Ever since the military overthrew the monarchy in Brazil in November 1889, no any individual had risen to the hallmark of a royalty than Pele. Lots of comparisons have been made between Pelé and royalty – he was the closest Brazil had.
A newspaper in Brazil captured the county’s mood succinctly in its front page, “Pelé died, if indeed Pelé can die, he is our eternal King.”
The man born as Edson Arantes do Nascimento, who died on Thursday, December 30 in Sao Paulo, Brazil at the age of 82 after battling with cancer, was a superhuman, an immortal icon and the King of Football.
Pele was the only player to win the World Cup three times, lifting the trophy in 1958, 1962 and 1970, He scored a world record of 1,281 goals in 1,363 appearances during a 21-year career, including 77 goals in 92 matches for his country. He was also named FIFA ’s Player of the Century in 2000.
Everyone knew him by the sobriquet bestowed to him by his school mates even though neither he nor they knew what it meant.
For me and millions or football enthusiasts, Pele was simply the greatest player to have ever kicked a ball.
Though I never had the joy of witnessing him kick a ball live during his illustrious playing career, I was opportuned to watch him play an exhibition match on April 6, 1978 when he came to Nigeria with Brazilian club Fluminense, who were then on a playing tour of West Africa. They played two matches – one against the Green Eagles in Lagos and the other, against Raccah Rovers in Kaduna. I was a kid barely 10 years old but still remember vividly watching Pele play for both Fluminense and Raccah Rovers at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium. I can still recall some of the stars that featured in that game. For Fluminense, there was the great Rivelinho, the ball-juggling Francesco Marinho, Dirceu, the ubiquitous Pintinho and Carlos Alberto Torres, scorer of that marvelous goal against Italy in the 1970 World Cup final, who also had a stint as Super Eagles technical adviser after the exit of Clemens Westerhof in 1994. On the Raccah Rovers side, Husseini Alabi, Anas Ahmed and Baba Otu Mohammed were the stand-out players. After the game Pele received a standing ovation and was decorated with Hausa traditional attire, a white Babban Riga and cap, as a mark of honour and reverence.
Pele first visited Nigeria in 1969 during the civil war and astonishingly, a two-day ceasefire was called between the Nigerian government and the Biafrans so they could watch Pele and Santos draw 2-2 with the Nigerian selected team.
Pele’s influence was so impactful on and off the field. He was the world’s most acclaimed and beloved athlete. He transcended the sport. Late football legend Johann Cruyff once said that Pele was the only player he knew that had surpassed the boundaries of footballing logic, while
Bobby Charlton asserted that football was invented for Pele. But there are many who feel that it was the other way round.
In the words of another Brazil great Neymar “Before Pelé, football was only a sport. He transformed it into an art., an environment…” And I beg concur. Without Pele, football wouldn’t have been what it is today.
He started the bicycle kick and the scissors kick; he invented the dink, the dainty footwork, the faint pass, the shimmies, the dilly-dally dribbles, the banana shots and the curling free kicks. He raised the profile of football. He created almost everything about the beautiful game. Pele and football are a match made in heaven.
And you may wish to recall some moments of inspiration by the Brazilian gem at the world stage. That lobbed effort from the halfway line has been one of Pele”s enduring trademarks. During the match against Czechoslovakia at the 1970 World Cup, the Brazilian attempted an audacious shot that didn’t end in a goal but came mightily close. It missed the target but this outrageous bit of improvisation by Pele did enough to inspire future generation of footballers, notably, David Beckham, who netted a beauty from the semi-circle for Manchester United against Wimbledon in the English Premier League in the 1996-1997 season and Patrick Schick of Czech Republic 60-yard strike against Scotland in the Euro 2020.
Reflecting on the life and legacy of Pele, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insisted that Pelé could have “played in every generation” and that the Brazilian’s influence on the world game will be everlasting.
The most remarkable subplot in Pele’s life history occurred, however, early in the over eight decades of his existence. That was when he propelled Brazil to triumph at the 1958 finals in Sweden, helping his nation heal from a shock defeat in the 1950 World Cup final against Uruguay on their own home soil. Aged 17, Pele instantly became a folk hero in Brazil through his exploits.
He fulfilled a promise to his father with that triumph, after vowing to him as a nine-year-old that he would avenge the heartbreaking defeat at the Maracana. Dondinho (Pele”s father) and his friends, transfixed to a radio, were euphoric – Brazil had just gone 1-0 up in a decider against Uruguay they only needed to draw, at the Maracana in 1950, to win their first World Cup. A nine-year-old Pele therefore left home for a kickabout with friends. “When I got back I was dumbfounded,” Pele recalled in his autobiography, My Life and the Beautiful Game.”It was the first time I saw my father cry. He was devastated. I promised him, ‘One day I will win you the World Cup.’” Pele, who had previously wanted to become a pilot, opted to become a footballer. The rest was history.
In post-retirement, Pele campaigned tirelessly to improve the conditions of the poor and underprivileged in the society. He divulged in humanitarian contributions alongside UNICEF to eradicate child malnutrition and infant mortality. He was also a UN Ambassador for Environmental Protection.
I am not surprised by the outpouring of emotions and flowering tributes from every corner of the globe over his demise because here’s a personality that was named in 1970 as the most famous person on the planet above John Lennon, Pope Paul VI, Paul McCartney, Muhammad Ali, Paul Newman, Queen Elizabeth II, Neil Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Clint Eastwood, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne and Barbra Streisand. In addition, Pele, Muhammad Ali and Jackie Robinson were the only sportspeople to make the much-publicised 1999 Time magazine compilation of The Most Important People of the Century.
A few years later, the brand Pele was named the globe’s second-biggest according to a survey – astonishingly bigger than oil and gas supermajors, banks, automotive manufacturers, airlines, telecommunications titans and everything other than Coca-Cola.
In year 2000, Pele was one of nine sports personalities bestowed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with the ‘Athlete of the Century’ award, despite, amazingly, having never partaken in the Olympic Games. Others included Carl Lewis, Mark Spitz and Nadia Comaneci, three of the most triumphant athletes in Olympic history, Steffi Graf and Michael Jordan.
That same year, Pele became the inaugural recipient of the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award presented to him by South African president Nelson Mandela.
Afterwards, Pele reportedly said he had no lifetime regrets, “If I have to my life again, I will have to repeat everything all over again.”
Adieu, Edson Arantes do Nascimento!!
