Yet another tragic, horrible passing of a legend this year. Pele, the Brazilian legend that inspired all of the greats and was the greatest player for a long time (and still is for many), has sadly passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Pele is to football as the wheel is to mankind. Without Pele, the sport would be as far back as humanity would be without the wheel.
What can you really say about Pele that hasn’t already been said?
Before the Messi and Ronaldo era, Pele was the undisputed king of European football as he is 6th on the official all-time goal scoring list with a recorded (he used to claim he had over 1,000 goals) 767 club goals, he was (and is still) the only player in history to have won three World Cups for his native Brazil, he is Santos’ (one of the most famous Brazilian football teams) all-time goal scorer with 643 goals in 659 games, he won two Copa Libertadores with Santos.
Plus, he helped Brazil win back-to-back World Cups in 1958 and 1962 (the last time a repeat champion has happened), he held all of the international and club goal scoring records when he retired, he still is Brazil’s all-time leading goal scorer with 77 goals, and he helped brokered a peace agreement in the 1969 Nigerian Civil War.
And that last thing is not a joke. He really helped broker a peace deal between two rivals and bitterly divided Nigerian factions in a war that ended up lasting three years and eventually brought down the First Nigerian Republic with just HIS PRESENCE AND FOOTBALLING TALENT.
That’s how great of a player Pele was and the iconic status he had in the world during his playing years. I mean, when your own country declares you as an “official national treasure” and pays you practically whatever you wanted (within the reasonable limits of the 1950’s-70s) in order to keep you from going to Europe to play, you know you’re special.
Nevertheless, what makes Pele one of the iconic legends of the sports was what he did to break down the color barriers the world held at the time.
Along with Muhammad Ali, Pele was able to bring awareness to the plight of African/Black descendant people and help stop the discrimination they faced during the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s though his fantastic play and off-field icon status, helping more people of a similar ancestry to get involved in sports, acting, entertainment, business, etc.
If it wasn’t for Pele and the discrimination he suffered through and overcame, along with other greats in sports like Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, Jackie Robinson, etc., the modern-day athletes of African/Latino/Middle Eastern/etc. ancestry would have had a much harder time breaking to the top of their, respective, sports.
Pele was a god amongst men in the world of football and will always be remembered as such. And especially so when his magnificent records eventually get broken by the greats of the modern game.
Finally, I would also like to add that Pele, who retired from professional football in 1974, came out of retirement to play for the New York Cosmos, helping them win the North American Soccer League championship in his final season as a professional in 1977. So, Pele was helping bringing the beautiful game to the North American shores long before the broadcasting rights the American networks set up with the major European leagues.
Rest in peace, Pele, you have more than deserved it.
Images Source: Featured Images: (Wikimedia Creative Commons Liscense/Author: tu Foto con el Presidente)(tu Foto con el Presidente, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
