The king is dead: the only three-time world football champion Pelé has died

Fight against cancer

Over the past weeks, the entire football world has been watching not only the events of the World Cup in Qatar, but also how one of the greatest players in the history of sports is fighting for life.

Already after the start of the World Cup, sad news came from Brazil: the health of Pele, who was suffering from oncology, deteriorated noticeably, because of which he was again in the hospital, and the chances of recovery were assessed as scanty.

Information even appeared in the media that at some point the doctors stopped any attempts to cure the athlete and provided only palliative care, helping to cope with the symptoms.

However, Pele turned out to be much stronger than some expected.

He was able to see his own national team sensationally inferior to Croatia, and to witness one of the greatest finals in the history of the championship, which ended in the triumph of Argentina led by Lionel Messi.

However, four days after the end of the 2022 World Cup, the athlete became worse again: he was diagnosed with kidney and heart failure, and the cancer continued to progress.

Pele held out for a few more days, but the disease was stronger.

On December 29, it became known that the legendary footballer passed away at the age of 82.

“The Albert Einstein Clinic bitterly confirms the news of Pele’s death, recorded on December 29 at 15:27 (21:27 Moscow time -

) due to multiple organ failure as a result of the negative dynamics of rectal cancer and the patient’s clinical condition,” TASS quotes information contained in the official bulletin.

One of the greatest in history

Edson Arantis do Nascimento was born on October 23, 1940 in a poor family with many children, who lived in the small town of Tres Coracoins.

From an early age he was fond of football, and the first lessons of the game were given to him by his father João Ramos.

He spent his best years at the Bauru club from the state of São Paulo, whom he helped win the local championship.

Pele himself could follow his example.

Already at the age of 13, he got into the youth team, but there he was noticed by the former striker of the Brazilian national team, Valdemar de Brito, who held the position of coach.

He immediately saw talent in the boy and predicted a bright future for him, sending him to Santos for viewing.

The young athlete impressed Luis Alonso Pérez, the Pisces mentor, and already in June 1956 he signed his first professional contract.

After that, Pele's career developed rapidly.

At the age of 15, he made his debut for Santos in the championship and immediately scored a goal, and 10 months later he first entered the field in a national team shirt.

In a friendly match with Argentina, he was at the start and again did not leave without a goal scored.

Subsequently, he hit the gates of the Selesao rivals four more times in four meetings and was called up to the 1958 World Cup.

And for Pele, that became a high point.

The young striker started the championship in the reserve, but already in the third round of the group stage he got a chance at the base and took advantage of it.

In the victorious match with the USSR, he acted as an assistant, and in meetings with Wales, France and Sweden, he scored a total of six goals.

The tricolors were especially unlucky, whom Pele upset three times in 23 minutes.

Brazil won the World Cup for the first time in its history, and Edson was recognized as the best young football player, named "King" and attracted the attention of scouts from Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United.

However, his move to Europe was not destined to take place.

The country declared him a "national treasure" and thus prevented the transition to the European club.

Subsequently, Pele performed three more times at the World Championships and twice helped Selesao to take over.

True, in 1962 he spent a total of only 180 minutes on the field, and missed the decisive confrontation due to injury.

But in 1970 he gave the best tournament in his career.

In six matches, he scored ten (4 + 6) points in the "goal + pass" system and became the most valuable player in the world championship.

Moreover, in the final meeting with Italy (4: 1), he not only opened the scoring, but also assisted his partners twice - Jairzinho and Carlos Alberto Torres.

At the end of the World Cup, Pele spoke for his country five more times, after which he officially ended his career in the national team.

In total, he played 92 matches for her and scored 77 goals, which to this day is a record.

And three years later, he left Santos.

To this point, he has scored 1,091 goals in 1,116 meetings for the Pisces and helped them win the Brazilian championship six times, as well as win the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup twice each.

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Many thought that this was the end of the legendary athlete's career, but a year later he shocked many and signed a contract with the American New York Cosmos.

It is noted that the reason was both the intention to improve their financial situation and the desire to contribute to the development of football.

As a result, Pele became the highest paid athlete in the world and helped the team win the North American League (NASL) championship, and in 1977 he still hung up his boots.

And although Pele never had the opportunity to demonstrate his talents in Europe, he went down in history as one of the greatest football players.

The Brazilian repeatedly got into all kinds of tops, became the best athlete of the millennium according to the IOC and FIFA.

In a vote held by the International Football Federation, the three-time world champion received 72.75%, ahead of Alfredo Di Stefano (9.75%), Diego Maradona (6.0%), Franz Beckenbauer (2.5%), Johan Cruyff and George Best ( both - 2.0% each.

He was also ranked first by France Football magazine, World Soccer, and Time included in the list of the most influential people of the century in 1999.

Over the years, Pelé has solidified his status as one of the most recognizable and revered athletes in history.

He served as Minister of Sports of Brazil, was consecrated a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and was awarded the honorary FIFA Golden Ball.

And to this day, it remains the only three-time winner of the World Cup.