Famous Soccer Players
Pelé
Apart from his popularity, Pelé's life story is the ultimate soccer dream. He began as a poor boy from the slums in Tres Coracoes, Brazil but earned fame and fortune through his talent on the pitch. Pelé's father, Dondinho, was very influential in his son's success. Dondinho was a former player and made sure he passed over his knowlege to young Pelé. This paid off and by the age of 15, Pelé got signed by Santos. His international debut followed just a year later. At the age of 17, Pelé was recruited in Brazil's World Cup squad.
At Sweden 1958, he started gaining attention after his goal against Wales that clinched Brazil to the next round. Pelé proved that he wasn't a fluke in the following match as he scored three goals. By the tournament's final, Brazilian coach Vicente Feola was confident in the 17-year old. His two goals at the 1958 World Cup Final ensured his status as a soccer superstar. Thanks to Pelé' sensational scoring, Santos earned the Intercontinental Cup in 1962 and 1963.
At the 1962 World Cup in Chile, Pelé missed out most of the tournament due to an injury. Brazil still managed to win the trophy. Similarly, at England 1966, Pele was once again forced to leave the pitch after being ferociously kicked.
After England 1966, many began to doubt the Brazilian soccer player and his status as "The King of Soccer." He made a triumphant return at Mexico 1970 by dazzling worldwide audiences. This was the first World Cup broadcast in color and was shown across an unprecedented number of countries. In front of over 100,000 spectators at Azteca Stadium and millions of TV viewers, Pelé scored the first goal of the 1970 World Cup final. That opened the gates for Brazil's crushing 4-1 victory and reclaimed Pele as a superstar.
Later in the 1970's, Pelé used his commercial image to join New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League. He eventually retired as the only player with over 1000 goals in professional football. Pele was the first commercial superstar of non-commercial soccer.
Pelé is in third place on the list of all-time top goal scorers in international matches; in 92 appearances for the Brazilian team, he scored 77 goals. Pele participated in four world cups 1958,’62, ’66 and 1970 and was part of three World Cup winning teams, although he did not play in the 1962 final due to an injury and did not receive a medal. Moreover; Pele is in fourth place behind Ronaldo, Gerd Müller, and Just Fontaine on the list of goal scorers in World Cup matches, with 12 goals.