Pele died: he was 82 years old

The world of football is crying: Pelé didn’t make it, after several days in serious condition he passed away. O Rei was 82 years old and her daughter gave the news with a post on Instagram containing a very short dedication: “All that we are is thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace”.

The carreer

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The deeds of the Brazilian footballer born in Tres Coraçoes on October 23, 1940 will be remembered forever and, decades after his retirement, the debate on who was the absolute best between him and Diego Armando Maradona is still heated. His career speaks for itself: a whole life at Santos (11 national and 5 international titles) with a short two-year queue at the New York Cosmos in the US championship, but above all the history written with the Brazil shirt. With the Selection Pelé scored 77 goals in 92 games, but above all he won three World Cups, two of which as a protagonist. In the first in Sweden, in 1958, the world fell in love with him when he wasn’t even eighteen: 5 goals between the semi-final against France and the final against the hosts, plus a ring against Wales in the quarter-finals. Then the encore four years later in Chile, played only in the initial phase and seen from the outside for the other matches due to an injury. Finally the third – no one has won more than him – in 1970 in Mexico: a center in the final against Italy and three other pearls in the course of the competition.

Goal in clusters

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Fifa recognizes him as the best scorer ever, but the estimates are not unique: they range from over 1200 to a minimum of 757, with matches at youth level and unofficial matches that cause the figure to fluctuate. Beyond the numbers, the masterpiece against Sweden in 1958 – chest stop, sombrero to the defender and volley goal – remains a hymn to the purest talent.