Pele in full flow was the most beautiful sight in football long before that adjective defined the game.
Even today his name is a byword not just for beauty, but for excellence, breath-taking skill and the highest quality of sportsmanship. Long before Maradona, Ronaldo and Messi, there was never even a debate about the greatest footballer of all time. Every fan knew it was Pele and they adored him.
As his Brazilian team-mate Clodoaldo remarked: “In some countries they wanted to touch him, in some they wanted to kiss him. In others they even kissed the ground he walked on.”
Like most of the greats, his shortness gave Pele a low centre of gravity and perfect balance. He was a mesmeric dribbler, and remarkably powerful in the air. But it was his reading of the game, his timing and his anticipation, his accuracy with the ball allied to his courage and effortless improvisation, that at times made him appear superhuman.
As Johan Cruyff said: “Pele was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic.”
He was also a mild-mannered and fair player, who rarely lost his temper despite often being brutally targeted by opponents. His warm embrace with Bobby Moore after Brazil beat world champions England at the 1970 World Cup was the embodiment of sportsmanship.
The New York Times said: “As they exchanged jerseys, touches and looks, the sportsmanship between them is all in the image.”
Like Muhammad Ali, he transcended sport to become an icon and a defining symbol for his people. The man Brazilians called “O Rei” (the King) gave them hope in troubled times.
When he catapulted the Brazilian national side to worldwide fame it had an extraordinary effect on a country afflicted in the 1950s by self-doubt, and in the 1960s by censorship from dictators.
In 1958, when Brazil won the World Cup, the nation exploded with joy. Historians have said Pele gave Brazil the positive image that became the bedrock on which the modern nation was founded. Not bad for a boy from the slums of Bauro in Sao Paulo who grew up in poverty and as a youngster was sent to work in tea shops.
He was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on October 23, 1940, in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil to Fluminense footballer Dondinho and Celeste Arantes. He was the eldest of three children and was named after the American inventor Thomas Edison. As a kid he earned the moniker Pele due to him mispronouncing the name of his favourite player, Brazilian Bile.
His father taught him to play football, practising with a sock stuffed with newspapers, or a grapefruit, because they could not afford a ball.
He rose through local youth leagues and at 15 was signed by Santos FC, who realised they had struck gold.
By 16 he was the top scorer in the national league, and had been called up for Brazil. In the 1958 World Cup, in Sweden, the 17-year-old inspired Brazil to glory with two memorable goals in the final.
Four years later in Chile, Pele helped Brazil retain the World Cup, though he was injured in the early rounds and missed the knock-out stages. England in 1966 was disappointing as Brazil failed to get out of the group stages, with Pele a target of thuggish tackles.
He was so devastated by the lack of protection from referees he vowed never to play in World Cups again. But under severe pressure, Pele went to Mexico in 1970 for the crowning moment of his career.
Brazil beat Italy 4-1 in the final, with Pele scoring the first goal and contributing with a blind pass to the final one, hailed as the most beautiful goal ever.
Those of us lucky enough to watch the first World Cup ever televised in colour will never forget the anticipation felt when the ball fell to Pele’s feet. As ITV panellist Paddy Crerand replied, when asked how you spell Pele: “Easy. It’s G-O-D.”
After retiring Pele became a global ambassador for football, sport and UNESCO, with whom he campaigned for ecology and the environment.
He had five children from his three marriages, but at least two more from his numerous affairs. When Pfizer brought out Viagra, and needed a front guy for their ad campaigns, Pele seemed a natural fit.
In 2014, his son Edinho was jailed for 33 years – reduced to 12 on appeal – for laundering drug money.
In 1970, Pele was investigated by the authoritarian Brazilian government for suspected sympathy with left-wing political prisoners. Like Muhammad Ali, he had a great rapport with the British. He was in the 1981 film Escape to Victory, and had a cameo in Mike Bassett: England Manager.
In 1997, he received an honorary knighthood from the Queen and on the 20th anniversary tweeted “It will always stay in my memory. I thank all the British people for their affection.”
The final word on the greatest artist football has seen should go to a real artist, Andy Warhol, who, when he painted his portrait, said: “Pele was one of the few who contradicted my theory. Instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries.”
And the genius from the Sao Paulo slums will undoubtedly deserve it.
