Pelé dies at 82, as Buhari, others mourn Brazilian football legend

Football legend, Edson Arantes do Nascimiento, better known as Pele, who inspired the South American nation of Brazil, on and off the field, died, late Thursday, after months of failed battle with colon cancer. He was aged 82. 

Pelé who reportedly halted the Nigerian Civil War for 48 hours in order to play an exhibition match at the National Stadium in Lagos, had battled for his health for years before giving in to cancer, Thursday.

Pelé had a tumor removed in September 2021 and had been undergoing chemotherapy since then. He was admitted into the hospital in late November, with his daughter saying it was to regulate his medication. However, in recent weeks, his condition worsened, and he was put into palliative care just a few days later.

Pelé was then placed into ‘elevated care’ last week related to ‘kidney and cardiac dysfunctions,’ the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo said in a statement. His agent confirmed his passing on Thursday.

A member of three Brazilian World Cup champion teams, Pelé was widely regarded as the greatest soccer player off all time and often was given credit for coining the term ‘the beautiful game,’ used to describe football. 

Pele is credited with scoring a world record 1,281 goals in 1,363 appearances during a 21-year career, including 77 goals in 92 matches for his country and remains the only football player to win the World Cup three times, lifting the trophy in 1958, 1962 and 1970, he was eventually named Fifa’s Player of the Century in 2000.

His daughter Kely Nascimento who has kept fans updated on her father’s condition with regular social media updates from the hospital, on Thursday, posted a picture of what appeared to be Pele’s family’s hands on his body in the hospital and wrote: “Everything we are is thanks to you. We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”

Pele, whose father was a struggling soccer player, was born in Tres Coracoes, Brazil, and grew up in poverty in Bauru in the state of Sao Paulo. He was named after the American inventor Thomas Edison, though his parents decided to remove the “I” and call him Edson. He was nicknamed “Dico” by his family. 

However, it was the nickname ‘Pelé’ that the world came to know. 

Its origin is unclear, with Pelé himself saying that he didn’t know how it started. However, urban legend says that his school friends gave it to him after he mispronounced the name of his favorite soccer player, Vasco da Gama’s goalkeeper, Bile. 

While promoting “Pele: Birth of a Legend,” a biopic of his early life, he disclosed in 2016 that he never liked the nickname when he was a young boy, but eventually started to love it as fans around the world began chanting it more and more. 

“I could not change it,” Pelé said at the time. 

Pelé began playing soccer as a young child and usually played with a sock stuffed with newspaper and tied with a string or with a grapefruit. He played on several amateur teams, even leading the local Bauru Athletic Club juniors team to two Sao Paulo state youth championships. 

At the age of 15, his youth coach, Waldemar de Brito, a former member of the Brazilian national soccer team, convinced Pelé’s parents to let the budding phenomenon try out for the Santos professional club. 

The teenager was signed and immediately began making an impact. He scored the first professional goal of his career before he turned 16 and led the Brazilian soccer league in goals scored in his first full season. 

The world was officially introduced to the phenom at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Displaying remarkable speed, athleticism and field vision, the 17-year-old Pelé scored three goals in a 5-2 semifinal win over France before netting two more goals in the 5-2 championship win over the host country. 

Then-Brazilian President Janio Quadros went on to declare the young superstar a national treasure, which made it harder legally for him to play in another country. Nevertheless, Pelé went on to play lucrative exhibition matches with teams around the world. 

Pelé was a member of three Brazilian World Cup champion teams.

Pelé helped Brazil to win two more World Cup trophies; at the 1962 World Cup in Chile and the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.

Throughout the years, the legend of Pelé continued to grow, so much so that in the late 1960s, the two factions in the Nigerian Civil War (Biafra and the Nigerian Government) reportedly agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire so they could watch him play in an exhibition game at the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos. 

Former United States President, Ronald Reagan summarized Pelé’s stardom when the soccer star visited him at the White House: “My name is Ronald Reagan, I’m the president of the United States of America. But you don’t need to introduce yourself, because everyone knows who Pelé is.”  

Pelé went on to play for the New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League after a brief retirement from the sport. 

He played his final game in an exhibition between New York and Santos in October 1977, competing for both sides. He retired with a total of 1,281 goals in 1,363 games. 

Pelé held the records for youngest player to play in a World Cup final, youngest goal scorer and youngest hat-trick scorer in World Cup history. 

In 1978, he was awarded the International Peace Award for his work with UNICEF, and in 1999, FIFA named him “Co-Player of the Century” along with Argentine star Diego Maradona. 

Pelé is survived by his third wife, Marcia Aoki, six children from various relationships, and several grandchildren.  

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has joined world leaders in expressing grief over the death of Brazilian soccer legend, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pele who died on Thursday.

The world’s greatest ever football player succumbed to death after suffering a debilitating bout of cancer.

He won three World Cups and scored over 1,281 goals, becoming the original football icon in a long career for which he was named the ‘Player of the Century’ in the year 2000.

In a tribute to the football legend on behalf of all Nigerians, President Buhari said: “May he rest in peace. He led a good life and made a huge contribution to the development of global football in particular and world sport in general.

“He had an enormous generosity of spirit and humility despite his greatness as a footballer and sportsman.

“He also built bridges across nations, races and even religions. He was a UN Ambassador of goodwill. Pele is gone but the world will never forget him. RIP. “