Early lifeHe was born in Três Corações, Brazil, the son of a football player Fluminense footballer Dondinho (born Joao Ramos do Bojang) and Celeste. He was named after the American inventor Thomas Edison, and was originally nicknamed Dico by his family. He did not receive the nickname "Pelé" until his school days, when it is claimed he was given it because of his pronunciation of the name of his favorite player, local Vasco da Gama goalkeeper Bilé, which he misspoke "Pilé". He originally disliked the nickname, being suspended from school for punching the classmate that coined it, but the more he complained the more it stuck. In his autobiography, Pelé stated he had no idea what the name means, nor did his old friends. Apart from the assertion that the name is derived from that of Bilé, the word has no known meaning, although it does resemble the Irish language word 'Peil', meaning football.
Growing up in poverty in Bauru, São Paulo, Pelé earned extra money by shining shoes at the Bauru Athletic Club on match days. Taught to play by his father, whose own professional football career with Atlético Mineiro ended prematurely due to a knee injury, he could not afford a proper football and usually played with either a sock stuffed with newspaper, tied with a string or a grapefruit.
His first team was called the "shoeless ones" formed by himself and other boys from the Sete de Setembro and Rubens Arruda street.[citation needed] When they entered a local tournament organised by the mayor of Bauru that required footwear, they were no longer shoeless and were renamed Ameriquinha. They reached the final in BAC Stadium in front of thousands of spectators and won with Pelé ending up as the tournament top scorer.
In 1954, several members of the Ameriquinha team, including Pelé, were invited to join the Baquinho boy's team to be managed by former Brazilian international Waldemar de Brito, who played in the 1934 World Cup in Italy. For the first time, Pelé was paid to play football.The team won the 1954 Youth Championship organised by the newspapers Diario de Bauru and the São Paulo Sporting Gazette with Pelé scoring 148 goals in 33 games.
At the age of 15 and a half, he joined the Santos FC junior team. He played for one season before joining the senior team.
Growing up in poverty in Bauru, São Paulo, Pelé earned extra money by shining shoes at the Bauru Athletic Club on match days. Taught to play by his father, whose own professional football career with Atlético Mineiro ended prematurely due to a knee injury, he could not afford a proper football and usually played with either a sock stuffed with newspaper, tied with a string or a grapefruit.
His first team was called the "shoeless ones" formed by himself and other boys from the Sete de Setembro and Rubens Arruda street.[citation needed] When they entered a local tournament organised by the mayor of Bauru that required footwear, they were no longer shoeless and were renamed Ameriquinha. They reached the final in BAC Stadium in front of thousands of spectators and won with Pelé ending up as the tournament top scorer.
In 1954, several members of the Ameriquinha team, including Pelé, were invited to join the Baquinho boy's team to be managed by former Brazilian international Waldemar de Brito, who played in the 1934 World Cup in Italy. For the first time, Pelé was paid to play football.The team won the 1954 Youth Championship organised by the newspapers Diario de Bauru and the São Paulo Sporting Gazette with Pelé scoring 148 goals in 33 games.
At the age of 15 and a half, he joined the Santos FC junior team. He played for one season before joining the senior team.
Club career
Santos
In 1956, de Brito took Pelé to Santos, an industrial and port city in the state of São Paulo, to try out for professional club Santos Futebol Clube telling the directors at Santos that the 15-year-old would be "the greatest football player in the world."
During his time at Santos, Pelé played alongside many gifted players, including Zito, Pepe, and Coutinho; the latter partnered him in numerous one-two plays, attacks, and goals.Pelé made his debut for Santos in 1956, scoring one goal in a 7-1 friendly victory over Corinthians. When the 1957 season started, Pelé was given a starting place in the first team and, at the age of just 16, became the top scorer in the league. Just ten months after signing professionally, the teenager was called up to the Brazil national team. After the World Cup in 1962, wealthy European clubs offered massive fees to sign the young player, but the government of Brazil declared Pelé an "official national treasure" to prevent him from being transferred out of the country.
On November 19, 1969, Pelé scored his 1000th goal in all competitions. This was a highly anticipated moment in Brazil. The goal, called popularly O Milésimo (The Thousandth), occurred in a match against Vasco da Gama, when Pelé scored from a penalty kick, at the Maracanã Stadium.Pelé states that his most beautiful goal was scored at Rua Javari stadium on a Campeonato Paulista match against São Paulo rivals Juventus on August 2, 1959. As there is no video footage of this match, Pelé asked that a computer animation be made of this specific goal. In March 1961, Pelé scored the gol de placa (goal worthy of a plaque), a goal against Fluminense at the Maracanã which was regarded as so spectacular that a plaque was commissioned with a dedication to the most beautiful goal in the history of the Maracanã.
