- Occupation/Title
- Former soccer player and former Minister of Sports of Brazil
- nationality
- Brazil
- date of birth
- October 23, 1940
- place of birth
- Tres Coraçães, Minas Gerais
- Real name
- Edson Arantes do Nascimento
- Education
- University of Santos
- Awards and Medal
- Order of the British Empire
- Awards
- International Peace Prize (1978), WHO Medal (1989), International Sports Writers Association Award for Player of the Year (1999), World Sports Award of the 20th Century (1999), FIFA Best Player of the 20th Century (2000)
- Biography
- "Pele" was a nickname given to him at a young age. Despite being small at 168cm, he made a name for himself when he joined FC Santos in 1955, and joined the Brazilian national team at the age of 16. At the age of 17, he played in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, scoring six goals in four games and helping Brazil win its first championship, which made him famous. That same year, he recorded the most goals scored in a season, 53. He then played in four consecutive World Cups, wearing the number 10 jersey, in 1962 in Chile, 1966 in England, and 1970 in Mexico. Although he missed out on the championship in 1966, he became the only player in the world to have won the World Cup three times. In July 1971, he announced his retirement from international matches. With many achievements to his name, he retired from active play in October 1974. From June 1975, he played for the American professional team, the New York Cosmos, for over two years, gaining recognition and connections in the United States, a land where soccer had never been seen before. From then on, he was involved in promoting soccer, using New York as his base. In 1981, he was chosen as the "greatest athlete of the century" in a survey of major newspapers around the world conducted by the French sports newspaper "L'Equipe". In August 1991, he became the Chief Publicity Officer of Sao Paulo Airlines (VASP). In June 1992, he was a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit). In 1993, he was inducted into the US Soccer Hall of Fame. In January 1995, he became the Minister of Sports in the Cardoso administration as a poster boy for Brazil (in June 1998, the Ministry of Sports was absorbed into the Ministry of Education). In December 1999, he was chosen as the "Best Athlete of the 20th Century" by a vote of the Olympic Committees of each country in the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) "Olympic Review". He was a member of Brazil's Olympic bid committee and worked hard to bring the Summer Olympics to Rio de Janeiro in 2016. His books include "Pele's Soccer" and the novel "World Cup Murder" (1988). He played 1,364 games in his career, scoring 1,282 goals, and 110 games and 97 goals for the Brazilian national team. In addition to being called "the greatest player of the 20th century," he is also known as "the God of Soccer" and "the King of Soccer." In Brazil, he is called "Hei Pele," with the royal title "Hei" added to his name. He has received many decorations from around the world for his achievements in soccer and his volunteer work.
Source: Nichigai Associates "Modern Foreigner Directory 2016" About the Modern Foreigner Directory 2016 |
