It’s sadly ironic that only a week after Argentina won the 2022 World Cup, the icon who first put South America on the world soccer map is now looking down on us from heaven. By now we are all aware that the legendary Pele, who won that prestigious tournament a record three times for his native Brazil, has left us after a long battle with colon cancer at 82 years of age. But this international celebrity with that infectious smile, the Muhammad Ali of “futbol/soccer” will always be with us in spirit.
“A mere good bye to the eternal King Pele will never be enough to express the pain that currently grips the world of football,” remarked Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese striker and ongoing darling of the pitch in Europe. France’s young phenom Kylian Mbappe and the sport’s top dog Lionel Messi also paid their respects. Yet, Pele was such a friendly man and soccer’s unofficial ambassador for decades. That’s why even while Brazil designated three official days of mourning, many admirers have been celebrating Pele’s life with joy and a bit of disbelief, as if his passing was simply a bad dream.
Born Edison Arantes do Nascimento into a family that struggled in poverty, Pele was proud that his parents named him after the famous American inventor of the light bulb. But growing up on the soccer field under the guidance of his father, a journeyman player, Edison was a bright beam more talented than his dad with those “magic feet.” So it wasn’t long before childhood friends nicknamed him “Pe,” short for foot in Portuguese. The “le” would come later after a goalie on his father’s team named “Bile.” Believe it or not, Edison loved that position as a boy. Hence, the nickname “Pele” stuck throughout his career.
So special was Pele that he would turn pro in his mid teens, and at the tender age of 17, won his first World Cup in 1958. As the youngest player to ever participate in that event, Pele led the Brazilian national team in defeating the host club Sweden 5-2 to win the championship. He would score two goals in the finale, and six altogether in four matches. Pele would later carry Brazil to victory in the 1962 and 1970 tournaments as well. At home, he would play with Santos AC for 20 years. Wearing his famed #10 jersey, Pele racked up a career total of 1,301 goals in 1390 matches. After retiring from Santos, the player known as “O Rei” (The King) brought his talents stateside to play for the New York Cosmos in 1975, creating a surge of soccer crazy kids who never paid much attention to the sport before.
While he grew up poor, Pele died a wealthy man with a net worth of about $100 million. Despite that fact, he remained humble after his playing days and was always generous with his time. A practicing Catholic, Pele had recently presented Pope Francis with an autographed jersey. In politics, he tried to play things down the middle as a friend of the liberal pontiff and a supporter of Brazil’s president Lula de Silva, a known socialist. But while ailing in the hospital, Pele wrote an open letter on his Instagram account to Vladimir Putin, asking the Russian president to stop the “evil and unjust war” against Ukraine.
A bit of a womanizer, Pele married three times and fathered at least seven children. Then as Brazil’s Sports Minister, he was accused of being involved in a money laundering scandal, although such charges frequently crop up with government officials in Latin American republics when cabinet members jockey for power. Then again, while Pele was occasionally scrutinized in private life, he was close to perfection on the field.
“Football used to be just a sport,” noted Neymar, Brazil’s current super star. “Pele turned it into an art.”
