Pelé

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, more commonly known as just Pelé, (23 October 1940 in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil[1] – 29 December 2022 in São Paulo, Brazil) was a Brazilian football player. Pelé was the most successful league goal scorer in the world, with 678 league goals. In total, Pelé scored 1283 goals in 1363 games, including unofficial friendlies and tour games. That was listed in the Guinness World Records for most career goals scored in the history of football. He died on the 29th of December, 2022

He was given the title "Football Player of the Century" by FIFA. Many believe that he was the best player in the history of football.

Teams

From 1956 to 1974, Pelé played for Santos, had 605 appearances, and scored 1281 goals.[2] From 1975 to 1977, he played for New York Cosmos, when he had 64 appearances, and scored 37 goals.[2] From 1978 to 1980 he played for XI Classic till he retired.

Pelé (born October 23, 1940, Três Corações, Brazil—died December 29, 2022, São Paolo, Brazil) was a Brazilian football (soccer) player, in his time probably the most famous and possibly the best-paid athlete in the world. He was part of the Brazilian national teams that won three World Cup championships (1958, 1962, and 1970).

After playing for a minor league club at Bauru, São Paulo state, Pelé (whose nickname apparently is without significance) was rejected by major club teams in the city of São Paulo. In 1956, however, he joined the Santos Football Club, which, with Pelé at inside left forward, won nine São Paulo league championships and, in 1962 and 1963, both the Libertadores Cup and the Intercontinental Club Cup. Sometimes called “Pérola Negra” (“Black Pearl”), he became a Brazilian national hero. He combined kicking power and accuracy with a remarkable ability to anticipate other players’ moves. After the 1958 World Cup, Pelé was declared a national treasure by the Brazilian government in order to ward off large offers from European clubs and ensure that he would remain in Brazil. On November 19, 1969, in his 909th first-class match, he scored his 1,000th goal.

Pelé made his international debut in 1957 at age 16 and the following year played his first game in the World Cup finals in Sweden. The Brazilian manager was initially hesitant to play his young star. When Pelé finally reached the field, he had an immediate impact, rattling the post with one shot and collecting an assist. He had a hat trick in the semifinal against France and two goals in the championship game, where Brazil defeated Sweden 5–2. At the 1962 World Cup finals, Pelé tore a thigh muscle in the second match and had to sit out the remainder of the tournament. Nonetheless, Brazil went on to claim its second World Cup title. Rough play and injuries turned the 1966 World Cup into a disaster for both Brazil and Pelé, as the team went out in the first round, and he contemplated retiring from World Cup play. Returning in 1970 for one more World Cup tournament, he teamed with young stars Jairzinho and Rivelino to claim Brazil’s third title and permanent ownership of the Jules Rimet Trophy. Pelé finished his World Cup career having scored 12 goals in 14 games.

Pelé’s electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals made him a star around the world. His team Santos toured internationally in order to take full advantage of his popularity. In 1967 he and his team traveled to Nigeria, where a 48-hour cease-fire in that nation’s civil war was called to allow all to watch the great player.

Pelé announced his retirement in 1974 but in 1975 agreed to a three-year $7 million contract with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League and to promote the game in the United States. He retired after leading the Cosmos to the league championship in 1977.

Pelé was the recipient of the International Peace Award in 1978. In 1980 he was named Athlete of the Century by the French sports publication L’Equipe, and he received the same honour in 1999 from the International Olympic Committee. In 2014 the Pelé Museum opened in Santos, Brazil. In addition to his accomplishments in sports, he published several best-selling autobiographies and starred in several successful documentary and semi-documentary films. He also composed numerous musical pieces, including the soundtrack for the film Pelé (1977).

Abedi Ayew Pelé (born Nov. 5, 1964, Ghana) Ghanaian football (soccer) player who was the only man to have won the African Player of the Year award three consecutive times (1991–93). As an attacking midfielder with Olympique de Marseille in France, Abedi Pelé was one of the first African players to have an impact on club football in Europe.

Having been given the nickname "Pelé" in recognition of his superior ability, which evoked comparisons to Brazilian great Pelé, Abedi Pelé’s nomadic career began with Real Tamale in Ghana in 1978. He became a member of Ghana’s national team, the Black Stars, who won the African Cup of Nations in Libya in 1982.

Abedi Pelé led Saad Club to the Qatar national championship in 1983. He later moved to France, where between 1986 and 1993 he played for Chamois Niortais, Mulhouse, Marseille, and Lille. At Marseille (1989–90, 1991–93) he combined attacking flair with tactical acumen and an uncanny ability to make game-winning plays and became a mainstay of the prodigious team that won French League titles in 1991 and 1992 as well as the Champions League title in 1993. After a corruption scandal disintegrated the Marseille club, Abedi Pelé moved to Olympique Lyonnais in 1993. He then played in Italy, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates before retiring in 1998. That same year an appreciative Ghanaian government bestowed upon him its highest honour, the Order of Volta (civil division).

World Cup, in football (soccer), quadrennial tournament of men’s national teams that determines the sport’s world champion. It is likely the most popular sporting event in the world, drawing billions of television viewers every tournament. Countries worldwide compete vigorously, many years in advance, to host the lucrative event, and accusations of bribery connected to the awarding of hosting rights have long shadowed the tournament. In fact, the 2015 FIFA corruption scandal implicated more than two dozen FIFA officials and their associates in a 24-year self-enrichment scheme that reached the highest levels of FIFA management. The equivalent tournament for women’s national football teams is the Women’s World Cup.

The first competition for the cup was organized in 1930 by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and was won by Uruguay. Held every four years since that time, except during World War II, the competition consists of international sectional tournaments leading to a final elimination event made up of 32 national teams. Unlike Olympic football, World Cup teams are not limited to players of a certain age or amateur status, so the competition serves more nearly as a contest between the world’s best players. Referees are selected from lists that are submitted by all the national associations.

The trophy cup awarded from 1930 to 1970 was the Jules Rimet Trophy, named for the Frenchman who proposed the tournament. This cup was permanently awarded in 1970 to then three-time winner Brazil (1958, 1962, and 1970), and a new trophy called the FIFA World Cup was put up for competition. Many other sports have organized “World Cup” competitions.