The world loses Pelé, the greatest in the history of football, dead at the age of 82

Pelé died this Thursday, December 29, 2022, aged 82. Édson Arantes do Nascimento, the King of Football, was undergoing palliative care, unable to respond to chemotherapy for bowel cancer. The best-known Brazilian in the world, Pelé had been treated against the disease since September 2021.

Born in the city of Três Corações (MG) in 1940, Pelé conquered the world thanks to football. He was recognized wherever he went, by the people and personalities from all spheres of society.

Pelé is survived by six children, Kelly Cristina, Jennifer, Edinho, from his marriage to Rosemeri dos Reis; Joshua and Celeste, from the marriage with Assyria. The former player still had two daughters that he did not officially recognize, Sandra, who died in 2006, as a result of his relationship with Anisia Machado, and Flávia, with Lenita.

Since 2010, Pelé had been in a relationship with businesswoman Marcia Aoki, whom he married in 2016.

In football, in addition to his feats with the ball at his feet, he was recognized as Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), Best Player of the Century by FIFA and Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee.

Outside of football, he worked as a businessman and was Minister of Sports in 1995, during the presidency of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Goodwill Ambassador for UNESCO and the UN, among other activities.

THE GREATEST IN FOOTBALL HISTORY

Pelé was three times world champion for the Brazilian World Cup team, in 1958, in Sweden, in 1962, in Chile and, finally, in 1970, in Mexico. He made 114 appearances representing Brazil and scored 95 goals.

He also made history with Santos, his only club in the country. There were 1116 games for Peixe and 1091 goals. Pelé also defended New York Cosmos, from the United States, at the end of his career, where he played 111 times and sent 65 balls into the net.

In all, there were 1,366 games and scored a total of 1,282 goals,

THE FIGHT AGAINST THE DISEASE

On the last day 2, Pelé was diagnosed with a respiratory infection.

Pelé started treatment against a colon tumor in 2021. Pelé already underwent surgery to remove the tumor in September last year. His health had already been a subject at the beginning of the year, when tests showed the metastasis that reaches the intestine, lung and liver. On the 20th, when the World Cup started, Pelé posted on social networks about the 100th birthday of his mother, Dona Celeste.

QUOTES FROM PERSONALITIES ABOUT PELÉ

“The difficult thing, the extraordinary thing, is not scoring a thousand goals like Pelé. It’s scoring a goal like Pelé” Carlos Drummond de Andrade, poet

“The moment the ball lands at Pelé’s feet, football becomes poetry” Pier Paolo Pasolini, filmmaker

“Pelé is one of the few who contradict my theory: instead of fifteen minutes of fame, he will have fifteen centuries” Andy Warhol, artist

“My name is Ronald Reagan, I am the President of the United States of America. But you don’t have to introduce yourself, because everybody knows who Pelé is” Ronald Reagan, US President

“From Siberia to Patagonia everyone knows Pelé” Vinicius de Moraes, composer

“Ask any zebra in the Zoo: ‘Who is the greatest player in the world?’. All zebras will say, in a warm unanimity: ‘Pelé’.” (…) “From the Eskimo to the Chinese, from the Russian to the German, from the Patagonian to the Egyptian, everyone thinks that Pelé really is the great player of the present, the past and the future” Nelson Rodrigues, writer

“I can be a new Di Stéfano, but I can’t be a new Pelé. He’s the only one who goes beyond the limits of logic” Johan Cruyff, Netherlands star

“He played with great objectivity. His football did not admit excesses, embellishments or fouls. He hardly did embassies, he did not dribble sideways, but always towards the goal. When they tried to take him down, he did not fall, due to his stupendous muscle mass and balance” Tostão, former player and columnist

“Pelé was an exceptional, stupendous player. We Brazilians should thank God for having been born here” Zico, former player

With information from UmDoisEsportes