Hospitalized for many weeks for a relapse of his colon cancer, Pel died on Thursday aged 82. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, the Brazilian marked his time by winning the World Cup three times.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento is no more. Weakened by a relapse of his colon cancer and hospitalized for many weeks, Pel breathed his last at Albert-Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo on Thursday.
Three World Cup wins
The news came as a surprise to few, his family and Brazil as a whole having been preparing for their mourning for several days now. But it is nonetheless very painful for an entire country and especially all football lovers who know from near or far the one who celebrated his 82nd birthday on October 23rd. Because Pel is a myth, an aesthete of the ball, a legend like no other and a precursor in his field. Pel is football.
Appearing for the first time on a football field in 1956 under the colors of FC Santos, the native of Trs Coraes made a name for himself in Sweden in 1958, winning the World Cup only 17 years old. Exceptional performances to offer Brazil its first star before hanging two others, four years later, in Chile, and just before his 30th birthday, in 1970, in Mexico. He is, to date, the only one to have achieved this feat.
More than a footballer
Author of 757 goals in 816 official matches, he who claimed 1301 over his 21 years at the highest level, Pel remained a model for all Auriverde players who tried to take over from him, from Zico Neymar, who equaled his record for the most goals scored in Qatar, including Romario, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. A father for all these young people who have never stopped comparing themselves to him.
After his career, Pel never managed to move away from the game of football, becoming Brazil’s Minister of Sports between 1995 and 1999, taking advantage of his notoriety in particular to devote himself to humanitarian causes by linking his name to UNICEF. After Johan Cruyff in 2016 and Diego Maradona in 2020, football lost one of its greatest representatives with the death of King Pel. A page that turns for an entire sport.
Pel’s career in numbers
1956-1974: Santos, 660 games and 643 goals
1975-1977: New York Cosmos, 64 games and 37 goals
1957-1971: 92 selections and 77 goals
Pel’s charts
World Cup (3): 1958, 1962, 1970
Sao Paulo State Champion (11): 1956, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973
Brazilian Football Championship (6): 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968
Copa Libertadores (2): 1962, 1963
Intercontinental Cup (2): 1962,1963
Recopa Sudamericana (1): 1968
Intercontinental Champions Super Cup (1): 1968
Pel 17 years in Sweden
Pel’s joy after the success against Italy (4-1 ap) in the final of the 1970 World Cup
One photo, two legends
Pel and Mbapp have scored in two World Cup finals
What will you remember of Pel? Do not hesitate to react and discuss in the area add a comment …
