China News Agency, Beijing, December 31st, title: Pele is gone
"China News Weekly" reporter Hu Kefei
The 82-year-old "ball king" Pele failed to survive 2022.
The FIFA page on Pele is a short one-line headline: "The King of football".
Not long ago, Pele watched the Qatar World Cup final in the ward.
After Argentina lifted the trophy, Pele congratulated Messi on social media, writing: "Football continues to tell its story in an exciting way today. Messi won his first World Cup and that's it." He deserved it. Congratulations to Argentina, Diego (Maradona) must be smiling now."
During the World Cup, there have been news that Pele's health continued to deteriorate.
On Christmas Eve, Pele's children all returned to Brazil from abroad to spend the last time with their father. The Brazilian government has already begun to prepare for Pele's funeral.
In the early morning of December 30th, Beijing time, Bailey left.
"Ball King" Bailey.
Figure/Visual China
Cancer, COVID-19 and Multiple Organ Failure
After the age of 70, Bailey's body began to have problems.
First, he was admitted to the hospital for prostate problems, and soon after he was found to have necrosis of the hip joint, he underwent hip replacement surgery.
Bailey refused rehabilitation after the operation and relied only on a wheelchair and crutches to travel.
Due to lack of exercise, he gradually developed muscle atrophy, and problems occurred in the spine, hips, and knees one after another.
Due to the inconvenience caused by many diseases, Bailey was diagnosed with depression a few years ago. With the company and care of his family, Bailey's emotions were comforted and his symptoms gradually eased.
But the good times didn't last long. During a routine physical examination in 2020, doctors discovered a malignant tumor on Bailey's body. It was located in the colon, but it had spread to the lungs.
After consultation with top medical experts, they believed that Bailey had missed the best time to remove the tumor.
In September 2021, Bailey still underwent colon tumor removal surgery and still needs chemotherapy to consolidate the results of the surgery.
Earlier this year, Bailey was diagnosed again with colon cancer that had spread to his liver and lungs.
At the end of November, Bailey was sent to the hospital again due to "general swelling" and "heart failure".
Subsequently, Bailey's daughter Edson Arantes do Nascimento said in an interview with the media that Bailey was admitted to the hospital for treatment because of infection with the new crown and respiratory problems.
During the World Cup, the global sports community gave Pele care and encouragement.
Qatari buildings lit up to pray for Pele.
Figure/Visual China
On December 3, FIFA deployed more than 100 drones over the Doha Bay with the words "get well soon"; after the Brazilian team defeated the South Korean team to advance to the top 8, the Brazilian team collectively pulled up in the stadium. Banners in support of Pele; spectators in the stands at multiple games singing "Pele, Pele"…
Brazil team members display a banner with Pele's head on it.
Figure/Visual China
At the end of December, the doctor who treated Bailey said that Bailey's kidneys and lungs had failed, leaving only the heart still responding.
As early as when he was a player, Bailey had a right kidney removed. He once said that it was because he was hit by opponents too many times, which caused the right kidney to have lesions and had to be removed.
Many people don't know that in the era when Pele played football, there was no red and yellow card system on the football field, and substitutions were not allowed, so Pele often suffered extremely brutal fouls in his career.
It is precisely because of the protection of talented athletes like Pele, under the strong appeal of the South American football community, that the current red and yellow card system was finally formed.
Even so, Pele still loves football.
king of football
Pele played in the first season of his career at the age of 16; he represented Brazil in the 1958 World Cup at the age of 17 and scored in the quarter-finals, becoming the youngest goal scorer in the history of the World Cup; "Hat-trick" helped the Brazilian team advance to the final; scored twice in the final to lead the Brazilian team to the top and win the championship.
Pele scored 6 goals in 4 appearances in that World Cup.
Then in 1962 and 1970, Pele won three World Cup titles for Brazil and permanently retained the Rimit Gold Cup for Brazil.
At the age of 23, Pele had scored 319 goals in 242 appearances in official competitions, including more than 500 goals in unofficial competitions.
In the 1970 World Cup, Pele led his team to win the World Cup for the third time.
Figure/Visual China
Pelé's career goal total has been a mystery due to history and statistical methods.
