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LONDON. — Bobby Charlton said football might have been “invented for him”.
Certainly, most commentators regard him as the finest exponent of the beautiful game. Pele’s skill and electrifying speed were coupled with a deadly accuracy in front of goal. A national hero in his native Brazil, he became a global sporting icon.
And, off the field, he campaigned tirelessly to improve conditions for the most deprived people in society.
YOUNG STAR
Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born on October 23, 1940 in Tres Coracoes, a city in south-eastern Brazil.
His birth certificate states he was born on October 21, but Pele insisted that was incorrect: “In Brazil we’re not so fussy about accuracy.” He was named after the inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, because, according to Pele, electricity arrived at his home just before he did. Later his parents dropped the “i” from his name. He grew up in relative poverty in the city of Bauru, and contributed to the family income by getting part-time jobs in local cafes.
His father taught him to play football, but the family could not afford a ball – so the young Pele often kicked a rolled-up sock around the street.
SIMPLY “PELE”
It was at school that he was first dubbed Pele by his friends, although neither he, nor any of them, have any idea what it means.
He never much liked the nickname, feeling that it sounded too much like “baby talk” in Portuguese.
He began playing for a number of local amateur teams when he was in his teens.
Indoor football had just started to become popular in the area, and the young Pele relished the change of playing surface.
“I took to it like a fish to water,” he later said. “It’s a lot quicker than football on grass – you have to think really quickly.”
He also led Bauru Athletic Club juniors to three state youth championships, establishing himself as a bright talent.
In 1956, his coach, Waldemar de Brito, took him to the port city of Santos to try out for Santos FC, a professional team.
De Brito was already convinced of his protégé’s abilities, boasting to the Santos directors that Pele would be the best footballer in the world. Pele more than lived up to the boast, impressing Santos who offered him a contract in June 1956. He was just 15 years old.
TOP SCORER
A year later, he was selected for the Santos senior team and scored the first of his many career goals in his opening match.
He quickly earned a starting place in the side and in his first year became the league’s top scorer.
Just 10 months after signing as a professional, Pele was called up by the Brazilian national team. He made his international debut against Argentina at the Maracana, where Brazil lost 2-1. Their goal was scored by a 16-year-old Pele, making him the youngest player to score in an international.
His hopes of playing for Brazil in the 1958 World Cup seemed to have been dashed when he suffered a knee injury.
But his team-mates pressured the management to select him and he made his World Cup debut against the USSR. — BBC Sport.
Online Reporter