[Sports] Pelé, 'O Rei' of football, dies at the age of 82

[Kyro]

 

Pelé, the only soccer player to have won three World Cups, the first of planetary fame, died this Thursday at the age of 82 as a result of colon cancer at the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo, as confirmed by his daughter Kely Nascimento. “Everything we are is thanks to you, we love you infinitely. Rest in peace," he wrote on his Instagram account. With him, an era in the history of football and in Brazil ends. Those who had the privilege of watching him play live or have seen him on video remember precisely that headed goal with which he opened the scoring in his third World Cup. The 4-1 final against Italy in Mexico 1970. An instant that, together with legendary plays and goals, has crystallized in the collective memory as the maximum expression of beautiful, effective and irreverent football. “Delighted, I'm Ronald Reagan, President of the United States. You don't need to introduce yourself because everyone knows who Pele is," his host told him on one of his first visits to the White House.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born on October 23, 1940 in Tres Corações, a small town in Minas Gerais. Son of professional soccer player João Ramos, Dondinho, and housewife Celeste, they named him Edson in honor of the father of the light bulb. Thanks to his gift for soccer, at the age of ten he was already a local celebrity. At the age of 15, his first trip to the coastal city of Santos marked two milestones in his life: he fulfilled his dream of seeing the sea and signed for the club to which he was always faithful, Santos. He started a brilliant career that led him to be consecrated as one of the best athletes of the 20th century.

He debuted the yellow shirt of the Canarinha in the 58 World Cup, in Sweden. At 17 years old and 10 behind him, he finished the final against the host crying like a child after a masterful performance that crowned him as the youngest to lift the trophy. No other footballer has won three world cups, to the pride of the Brazilians. Pelé returned home with Sweden's 58, Chile's 62 and Mexico's 70 after delighting a global audience. In the last one, as a great reference of a team that left an indelible mark in the history of football alongside Rivelino, Jairzinho, Tostão or Gerson. In England 66 going to hunt Pelé was almost a norm in the field. After his first World Cup, the teenager acquired unprecedented fame. O Rei was born. In addition to winning three of the four World Cups he played in, he won six Brazilian leagues and one American, two Intercontinental Cups and two other Libertadores.

https://elpais.com/deportes/2022-12-29/muere-pele-o-rei-del-futbol-a-los-82-anos.html