Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born 23 October 1940, known as Pele, is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played as a forward.
He is one of the greatest professional soccer players of all time, Pele grew up very poor in Brazil. He would work as a servant in various tea shops in his town to help make ends meet. As a boy, he enjoyed playing soccer.
He is regarded by many in the sport, including football writers, players, and fans, as the greatest player of all time. In 1999, he was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century award.
That same year [1999], Pelé was elected Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee. According to the IFFHS, Pelé is the most successful domestic league goal-scorer in football history scoring 650 goals in 694 League matches, and in total 1281 goals in 1363 games, which included unofficial friendlies and is a Guinness World Record. During his playing days, Pelé was the best-paid athlete in the world.
However, Pele could not afford a proper soccer ball, so he stuffed newspapers in a sock and tied it up with a string to make a ball. When that option was not available, Pele would play with grapefruit to hone his skills. Over time, his talent was noticed and he played for various indoor and outdoor Brazilian soccer teams.
He began his long journey to superstardom at the Bauru Athletic Club juniors. Before long, he was playing for the famous Brazilian football team Santos and eventually the national team. He is a much-decorated soccer player.
The 1958 World Cup was his crowning moment, He was only 17 years old that year and he made a record as the youngest player to score an international goal in soccer. He also performed a hat-trick and led team Brazil to victory.
The football legend indicates that when a victory is difficult, there is much more happiness in the win. He is currently, a United Nations (UN) ambassador for ecology and the environment, Pele is truly an inspirational athlete.
