Pele born Edson Arantes do Nascimento is widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all-time.
ADVERTISEMENT
Pele@80: 6 enviable achievements of the legendary Brazilian footballer
Pulse sports has compiled six enviable achievements of the Pele as he marks his 80th birthday on Friday 23rd October, 2020.
Pele@80 six enviable achievements of the legendary Brazilian footballer
Recommended articles
The Brazilian legend reached heights to which few of his peers, past or present, could ever aspire.
Here are six of his unmatched achievements in football
ADVERTISEMENT
Youngest scorer in FIFA World Cup final:
Pele was the standout player in the 1958 FIFA World Cup final as Brazil defeated hosts Sweden to win their first ever Mundial.
Pele at 17 years and 249 day netted two goals to inspire Brazil to that famous victory.
His first goal where he flicked the ball over a defender before volleying into the corner of the net, was selected as one of the best goals in the history of the World Cup. Following Pelé's second goal, Swedish player Sigvard Parling would later comment; "When Pelé scored the fifth goal in that Final, I have to be honest and say I felt like applauding".When the match ended, Pelé passed out on the field.
Three FIFA World Cup titles
ADVERTISEMENT
Pelé is the only footballer to win the FIFA World Cup three times since the inception of the tournament in 1930.
He played a key role as Brazil won the competition in 1958 in his debut tournament and he was also part of the team as they defended the title in 1962.
Brazil missed out on the title in 1966 suffering an exit from the tournament in the group stage after Pele got injured.
The Seleccao bounced back in 1970 with Pele in the thick of events and clinched the title for keeps whipping Italy 4-1 in the final.
That was Pelé’s final tournament.
ADVERTISEMENT
Greatest scorer of all-time in the world
Pele has scored more goals than any player in football history. He has bagged a total of 1,279 goals including unofficial matches (some people have questioned the figures though).
He is the all-time top scorer for Brazil and Santos as well.
On November 19, 1969, Brazilian superstar Pelé scored the 1,000th goal of his career.
According to the IFFHS, Pelé is the most successful top division scorer of all times with 541 goals in 560 appearances. His total of 1279 goals in 1363 games, which included friendlies, is a Guinness World Record.
ADVERTISEMENT
Joint FIFA Player of the Century
Pelé and Diego Maradona were named joint FIFA Player of the Century in 2000.
FIFA Player of the Century was a one-off award created by FIFA to decide the greatest football player of the 20th century, announced at the annual FIFA World gala, held in Rome on 11 December 2000.
Diego Maradona and Pelé were joint winners of the award. Maradona won the award based on the Internet poll, while Pelé won the award based on votes from FIFA officials, journalists and coaches.
Athlete of the century
ADVERTISEMENT
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1999 elected Pele as the greatest athlete of all-time.
The world has seen great athletes as of 1999 namely Mohammed Ali in boxing, Carl Lewis in athletics, Michael Jordan in Basketball, etc but Pele beat them all to the award.
Cease-fire in Nigeria for 48 hours due to the arrival of Pele
Pele aside from his great feat on the field has a remarkable record off the field.
Santos arrived in Lagos in January, 1969 right in the middle of the Nigeria-Biafra war which displaced over 4.5 million people. But when Pele & Co. rolled into town, the guns fell silent.
ADVERTISEMENT
For 48 hours, Nigeria and Biafra held a ceasefire, during which Santos drew 2-2 with the Super Eagles.
Santos' official website insists that the region's military governor Samuel Ogbemudia decreed a local holiday and opened up the bridge that connected Benin with Biafra so that both sides of the divide could witness Santos' 2-1 victory over Nigeria in front of a crowd of 25,000 spectators.
According to Pele's team-mates Gilmar and Coutinho, the ceasefire barely lasted for the duration of the game; as the side's plane took off, they could hear from inside the craft the sound of gunshots that marked the resumption of conflict.
“Having stopped a war was one more point in our favour to show our supremacy,” fellow Peixe legend Lima recalled to Gazeta Esportiva.
“We could have easily turned around and said, 'War is all around us – why would we enter that mess?' But we didn't. We wanted to do it and we said: 'We are not obliged to play, but we want to and we are going to do this.'”
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.com.gh
Recommended articles
Brazil legend Marta to retire from international football Olympics
Ghana's 4X100 relay team to battle at Penn Relays for Olympic qualification
Zinabu Issah snatch gold in discus throw at 2024 Paralympics in Morocco
Video: Watch how the Black Starlets beat Serbia 5-1 in the UEFA U-16 tournament
Kurt Okraku’s administration is the best ever in Ghana’s history – Mohammed Polo
The Intersection of Enthusiasm: United Kingdom's local motorsports and Ghana's rising stars
Video: Watch Fatawu Issahaku’s hat trick in Leicester City’s win against Southampton
RTU suspends coach Abdulai Mumin over match-fixing allegations