Pele only played for the Brazilian club Santos and the New York Cosmos Club in his career. According to their official records, Pele scored 680 goals in the club, plus 77 goals for the Brazilian national team. , with a total of 757 goals.
The "Guinness World Records Yearbook" determined that Bailey scored 1279 goals in 1363 games from 1956 to 1977. Since Bailey still scored two goals in the memorial game after retiring, the international Confederation and CONMEBOL have consistently rated Pele's goals total at 1,281.
Bailey himself determined that he scored 1,283 goals in his career.
In 2013, Bailey published his autobiography called "1283" and only released 1283 copies to commemorate it.
In fact, no matter what data it is, it is difficult to make people feel Pele's ability on the football field.
More than 65% of his career games have not been recorded on video, which is a huge loss for football lovers.
Bailey is a rare all-round player in the history of world football. He can show excellent scoring ability when placed on the front line, and his ability to dribble, get rid of and pass people is also very good when placed on the wing. Can become the strongest organizational core.
What is even more shocking is that Pele, who is 1.75 meters tall and serves as a striker, has played 4 times as a goalkeeper in the Santos team. He also played as a goalkeeper in a friendly match for the Brazilian team.
In Bailey's peak period, opponents even needed to send 3-4 players to defend him.
Even so, Bailey can easily break through.
The football is flexible under his feet, and he is like a beast on the field, fast and fierce.
Nowadays, when describing the style of Brazilian football, people always say "Samba". In fact, the traditional style of Brazilian football is called "Ginga".
It is a traditional Brazilian culture that originated in the colonial period in the 16th century, and it is a self-defense technique.
Flexible, agile, full of flexibility and explosive power, in the middle of the last century, Brazilian football players brought "Renga" into the football field and believed that it was the symbol of Brazilian football.
The most common movements of the Renga style of play include acrobatic dribbles, upside-down golden hook shots and passes with the thigh or back.
In the 1950 World Cup, the Brazilian team lost to the European football-style Uruguay team in the final, which made many Brazilians think that it was time to give up "Renga".
But Bailey disagreed.
In the 1958 World Cup, Pele not only proved the charm of "Renjia", but also showed the confidence and future of Brazilian football.
Brazilians are cheerful, confident and happy, and Brazilian athletes with a strong desire to express themselves have passed on "Renga" from generation to generation.
The shadow of "Ren Jia" can still be seen in young people such as Richarlison and Anthony who have emerged in this World Cup.
Without Pele's persistence, the style of Brazilian football would not be what it is today.
Pele did everything for football
On October 10, 1977, the New York Cosmos held a grand farewell match for Bailey. After the game, Bailey left the field in tears amidst the cheers of his teammates and the audience, ending his extraordinary and legendary green career.
Pele's giant banner at the World Cup.
Figure/Visual China
After retiring, Pele served as the Minister of Sports of Brazil, trying to change the chaotic competition system and corruption of Brazilian football; served as an ambassador to the United Nations, helping poor teenagers from all over the world rekindle their love for life through football; Played football player Lewis in the movie, recreating his back hook stunt.
As long as there are things related to football, Pele can be seen in almost everything.
In Bailey's view, everything he does is for football and for Brazil, and he is very happy and happy.
On December 18, 2022, after the Brazil team was eliminated by the Croatian team, Pele published a long article on social media, which said, "If your dream is to become a football player, then your chance will be less than others, and their dreams will be further away. Their pain will not be deeper than others, but they will be judged by more people, will they not? But at the same time, their joy in victory will be more .”
"I don't know what makes us so crazy about football, maybe it's the love of our friendship in this sport; maybe it's the cheering at the moment of scoring that makes us forget all the troubles in life, even if it's only 90 Minutes; maybe it's the love that football conveys in the fight against poverty, hunger and drugs, it exists in small communities that make up such a huge country. This is what this beautiful game brings us , especially in Brazil.”
On November 25, 2020, Maradona passed away. After hearing the news, Bailey said immediately, "I lost a good friend, and the world lost a legend. I hope that one day in the future, we can be together in the sky. kick the ball."
Now, Maradona should have seen Pele.
(use up)