Happy 70th Birthday Pele!
Seventy years ago today, in south-east Brazil, Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born to a journeyman semi-pro footballer and his wife. That young boy from TrÊs CoraÇÕes only ever dreamed of following in his father's footsteps, but probably never dreamed of becoming the household name.
So today at the SoccerBible, we say happy 70th Birthday to Pele - the greatest footballer of all time...
There was another significant arrival significant TrÊs CoraÇÕes around the time of Pele's birth: electricity. His father, Dondinho named his new son Edson, as a tribute to Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. But, in a mistake that Pele still insists to this day, his birth certificate calls him Edison with an 'i', and also got the date wrong as well - it says 21 October.
Often asked about this mistake, Pele comments "I'm not sure how this came about; probably because in Brazil we're not so fussy about accuracy. This is another mistake that carries on to this day. When I took out my first passport, the date was put in as 21 October and each time I have renewed it the date has stayed the same."
A national hero in native Brazil, Pele's career statistics make for incredible readin He has "officially" scored 760 goals, 541 in league championships, making him the top scorer of all time. But in total the great man has hit the net 1281 times in 1363 games - giving him an amazing 0.93 goals a game.
Pelé began playing for Santos at 15 and his national team at 16, and won his first World Cup at 17. Despite numerous offers from European clubs, the economic conditions and Brazilian football regulations at the time benefited Santos, thus enabling them to keep Pelé for almost two decades until 1974. With Pelé within their ranks, Santos reach their zenith by winning the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores, the most prestigious club competition in South American football.
The legend begins with Pelé's first World Cup, breaking records throughout the tournament. Youngest player to play in the World Cup, Youngest Ever World Cup Goal scorer (17 years and 239 days stat fans), youngest scorer of a World Cup hat-trick and youngest winner of the World Cup. Quite an achievement we're sure you'll agree. Two goals in the Final as Brazil beat Sweden 5-2, a hat-trick against France in the semi finals and the winner against Wales in the quarter finals giving the samba star an impressive return of 6 goals in the 4 matches played.
After the euphoria of triumph in '58, a crushing blow to Brazil and Pele at the 1962 World Cup in Chile. In the first match tournament, against Mexico, Pelé assisted the first goal and then scored the second one, securing Brazil the win. But he injured himself while attempting a long-range shot against Czechoslovakia, which forced him out of the rest of the tournament. It was another Brazilian legend Garrincha who would take the leading role and carry Brazil to their second World Cup title.
Pelé had vowed never to play again at the World Cup after 1966, sticking with Santos. However, he was called to the national team in early 1969, and whilst refusing at first, he then accepted and played in all six World Cup qualifying matches, scoring six goals. The Brazil team, with names including Pelé, Rivelino, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto Torres and more is regarded as one of the greatest ever football teams.
Pelé himself stated 1970 as when he was playing his best for Brazil - despite most on remembering Gordan Bank's save as one of the moments of the World Cup, alongside the quality of the Brazil side.
Brazil played Italy in the final, where Pele scored the opener, before making assists on Jairzinho's and Carlos Alberto's goals. Brazil won the match 4-1, keeping the Jules Rimet Trophy indefinitely, and Pele could retire - which he did in 1971 infront of a packed Maracana in a specially arranged farewell friendly against Yugoslavia. He was just 30.
With Pele on the field, the Brazilian team's record was 67 wins, 14 draws, and 11 losses, and they won three World Cups. Brazil never lost a match while fielding both Pelé and Garrincha. Having scaled every peak in the game, Pele took his fathers' advice and bowed out at the top. A cameo with the New York Cosmos in 1975 only helped the great man's reputation, and again left New York as a champion.
So on his 70th Birthday, we celebrate the man and playing career that started as a 15 year old prodigy in Santos and ended over 1,000 goals later as the saviour of soccer in the US. Happy Birthday Pele!
