Pele the soccer legend,,,,,,,,,,,,
PELE
(born 1940). "Soccer in its purest form" was played by Pele, a South American
superstar who was the world's most famous and highest-paid athlete when he
joined a North American team in 1975. He led the Brazilian national soccer
team to three World Cup victories in 1958, 1962, and 1970 and to permanent
possession of the Jules Rimet Trophy. Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born
to a poor family on Oct. 23, 1940, in Tres Coracoes, Brazil. He began playing
for a local minor-league club when he was a teenager. He made his debut with
the Santos Football Club in 1956. With Pele at inside left forward, the team
won several South American clubs' cups and the 1962 world club championship,
in addition to the three World Cup championships. Pele scored his 1,000th
goal in 1969. The legendary athlete retired in 1974 but made a comeback in
1975 after accepting a reported 7-million-dollar contract for three years
with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. He said he came
out of retirement, not for the money, but to "make soccer truly popular in
the United States." His farewell appearance was against his old Santos club
in1977. Pele, whose nickname does not mean anything, became a Brazilian national
hero and was also known as Perola Negra (Black Pearl). An average-sized man,
he was blessed with speed, great balance, tremendous vision, the ability to
control the ball superbly, and the ability to shoot powerfully and accurately
with either foot and with his head. In his career he played in 1,363 matches
and scored 1,282 goals. His best season was 1958, when he scored 139 times.
In addition to his accomplishments in sports, he published several best-selling
autobiographies, starred in several documentary and semidocumentary films,
and composed numerous musical pieces, including the entire sound track for
the film 'Pele' (1977). He was the 1978 recipient of the International Peace
Award, and in 1980 he was named athlete of the century.