In 1967, the two factions involved in the Nigerian Civil War agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire so they could watch Pelé play an exhibition game in Lagos.New York CosmosAfter the 1972 season (his 17th with Santos), Pelé retired from Brazilian club football although he continued to occasionally suit up for Santos in official competitive matches. Two years later, he came out of semi-retirement to sign with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1975 season. Though well past his prime at this point, Pelé is credited with significantly increasing public awareness and interest in soccer in the United States. (Previously, a video clip of Pelé scoring with a bicycle kick for the Brazilian National Team was part of the opening video montage of the popular sports TV series ABC's Wide World of Sports and was probably many Americans' initial viewing of the sport.) He led the Cosmos to the 1977 NASL championship, in his third and final season with the club.
On October 1, 1977, Pelé closed out his legendary career in an exhibition match between the Cosmos and Santos. Santos arrived in New York and New Jersey after previously defeating the Seattle Sounders 2–0. The match was played in front of a capacity crowd at Giants Stadium and was televised in the United States on ABC's Wide World of Sports as well as throughout the world. Pelé's father and wife both attended the match. Pelé gave a brief pre-match speech during which he asked the crowd to say the word "love" with him three times. He played the first half for the Cosmos and the second half for Santos. Reynaldo scored the first goal for Santos, kicking the ball into the net after it had deflected off the crossbar. Pelé then scored his final goal on a direct free kick, driving the ball past the diving Santos goalkeeper. At halftime, the Cosmos
retired Pelé's number 10. Pelé presented his Cosmos shirt to his father, who was escorted to the
field by Cosmos captain Werner Roth. During the second half, Cosmos striker Ramon Mifflin, who had replaced Pelé when he switched sides at halftime, scored on a deflected cross, and the Cosmos won the match 2–1. After the match, Pelé was embraced by the Cosmos players, including longtime rival Giorgio Chinaglia, and then ran around the field while holding an American flag in his left hand and a Brazilian flag in his right hand. Pelé was soon lifted by several Cosmos players and carried around the field.
During his time at Santos, Pelé played alongside many gifted players, including Zito, Pepe, and Coutinho; the latter partnered him in numerous one-two plays, attacks, and goals.Pelé made his debut for Santos in 1956, scoring one goal in a 7-1 friendly victory over Corinthians. When the 1957 season started, Pelé was given a starting place in the first team and, at the age of just 16, became the top scorer in the league. Just ten months after signing professionally, the teenager was called up to the Brazil national team. After the World Cup in 1962, wealthy European clubs offered massive fees to sign the young player, but the government of Brazil declared Pelé an "official national treasure" to prevent him from being transferred out of the country.
On November 19, 1969, Pelé scored his 1000th goal in all competitions. This was a highly anticipated moment in Brazil. The goal, called popularly O Milésimo (The Thousandth), occurred in a match against Vasco da Gama, when Pelé scored from a penalty kick, at the Maracanã Stadium.Pelé states that his most beautiful goal was scored at Rua Javari stadium on a Campeonato Paulista match against São Paulo rivals Juventus on August 2, 1959. As there is no video footage of this match, Pelé asked that a computer animation be made of this specific goal. In March 1961, Pelé scored the gol de placa (goal worthy of a plaque), a goal against Fluminense at the Maracanã which was regarded as so spectacular that a plaque was commissioned with a dedication to the most beautiful goal in the history of the Maracanã.
In 1967, the two factions involved in the Nigerian Civil War agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire so they could watch Pelé play an exhibition game in Lagos.New York CosmosAfter the 1972 season (his 17th with Santos), Pelé retired from Brazilian club football although he continued to occasionally suit up for Santos in official competitive matches. Two years later, he came out of semi-retirement to sign with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1975 season. Though well past his prime at this point, Pelé is credited with significantly increasing public awareness and interest in soccer in the United States. (Previously, a video clip of Pelé scoring with a bicycle kick for the Brazilian National Team was part of the opening video montage of the popular sports TV series ABC's Wide World of Sports and was probably many Americans' initial viewing of the sport.) He led the Cosmos to the 1977 NASL championship, in his third and final season with the club.
On October 1, 1977, Pelé closed out his legendary career in an exhibition match between the Cosmos and Santos. Santos arrived in New York and New Jersey after previously defeating the Seattle Sounders 2–0. The match was played in front of a capacity crowd at Giants Stadium and was televised in the United States on ABC's Wide World of Sports as well as throughout the world. Pelé's father and wife both attended the match. Pelé gave a brief pre-match speech during which he asked the crowd to say the word "love" with him three times. He played the first half for the Cosmos and the second half for Santos. Reynaldo scored the first goal for Santos, kicking the ball into the net after it had deflected off the crossbar. Pelé then scored his final goal on a direct free kick, driving the ball past the diving Santos goalkeeper. At halftime, the Cosmos
retired Pelé's number 10. Pelé presented his Cosmos shirt to his father, who was escorted to the
field by Cosmos captain Werner Roth. During the second half, Cosmos striker Ramon Mifflin, who had replaced Pelé when he switched sides at halftime, scored on a deflected cross, and the Cosmos won the match 2–1. After the match, Pelé was embraced by the Cosmos players, including longtime rival Giorgio Chinaglia, and then ran around the field while holding an American flag in his left hand and a Brazilian flag in his right hand. Pelé was soon lifted by several Cosmos players and carried around the field.
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