Biography of Pele Essay -- History

Biography of Pele Edson Arantes do Nascimento, more widely admired by the world as "Pelà ©", was born on October 23, 1940, in a small village in Brasil called Trà ªs Coraà §Ãƒ µes in the Brasilian state of Minas Gerais. He was baptized in the municipal church called Igreja da Sagrada Famà ­lia de Jesus, Maria e Josà ©. His father, Joà £o Ramos do Nascimento, or Dondinho, as he was known in the soccer world, was also a professional player. He was well-known as one of the best-heading players in his time. He was a center forward for Fluminense until an injury kept him from playing professional division one soccer. His mother Celeste gave Pelà © and the rest of his family attention to their needs and a lot of love. When he was a child, Pelà © and his family moved to Baurà º, in the interior of the Brasilian state of Sà £o Paulo, where he learned to master the art of futebol. One day he himself confessed that he "tinha trà ªs coraà §Ãƒ µes [had three hearts]", referring to the city where he wa s born, Trà ªs Coraà §Ãƒ µes, and to Baurà º and Santos. Pelà ©'s Career Pelà ©'s first job was shining shoes. But he had always dreamed of playing soccer. Pelà ©'s soccer career started early. After playing in a few amateur teams like Baquinho and Sete Setembro, at the age of 11, while playing for an uncoached team called Ameriquinha, he was discovered by a former Brasilian World Cup player named Waldemar de Brito. De Brito recognized Pelà ©'s skills and invited him to join the team he was organizing (Clube Atlà ©tico Baurà º?). When Pelà © was fifteen, in 1956, de Brito took him to the city of Sà £o Paulo to try out for the professional club called Santos Futebol Clube (SFC). That day, de Brito told the team directors that "This boy will be the greatest soccer player in the world." Pelà ©'s first show came on September 7, 1956, when he played in place of the center forward Del Vecchio. He came into the game to score the sixth of the seven goals in the 7-1 Santos victory. He scored his goal on the 36th minute, in a play between Raimundinho and Tite. The ball was given to Pelà © in the box, and even though he was surrounded by defenders, he shot on goal and the ball went under goalkeeper Zaluar's body. Zaluar became famous as the first goalkeeper to take a goal from the great Pelà ©. From there, the trip to the summit was fast. In his first league game with Santos, he scored four goals. The next season, he was a re... ...ht goals in one game against Botafogo of Rio de Janeiro. On November 19, 1969, he scored his famous 1,000th goal from a penalty kick on the 34th minute of the game against Vasco da Gama and dedicated it "...para as criancinhas pobres do Brasil...." (to the poor little children of Brasil) and to the elderly and suffering peoples of Brasil. Pelà © also participated in what is known to be the "Golden Age" of the Libertadores Cup from 1960 to 1963, during which the great Uruguayan team Peà ±arol faced the legendary Santos for the final games. Peà ±arol won in 1960 and 61, while Santos took the championship the other two years. Pelà © defined the role of the playmaker/midfielder type. He led some of the greatest Brasilian players of all time - Vavà ¡, Didi, Garrincha, and others. Many said Pelà © would have been the best in any position he played. Pelà © once insisted to the manager of Santos that he play goalkeeper. On January 19, 1964, he substituted Santos goalkeepr Gilmar, who had been ejected, in the semi-final game of the Brasil Cup. For five minutes, after scoring three goals, Pelà © played with the number one jersey and made two spectacular saves that saved Santos the spot in the finals.