Written By: Kushal Dev Sharma

They say Pele is the all time great football player. Surely, it’s not an overstated elucidation, but a fact that is supported by all those stats and techniques credited in Pele’s favor. Complementing the last note, we can imagine his prominence by knowing

Pele

that he went on to score over 1,200 goals in his illustrious career – simply an astounding feat! More than just playing for his country, Pele or Black Pearl, as he is popularly known as, won several World Cups for Brazil. The overall career of Pele can be summarized as a lengthy book of records and achievements – where all the words are written in golden letters. Many came and many went, but no one came near to Pele – as he stands as a sublime figure in the world of football.

 

 

A dream career

Pele represented his country as the youngest player that ever played in the World Cup. At the young age of 17, Pele won the ‘World Cup winners’ medal in 1958, when Brazil became the world champion. Any young player couldn’t ask for more, as Pele scored two important goals, which helped his country to lift the World Cup. He continued his surge in the next two World Cup championships in 1962 and 1963, but some injuries affected his steady performance. But, unlike any other footballer, Pele found a balance between injuries and fitness and continued playing.

 

Enormous figures

Numbers are just numbers, but they say a lot. Pele stands tall with his statistics –with 1,281 goals in 1,360 matches. If we analyze the details, Pele scored one goal per match. With such an achievement, it would be apt to call him a goal-machine!

 

Important Stats

1. Pele played in three World Cup Championships 1958, 1962, and 1970
2. After Brazil, he played for North American Soccer League Champion, 1977

 

Awards

1. International Soccer Hall of Fame inductee, 1993
2. Brazilian Minister of Sports, 1995
3. International Peace Award, 1978

 

Breathtaking moment

Who can forget that outstanding header in the 1970 World Cup Championship, when the whole world was stunned and thunderstruck. It was the World Cup Final between Brazil and Italy, Pele led Brazil to victory by making the most of his head –sometimes it’s better to use your head than foot in football. That defining goal not only won the World Cup for Brazil, but also it came as the 100th goal of Brazil.

 

After this grand affair, he joined the New York Cosmos in 1974, and proved instrumental in promoting Football in the US. A living legend with many facets, Pele’s popular statement – ‘Enthusiasm is everything. It must be taut and vibrating like a guitar string’ – explicates his journey overall so far.

Score it

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• Posted: 13 Sep 2008
• Tags:    Sports,Profile