Pelè

 

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, or better known as Pelè was born October 23rd 1940. He went on to become perhaps the best player of all time. He made his senior debut for Santos in 1956, a month before his 16th birthday and ten months later he played for Brazil against Argentina. Pelè missed the first two matches of the 1958 World Cup, before making his debut against Russia. His first World Cup goal came in the 1-0 quarter -final win over Wales and he scored a hat-trick in the semifinal and two more in the final.

Scoring goals was Pelè's trademark, but he was also a clever, quick-thinking player who could create goals for others. He scored a remarkable 97 goals for Brazil in 111 appearances, and various sources suggest that he netted 1281 in 1363 senior games overall. He played his fianl game for Santos in 1974, but was persuaded out of retirement the following year when he joined NASL club, New York Cosmos in a $4.000.000 deal. He played his last game for Cosmos in 1977 in front of 75.646 fans.

Pele has achieved more than any other player in the World Cup history. Surprisingly he hasn't been topscorer in either of the four World Cups he played in, but he is on third place of the all-time topscorers table with his 12 goals. His proudest record must be the fact that he is the only player who has won three World Cups.

Pelè in the World Cup