Written by Tom | 23rd October 2020 | Updated 30 December 2022
Whether you’re a footballing fan or not, you’ve probably heard of Pelé. Regarded by many as football’s greatest player ever, he won the world over with his deft playmaking skills and prolific goal-scoring ability. But in Brazil, where he was seen as a national hero—albeit a fallible one—he became a high-profile activist for social inequality in the country. With the help of sports expert, Gustavo Radesca, we took a magnifying glass to the man behind the miracle.
On 7th July 1957, a 16-year old ran out onto the pitch for his national team debut. A Brazil-Argentina matchup is always a tempestuous and nerve-wracking affair with high stakes for both sides – though if you’d watched Pelé, you might have thought differently. He scored his first goal for the country becoming the youngest goalscorer for Brazil. And while Brazil went on to lose the match 2-1, there was a glimmer of hope – Pelé had arrived.
“Many consider Pelé to be the greatest footballer of all time”, says Gustavo. “His trademark dribbling, vision and powerful way of playing made him one of a kind since his World Cup debut in 1958. But he also symbolised something more than just talent. He was a black kid from a poor background and he became a hero for an entire generation of Brazilians living in a country where racism played a big role”.
Footballing hero
Pelé’s legacy started on the football pitch and it’s here where he’s rarely put a foot wrong. He rose to prominence at Brazil’s club level, making his debut in the 1956 football season for Santos FC and a year later becoming the league’s top scorer. But his legacy on the world stage arguably began with his national team performances.
“Pelé won three of the four World Cups he appeared in and was the youngest player to score in one with his hat-trick against France in the 1958 tournament”, says Gustavo. “That he scored 1,279 goals in 1,363 matches throughout his career makes him a unique player – it’s essentially a goal per game”.
This tournament ended with a Brazilian victory over Sweden in the final. Pelé scored one of the tournament’s greatest ever goals, flicking the ball over a defender before finishing with a tidy volley into the back corner. Swedish player Sigvard Parling remarked later on that when Pelé scored Brazil’s fifth goal and his last one, “[I] almost felt like applauding”. At the end of the match, Pelé passed out before a tearful celebration after Brazil’s win, which still remains one of his career highlights.
“Winning three World Cups is arguably his greatest achievement”, says Gustavo. “But there are so many to choose from. His goal per game record earned him a place in the Guinness World Records and he brought back the joy and emotion of football to a country that was still recovering from the ‘Maracanazo’ in the 1950 World Cup (Brazil’s traumatic defeat to Uruguay) and the loss to Hungary in 1954. He was also the major force behind popularising football in the United States, coming out of retirement in 1975 to sign for the New York Cosmos”.
Agent of change
Pelé might have started on the football pitch but his work beyond it has bolstered his profile – much of which can be mapped back to his upbringing. He grew up in Bauru, Sao Paulo and much of his childhood was spent in poverty. While his father taught him football, they couldn’t afford a real football to practice with, instead they had to craft a makeshift one that consisted of a sock stuffed with newspaper and tied together with string. Though Pelé was discovered in his teens, the poverty he left behind never truly left him.
“His background and rise was part of a wider story arc that Brazil fell in love with”, explains Gustavo. “Pelé was more than a football player for Brazil. He fell right in at the right time when people needed to believe you could overcome what felt like the insurmountable societal barriers in place. He was someone that inspired an entire generation, proving that even if you were black and poor in a racist and elitist country, you could still achieve success”.
As he aged, Pelé became an advocate for a number of social issues Brazil was grappling with, ranging from breastfeeding to inequality. UNICEF enlisted Pelé as a spokesperson in the country, needing somebody who was both credible and who would resonate with all Brazilians of all backgrounds. Pelé supported a number of children’s causes such as the education of street children in Brazil, raised awareness around HIV/AIDS as well as ecology and the environment, which earned him a UN ambassador title and an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh for his work. “Pelé was also the Minister of Sports in Brazil and was responsible for the ¨Pelé Law”, explains Gustavo. “The main objective was to give players more control of their careers and stop the corruption in football in Brazil.”
Lasting legacy
Throughout his career, Pelé has been loved by everyone, including some of the world’s most high-profile figures. Andy Warhol famously said that “Pelé was one of the few who contradicted my theory: instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries”. So influential was Pelé that on a visit to Nigeria in 1969 during the Nigerian Civil War, the two opposing factions agreed to a 48 hour-ceasefire in order for them to watch Pelé play a friendly match in Lagos.
On 29 December, 2022, Pelé passed away. Tributes poured in for the man who for many represented so much more than football. From footballers to fans, managers to media, Pelé's impact was felt by everyone. Pelé's name is forever synonymous with football and sporting prowess, which makes sense for a name that was loosely inspired by the name Bilé to mean "miracle" in Hebrew.
He is also credited with popularising the nickname “The Beautiful Game” for football, which is now used by commentators and pundits globally. In fact, in a now likely immortal example of his generosity and person, in the foreword of his autobiography My Life and the Beautiful Game, he wrote: “I dedicate this book to all the people who have made this great game the Beautiful Game”.
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