On December 29, local time, the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil announced that the well-known Brazilian athlete and "Ball King" Pele died at 15:27 of the same day due to multiple organ failure caused by colon cancer. He was 82 years old. age.
Bailey's daughter Kelly Nascimento posted on social media: "We owe everything to you and we all love you."
Data map: Bailey.
boy genius
Pele's life has always been accompanied by football.
In the eyes of many people, he is "God's gift to football".
On October 23, 1940, Pele was born in a poor family in Brazil.
From an early age he showed a crazy love for football.
Because he couldn't afford football, he played coconut shells with his friends on the streets of the town, which became a true portrayal of Pele's childhood.
In 1950, the Selecao watched Uruguay win the World Cup final.
Also in that year, in an unknown town in the state of Sao Paulo, 10-year-old Pele told his father with tears in his eyes that he would win the World Cup for him.
A football legend begins at this moment.
Genius should not be let down after all.
Pele's football talent was discovered by then-Brazil international Valdemar de Brito.
When Pele became a well-known local "football expert", Brito brought him to his training ground.
Pele started his glorious journey from the Baru Athletic youth team in Sao Paulo state to the Santos team.
After joining the Santos team, Pele, who was still thin at the time, took only two years to become the main force of the team, and the football boy began to realize his green talent.
"Ball King" Glory
In this way, Pele was officially selected for the Brazilian national team when he was 17 years old.
In the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, in the quarter-finals between Brazil and Wales, Pele scored the winning goal for the team.
On that day, he was only 17 years, 7 months and 27 days, making him the youngest goal scorer in World Cup history.
In that game, the Brazilian team also won the championship as they wished.
In his first trip to the World Cup, Pele scored 6 goals in four games, all of which were knockout goals, becoming the well-deserved "first man" who became famous in World War I.
Data map: In the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, Pele (first from left), who was only 17 years old at the time, leaned on his teammates and cried after helping Brazil win the World Cup.
It was also in this World Cup that Pele started his way to become famous all over the world.
But this is only the beginning of that glorious history.
The three World Cup champions in 1958, 1962 and 1970 were all embraced by the Samba Army.
And Bailey became the only player in football history to win the World Cup three times. This record has not been surpassed by future generations.
Like a smart elf on the court, Bailey can always find a good opportunity to score goals in the crowd.
Gradually, everyone began to give the title of "Ball King" to this young man from Brazil.
In 1366 games in his 21-year career, Pele scored a total of 1283 goals.
In the memory of many fans of the older generation, Pele is the vast majority of their cognition of football.
Even the then U.S. President Reagan said when he met Pele, you don't need to introduce yourself, because everyone knows Pele.
Data map: On June 1, 2016, in London, England, Bailey's personal commemorative collection was exhibited at the Moore Gallery in London.
In 1977, Pele officially announced his retirement, but he did not leave football.
After that, he was elected as the athlete of the century by the International Olympic Committee and officially awarded the title of "Ball King" by FIFA.
He also served as the Minister of Sports of Brazil and the image ambassador of Brazil World Cup.
A legendary career has also been filmed for future generations to remember.
Data map: On June 1, 2016, in London, England, Bailey's personal commemorative collection was exhibited at the Moore Gallery in London, and the old football king appeared to kiss the old trophy.
When away from the hustle and bustle of the stadium, Pele spent more time with the next generation of football teenagers.
He did not forget his poor background, and he did not forget to care for those poor children.
In September 2005, a children's welfare home in the southern city of Curitiba in Brazil opened, and Bailey personally went to visit the disabled children there.
In 2016, the 76-year-old Pele auctioned off the football that scored the 1,000th goal of his career and the medals of the three World Cup champions. Part of the auction money was donated to the children's welfare home, and the other part was donated to the city of Santos, Brazil. charity.
This is Pele. He always pays attention to the development of football career, and always hopes that the younger generation can catch up with his footsteps.
Data map: On September 11, 2014 local time, Pele attended the unveiling ceremony of the Rio slum renovation stadium. The "ball king" communicated with young players during the event.
hero twilight
However, in the twilight years of the hero, Bailey began to race against the disease.
In 2012, Bailey underwent hip surgery to treat femoral disease in his thigh.
Two years later, he underwent surgery to remove kidney, bladder and urinary stones at the same hospital.
During the postoperative examination, a urinary tract infection was found.
Since then, he has also had prostate surgery and back and lumbar surgery.
In 9 months, Pele experienced as many as 3 hospitalizations.
An icon of Brazilian sport, Pele could have lit the Rio 2016 flame himself.
However, due to health problems, he ultimately missed out on the honor.
Data map: Bailey.
Since then, due to leg discomfort, Bailey has become more and more dependent on wheelchairs and other walking aids for a lot of time, and this has also affected the hearts of fans around the world.
"After the hip replacement surgery, his rehabilitation was not appropriate and his recovery was not ideal, so now his mobility is very weak and he can only use a walker. Although the situation is better than before, it is still difficult to walk. There are great difficulties." Pele's son Edinho once introduced.
Bailey has been battling bowel cancer since he was diagnosed with a colorectal tumor at the end of August 2021.
Bailey has been undergoing chemotherapy since undergoing surgery for bowel cancer last September.
Although the condition has been repeated, Bailey's family has always announced that "the physical condition is relatively stable."
On November 29, local time, Bailey was admitted to the hospital again for examination.
However, within a few days, the situation of the ball king took a turn for the worse.
According to the "Daily Mail" and the Brazilian media "Folha Sao Paulo" and other media sources, he received palliative care and entered the stage of hospice care.
For Brazilian football, Pele's significance needless to say.
At that time, the World Cup in Qatar was underway, and Brazil coach Tite also expressed his blessing to Pele before the group match against Cameroon.
"He is probably one of the greatest representatives of Brazilian football. We wish him good health. This is how we all feel in Brazil. We wish Pelé the best."
However, the ball king did not escape the illness after all this time.
When the cruel reality came, many people sighed: Heroes cannot escape old age.
On October 23 this year, Bailey celebrated his 82nd birthday.
In the dynamics posted on social media, the word "thank you" is what he said the most.
"On my birthday, I just want to express my gratitude. Life is good. 82 years old with family and good health is the best gift. Thank you for everything I have received."
But now, only the voices of regret from the fans are left.
More than 80 years have passed, and Bailey has spent his whole life becoming a green idol all over the world.
Call "Ball King" again, mourning the legend of the world.
King of the ball, go all the way.
Author: Liu Xingchen