Pelé’s Followers (65)

Pelé

Born

in Três Corações, Brazil

October 23, 1940

Died

December 29, 2022

Genre

Biographies & Memoirs, Sports

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Edison Arantes do Nascimento, KBE, best known by his nickname Pelé, was a Brazilian football player. He was given the title of Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee. Time magazine listed Pelé as one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century. While his birth certificate shows his first name as Edison (after Thomas Edison), he preferred to call himself Edson, but it was as Pelé that he had become a sporting legend.

In his native Brazil, Pelé was hailed as a national hero. He was known for his accomplishments and contributions to the game of football in addition to being officially declared football ambassador of the world by FIFA and a national treasure by the Brazilian government. He was also acknowledged fo Edison Arantes do Nascimento, KBE, best known by his nickname Pelé, was a Brazilian football player. He was given the title of Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee. Time magazine listed Pelé as one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century. While his birth certificate shows his first name as Edison (after Thomas Edison), he preferred to call himself Edson, but it was as Pelé that he had become a sporting legend.

In his native Brazil, Pelé was hailed as a national hero. He was known for his accomplishments and contributions to the game of football in addition to being officially declared football ambassador of the world by FIFA and a national treasure by the Brazilian government. He was also acknowledged for his vocal support of policies to improve the social conditions of the poor (when he scored his 1,000th goal he dedicated it to the poor children of Brazil). During his career, he became known as "The King of Football" (O Rei do Futebol), "The King Pelé" (O Rei Pelé) or simply "The King" (O Rei). He was also a member of the American National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Spotted by football star Waldemar de Brito, Pelé began playing for Santos at 15 and his national team at 16, and won his first World Cup at 17. Despite numerous offers from European clubs, the economic conditions and Brazilian football regulations at the time benefited Santos, thus enabling them to keep Pelé for almost two decades until 1974. Pelé played as an inside forward, striker, and what later became known as the playmaker position. Pelé's technique and natural athleticism have been universally praised and during his playing years he was renowned for his excellent dribbling and passing, his pace, powerful shot, exceptional heading ability, and prolific goalscoring.

He was the all-time leading scorer of the Brazil national football team and is the only footballer to be a part of three World Cup-winning teams. In 1962 he was on the Brazilian squad at the start of the World Cup but due to an injury suffered in the second match, he wasn't able to play the remainder of the tournament. In November 2007 FIFA announced that he would be awarded the 1962 medal retroactively, making him the only player in the world to have three World Cup winning medals.

Since his retirement in 1977, Pelé had been a worldwide ambassador for football and had undertaken various acting roles and commercial ventures.
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Combine Editions
Pelé’s books

Average rating: 4.1 · 3,844 ratings · 345 reviews · 40 distinct works • Similar authors

	Pelé: The Autobiography 3.98 avg rating — 2,041 ratings — published 1977 — 37 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Why Soccer Matters: A Look at More Than Sixty Years of International Soccer 4.26 avg rating — 1,351 ratings — published 2014 — 21 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	PELE: MY LIFE AND THE BEAUTIFUL GAME by Pelé, Robert L. Fish 4.10 avg rating — 200 ratings — 21 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	For the Love of Soccer! by Pelé, Frank Morrison (Illustrator) 4.11 avg rating — 140 ratings — published 2010 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pele: My Life In Pictures 4.55 avg rating — 33 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pele Mi Legado 3.71 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2002 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Learning Soccer with Pelé 4.54 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 1978 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Play Football With Pelé by Pelé, Julio Mazzei 4.67 avg rating — 12 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The World Cup Murder (Marcus Aurelius Burr, #2) by Pelé, Herbert Resnicow 4.09 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 1988 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	World of Reading For the Love of Soccer!: Level 2 by Pelé, Frank Morrison (Illustrations) 4.13 avg rating — 8 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Pelé…

Quotes by Pelé (?)

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”
― Pele

136 likes

“A penalty is a cowardly way to score.”
― Pelé, Pele: The Autobiography

tags: soccer

96 likes

“Everything is practice.”
― Pele

tags: self-improvement

59 likes

See all Pelé's quotes »

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Pelé’s Followers (65)

Pelé

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Pelé’s books