Key lessons from legendary Pele’s life to current athletes
Brazilian former football star Edson Arantes do Nascimento, aka "Pele", holds an autographed football during a press conference about the Banco Santander scholarships at the Universidad Anahuac in Huixquilucan, State of Mexico, Mexico on May 19, 2014.
What you need to know:
- The debate as to who was a better player on the pitch between Pele and Diego Maradona is one that will continue for years, but there is no denying the fact that Pele, is the greatest footballer of all time
- As the world marks Pele’s birthday, there are many lessons on humility and dedication to a course that athletes in various sporting fields can learn from his life
Many superlatives have been used to describe Edson Arantes do Nascimento, the world-renowned Brazilian football legend better known as Pele.
The debate as to who was a better player on the pitch between Pele and Diego Maradona is one that will continue for years, but there is no denying the fact that Pele, the youngest player to have scored in the Fifa World Cup and the only player to have won the tournament three times (1958, 1962 and 1970), is the greatest footballer of all time. He is also the all-time leading goalscorer for Brazil with 77 goals in 92 games.
On Friday, Pele, born on October 23, 1940, turned 80 years and world football governing body Fifa led fans in paying tribute to football’s greatest player of all time. He is among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century.
Humility
As the world marks Pele’s birthday, there are many lessons on humility and dedication to a course that athletes in various sporting fields can learn from his life.
Pele epitomised humility and was focused from an early age. As a young boy, Pele began playing for Sete de Setembro football team. Because he had no money for boots, he worked as a shoe shine boy before joining Santos, one of Brazil’s most successful football teams which has become the symbol of Jogo Bonito (the beautiful game). He went on to earn his first international call-up for Brazil at only 16.
At 17, he played a leading role for Brazil in the 1958 Fifa World Cup. For someone so young, Pele showed focus and determination rare in athletes these days.
At the 1958 Fifa World Cup held in Sweden, Pele introduced himself to football fans in Europe and the rest of the world in spectacular fashion. He arrived at the tournament with an injury he had incurred earlier from friendly matches in Italy, and so he only got involved for the first time in the tournament for Brazil in the third group match against the Soviet Union, which his team won 2-0.
He would score in his team’s 1-0 quarter-final win over Wales, and would further justify his inclusion in the team in subsequent matches. In their semi-final match against France, Pele scored three goals for a 5-1 victory, setting the stage for the final match against Sweden in which he again scored two goals. Brazil, the only team to have featured in every edition of the Fifa World Cup since 1938, won the final match 5-2.
In this file photo taken on June 21, 1970 Brazilian forward Pelé smiles as he holds aloft the Jules Rimet Cup after Brazil beat Italy 4-1 in the World Cup final in Mexico City.
At the final whistle at a packed Råsunda Stadium in Soln near Stockholm, a young Pele, overcome with emotion, can be seen being raised shoulder-high by his teammates in appreciation of his leading role in securing the victory. Under coach Vicente Feola, he had earned his place at the big table alongside stars like Mario Zagallo, Mane Garrincha, captain Hilderaldo Bellini, Didi and Edvaldo Jizino Netto.
Jolly person
Fifa celebrated his birthday in a special way by inviting those who have lived, played and worked with him. Now, I have neither met Pele nor did I watch him play but I have read books extolling his virtues and his prowess on the pitch. I have also watched movies about him, and several YouTube videos that left no doubt in my mind that he is greatness personified. But then again, if an alligator comes out of the water and tells you that the crocodile is sick, can you doubt him?
From the words of his fellow World Cup winners Pepe, Edu, Bebeto, Jaizinho and Cafu, 1958 World Cup winning coach Joe Fraga, his wife Marcia Aoki, his doctor Eduardo Gomes, his closest friend and former team mate at Santos Manoel Maria, he is a jolly good fellow.
“He did something only the best manage to do. In his heart he carried the memory of 1950 in his heart when Brazil lost to Uruguay in the final of 1950 World Cup. A 1958 Fifa World Cup, Pele wanted to see his nation and his people happy again, and he made sure that they were. He helped shape the game. You could call him the game changer. He did something only the very best manage to do.
"Pele took football to another level. Not only did he epitomise the beautiful game, he also played with effortless flair that had never been seen. It was an amazing thing to watch him on the pitch. He is named “the King” and rightly so. I want to wish Pele a happy birthday from the bottom of my heart,” Fifa President said on Friday in his recorded message on Fifa TV to celebrate Pele’s birthday.
Happy birthday G.O.A.T.
