight goals in a single game. If only Fantasy Football had existed back then.
5) Pelé is the only footballer to have been on three World Cup winning team.
6) In 1961, the Brazilian government designated him as a National Treasure in order to prevent him from being taken out from the country by international football clubs.
7) Pelé earned his nickname after mispronouncing the Brazilian goalkeeper's name, Bilé, for Pelé. To taunt him, one of his friends began calling him "Pelé," and the name stuck.
8) Pelé scored his 1000th goal on 19 November 1969, causing the day to be simply known as Pelé Day in Santos.
9) Despite the fact that Pele's father was a successful soccer player, his family grew up in poverty in Sao Paulo. Pele supplemented his income by working in tea shops and also as a servant to support his family pay their bills. Though his dad taught him how to play soccer, the family couldn't afford a real ball, so he practiced with a sock filled with newspaper or even a grapefruit.
10) Pelé served as Brazil’s Extraordinary Minister of Sport between 1995 and 1998. He also served as a United Nations ambassador for Ecology and the Environment.
11) In 1999 he Was Voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics. That same year, Pele was elected Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee.
12) Pele was married three times and was allegedly reported to have had many affairs.
An interesting tale of Pele | When football stopped a War
