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Quick Facts
- NAME: Pelé
- OCCUPATION: Soccer Player
- BIRTH DATE: October 23, 1940 (Age: 72)
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Três Corações, Brazil
- Originally: Edison Arantes do Nascimento
- Nickname: "Pérola Negra"
- Nickname: "O Rei"
- AKA: Pelé
- Nickname: "Black Pearl"
- Nickname: "The King"
- ZODIAC SIGN: Scorpio
Best Known For
A member of three Brazilian World Cup-champion teams, Pelé is considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time.
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Play NowPelé. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 12:13, May 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221.
Pelé. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221 [Accessed 19 May 2013].
"Pelé." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 19 2013, 12:13 http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221.
"Pelé," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221 [accessed May 19, 2013].
"Pelé," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221 (accessed May 19, 2013).
Pelé [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221.
Pelé, http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221 (last visited May 19, 2013).
Pelé. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221. Accessed May 19, 2013.
The 1970 World Cup in Mexico marked a triumphant return to glory for Pelé and Brazil. Headlining a formidable squad, Pelé scored four goals in the tournament, including one in the final to give Brazil a 4-1 victory over Italy.
Pelé announced his retirement from soccer in 1974, but he was lured back to the field the following year to play for the New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League,
and temporarily helped make the NASL a big attraction. He played his final game in an exhibition between New York and Santos in October 1977, competing for both sides, and retired with a total of 1,281 goals in 1,363 games.
The Legend Lives On
Retirement did little to diminish the public profile of Pelé, who remained a popular pitchman and active in many professional arenas.
In 1978, Pelé was awarded the International Peace Award for his work with UNICEF. He has also served as Brazil's Extraordinary Minister for Sport and a United Nations ambassador for ecology and the environment.
Pelé was named FIFA's "Co-Player of the Century" in 1999, along with Argentine Diego Maradona. To many, his accomplishments on the soccer field will never be equaled, and virtually all great athletes in the sport are measured against the Brazilian who once made the world stop to watch his transcendent play.
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