FIFA World Cup 2022 | Why we still hail Pelé, the King of Football, before every big tournament

Pelé in Amsterdam in 1981. (Photo: Fotopersbureau De Boer via Wikimedia Commons 1.0)

Let us start with the most important statistic of them all. To quote the Guinness Book of World Records, Pelé had “the most goals scored in a specified period (1,279) … from 7 Sep 1956 to 1 Oct 1977 in 1,363 games.” The moniker of O Rei do Futebol – The King of Football – does not feel like an exaggeration.

Pelé won the FIFA World Cup with Brazil in 1958, 1962, and 1970. In the first of these, he won both the Best Young Player and the Silver Ball. In the third, the Golden Ball. In 1961, the government of Brazil officially declared him a national treasure, preventing subsequent international transfers. In 2000, FIFA named him the Player of the Century (an award he had to share with Diego Maradona), 16 years after he won the FIFA Order of Merit. In 2013, they honoured him with the Ballon d’Or Prix d’Honneur.

For Brazil, his 77 goals are a record (95, if unofficial friendlies are included), as are his three World Cup medals. He also provided the most assists – both in a single edition and in a lifetime – in the history of the tournament. Sixty-four years have passed, yet Pelé remains the youngest to score a goal, do the hat-trick, reach the final, and win the title at the FIFA World Cup – all in 1958. He scored six goals in that edition – including three in the semi-final and two in the final.

Pelé (right) and Brazil captain Zito in Stockholm ahead of the 1958 World Cup.

Yet, this was a tournament Pelé nearly missed, first because team psychologist João Carvalhaes assessed: “Pelé is obviously infantile; he lacks the necessary fighting spirit,” then had a pre-tournament knee injury, then was not selected for the first two matches.

But once he played, everything changed – for no one had seen anyone like him before. “When I saw Pelé play, I just wanted to hang up my boots,” commented Frenchman Just Fontaine, whose 13 goals in 1958 remain a record for the most in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup. He became the first global black superstar – not only in football but perhaps across sports.

Pelé was very fast, and could outrun most. His flexible yet strong frame always seemed to be at perfect balance; he could dribble past most defences, break into unstoppable sprints, could shoot with either foot, and had a devastating header. But if needed, he could drop as a playmaker, feeding the strikers with passes.

He could also do things on the football ground that few else could replicate. Sometimes he did not even have to score – though he did more often than not – to establish his magic. This missed goal from the Uruguay match of the 1970 World Cup is an example.

In 1996, Nike ran an advertisement with stars like Ronaldo and Luis Figo, who were set out to protect “the beautiful game”. The phrase was also part of ‘give me freedom, give me fire’, part of World Cup 2010 anthem by K’naan.

The phrase was probably first used by English commentator H.E. Bates in The Sunday Times in 1952, but has been associated with Pelé once he burst onto the international scene. The three words were used, time and again, throughout his career, to describe him. In fact, he even titled his autobiography My Life and the Beautiful Game.

Perhaps no one in history – perhaps across sports – combined grace and efficiency over a period so long.

A career like none other

Pelé grew up in Bauru, São Paulo. He was nine when he saw his father – the person who taught him football – cry when Brazil lost to Uruguay in the 1950 World Cup final. There was no money to buy a football, so he had to be content with stuffing newspaper into a sock, then tying it up, or a grapefruit.

At the Bauru Athletic Club juniors, Pelé was noticed by coach Waldemar de Brito, who had played for Brazil in the 1934 World Cup. De Brito took Pelé to Santos FC, he told the club directors that the 15-year-old would become “the greatest football player in the world”.

Pelé played for Santos from 1956 to 1974, scoring 643 times in 659 matches – a record not just for Santos but for any footballer for one club until Lionel Messi surpassed him in 2020. His first goal for Santos was part of a 7-1 win. Opposition goalkeeper Zaluar later got “the goalkeeper who let in Pelé’s first goal” printed on his business cards.

Pelé most famous goal for Santos all came on March 5, 1961, in the 41st minute of a match against Rio. Santos goalkeeper Laercio saved a goal, and Dalmo passed it to Pelé, “on the edge of his own box”.

To quote O Globo, Pelé “controlled the ball and, like a powerful piece of machinery, he clicked into first gear, then second and really took off once he hit third – crossing the length of the pitch leaving opponents in his wake.” The sprint did not end until he ran virtually the entire length of the ground, all by himself, and scored. The ovation lasted two minutes – and had as much involvement from the opposition fans.

Pelé’s other famous stint came for the New York Cosmos, after he stopped playing for both Brazil and Santos. For Cosmos, he scored 37 times, elevating them from a “university team” to “the best”. More than that, his sheer presence made football popular in a country where they refer to the sport as soccer.

Until that point, Cosmos had no footballer of that level. Captain Werner Roth did not hesitate to acknowledge that “the biggest challenge for us was not stopping and watching him play.” Pelé quit after helping Cosmos win the Soccer Bowl in 1977.

There was one final appearance – a special exhibition match between Cosmos and Santos. Pelé played the first half for Cosmos, the second for Santos. Pelé scored once for Cosmos – through a free-kick – the last goal of his career. Cosmos retired the No.10 jersey as curtains descended upon that incomparable career.

Summing up his career is a challenge, and is better left to the legends. It is perhaps expected that the Brazilians would wax eloquent about their national treasure, but what about those from other nations?

Ferenc Puskás refused to “classify Pelé as a player … He was above that.” Bobby Moore called him “the most complete player I’ve ever seen, he had everything.” Bobby Charlton: “I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player.” Franz Beckenbauer: “There is no one to compare with him”. Johan Cruyff: “Only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic.”

“He is football,” summed up José Mourinho. Alfredo Di Stéfano rated him over both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. In Michel Platini’s words, “to play like Pelé is to play like God” – a sentiment echoed by Romário and Ronaldo, compatriots of Pelé.

Four and a half decades after his retirement, the ‘official’ status of many of Pelé’s matches has been questioned. Yet, even if we use more conservative IFFHS statistics, Pelé’s goal count (762) stands in third place.

Something personal

In September 1977, hundreds of thousands gathered around the Dum Dum Airport in Calcutta. They wanted to catch a glimpse of the man newspapers had celebrated over the years as the greatest footballer of all time.

Pelé had come to play for Cosmos against Mohun Bagan at the Eden Gardens on 25 September. To their credit, Mohun Bagan held them to a 2-2 draw, but the result hardly mattered: the crowd had come to watch one man. He played for about half an hour – but Calcutta got what it needed.

Caught in the frenzy were two new parents, looking to finalise a name for their son. They considered Pelé for a while – being named after football legends is not rare for Bengalis – before deciding on Abhishek.