PELÉ'S LEGACY

A Tribute To The Icon

Football, soccer, is my favorite sport. And on December 29, 2022 we lost an icon. We lost the King of Football. We lost the man who gave true meaning to the phrase O Jogo Bonito, The Beautiful Game. We lost Edson Arantes do Nascimento. We lost Pelé.

What Pelé meant to us cannot be understated, must not be forgotten. Pelé grew up poor in Brazil during the 1940s and 50s. There’s a story that when he entered his first tournament, still only a young boy, Pelé couldn’t afford proper footwear and played the whole tournament barefoot. He dominated that tournament, from start to finish.
From these humble beginnings, Pelé would go on to become football’s first global superstar. Dazzling us with his skill, both on and off the ball. Inventing the bicycle kick, when he was a teenager playing for Santos. Scoring six goals in the 1958 FIFA World Cup, helping Brazil win the coveted prize for the first time. Winning the World Cup two more times, becoming the only person to win it three times.

I, like many of us, never got the gift of watching Pelé live, for I was born 22 years and 1 day after his retirement. Nor do I have any family members to tell me stories of him, for I am the first football fan in my family. And yet, I still know. Know the story of Pelé. For that is how powerful, how meaningful, how truly great Pelé was. In fact, one of the first football shirts I bought was a bootleg Brazil shirt. And whose name was on the back? None other than the great Pelé. I still own that bootleg Brazilian top to this day. I have it hanging on my wall, alongside a non-bootleg Brazil shirt with Garrincha on the back (one of Pelé’s attacking partners at both the 1958 and 1962 World Cups), who has also passed away.
The story of Pelé will never die, will never fade away. We owe this to him. Pelé, who brought so much joy into our lives. Pelé, whose legacy is evident in so much of the modern game. Pelé, who is responsible for so much of what makes the Beautiful Game beautiful.

Descanse em Paz Edson Arantes do Nascimento. Rest in Peace Pelé.