Brazil has lost its Greatest Footballer of All Time

Pelé had been ill for some time and died of colon cancer at the age of 82. Pelé had become the greatest footballer of all time not only because of his excellent goal-scoring expertise, but also thanks to his incomparable dribbling skills a charismatic personality. He did embody the Brazilian samba football. He won the World Cup 3 times, a record. As a schoolboy, Edson was given the nickname by which he would become world famous: Pelé. It was former Brazilian international Waldemar de Brito who first spotted Pelé's almost divine talent. He did bring Pelé in contact with his team at top club Santos. His talent was already undeniable and Pelé made his debut at the age of just 15 in the main squad of the club from São Paulo, the only Brazilian club for which he would play. It was the start of his golden career. At the age of 16, Pelé became Brazil's top scorer and made his debut with the national team. There too, the child prodigy grew into a sensation in no time. Pelé was barely 17 years old when he defeated Brazil in a double world title in Sweden, as the (then) youngest player in World Cup history. With 3 goals in the semi-final and 2 goals in the final, the golden boy spread his stardust material over the Jules Rimet trophy.

Not only was Pelé's reputation established, with their Black Pearl (one of his many nicknames) in his crown, Brazil would dominate world football for years to come. Yet Pelé may have already had the highlight of his career with that World Cup in Sweden. In 1962, Brazil became world champion again, but then the injured Pelé was in the shadow of Garrincha. In 1970, Pelé became world champion for the 3rd time, the first and until now only player ever. Brazil may have played the best football in its history at that World Cup, but in that overwhelming performance Pelé was mainly just one - albeit shiny - link in a well-oiled chain. A year before that World Cup, Pelé had scored his 1,000th goal of his career for Santos. He would continue to score for a few more years and entertain the Brazilian public with his dribbling. But by 1974 he had had enough. Until late in life, Pelé remained a welcome guest in many stadiums, ceremonies and TV shows. Although he always appeared brave on these occasions, his health regularly began to deteriorate. The visits to the hospital followed each other in quick succession and became longer and longer. A tumor in his intestines turned out to be the beginning of the end. After a while, the cancer treatments stopped working. The match of his life was over, Pelé was gently led to the final whistle when he passed away on December 29, 2022.