Pele is one of the most famous names in football. Mention his name and any fan will be able to tell you facts and figures connected to this football supremo. He was born in 1940 in Coracoes in Brazil and was a keen footballer from the word go. This was much to his mothers' dismay as Pele's father was a footballer but was not successful at his craft and she didn't want her son to follow in his footsteps. This however was not the with Pele who became a legendary footballer who is the all time top goal scorer for his national side, adored by millions of fans especially in Brazil.
Pele's career began in 1954 playing for a junior side and then progressed at sixteen on to Santos where he played until 1974. The 1958 World Cup in Sweden gave Pele the world stage and he helped Brazil win the tournament for the first time scoring brilliant goals at the young age of only seventeen. By the age of twenty one he was regarded as the best player in the world and played in the 1966 World Cup which Brazil of course did not win and the 1970 World Cup.
He retired from international football following Brazils' hat trick win of World Cup tournaments and from Brazilian club football
at the age of 34 but played for
two years in America after which he retired for good.
Pele later became the Brazilian minister
for sport. Below are some interesting statistics from his career:
- South American Player of the Year in 1973
- Scored 77 International Goals
- 92 International Caps
- Played in World Cups 1958 (Sweden), 1962 (Chile), 1970 (Mexico) all of which were won by Brazil!
- Won the Sao Paulo State Championship 9 times
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