Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Brazilian
Portuguese: , better known as Pelé (Brazilian Portuguese: , name given as Edison
on birth certificate, born 21 October 1940 – however, Pelé himself claims that
he was born on 23 October , is a retired Brazilian footballer.
He is regarded by many experts, football critics, former players, current
players and football fans in general as the best player of all time.In 1999, he
was voted Football Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History &
Statistics (IFFHS). In the same year French weekly
magazine France Football
consulted their former Ballon D'Or
winners to elect the Football Player of the Century. Pelé came in first place. Pelé was elected "Athlete
of the Century" by the International
Olympic Committee and Reuters News Agency in
1999, and by French newspaper L'Équipe in 1981. During his playing days
Pelé was for a period the best paid athlete in the world. According to the International Federation of Football History &
Statistics (IFFHS) he is the most successful league goal scorer in
the world, with 541 league goals. In total Pelé scored 1281 goals in 1363
games. In his native Brazil, Pelé is hailed as a national hero. He is known for his
accomplishments and contributions to the game of football. He is also acknowledged for
his vocal support of policies to improve the social conditions of the poor
(when he scored his 1,000th goal he dedicated it to the poor children of
Brazil). During his career, he became
known as "The Black Pearl" (Pérola Negra), "The King of
Football" (O Rei do Futebol), "The King Pelé" (O Rei
Pelé) or simply "The King" (O Rei).
He was trained since birth to become great by his father, mentor and former footballer (who was the top scorer in every season he played for, for every team) Dondinho. Later spotted, at Bauru Atlético Clube, by football star Waldemar de Brito, Pelé began playing for Santos at 15 and his national team at 16, and won his first World Cup at 17. Despite numerous offers from European clubs, he could not leave Brazil because of a law keeping him there. In 1961 President Jânio Quadros had Pelé declared a national treasure, thus enabling Santos to keep Pelé for almost two decades until 1974. With Pelé within their ranks, Santos reached their zenith by winning the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores, the most prestigious club competition in South American football. In 1962 Santos became the first football club ever to win four out of four competitions in a single year, thus achieving the quadruple. Pelé’s electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals made him a star around the world. His team Santos toured internationally in order to take full advantage of his popularity. Pelé played most of his career as a deep-lying forward. Pelé's technique and natural athleticism have been universally praised and during his playing years he was renowned for his excellent dribbling and passing, his pace, powerful shot, exceptional heading ability, and prolific goalscoring.
He is the all-time leading scorer of the Brazil national football team and is the only footballer to be a part of three World Cup-winning squads.
He was trained since birth to become great by his father, mentor and former footballer (who was the top scorer in every season he played for, for every team) Dondinho. Later spotted, at Bauru Atlético Clube, by football star Waldemar de Brito, Pelé began playing for Santos at 15 and his national team at 16, and won his first World Cup at 17. Despite numerous offers from European clubs, he could not leave Brazil because of a law keeping him there. In 1961 President Jânio Quadros had Pelé declared a national treasure, thus enabling Santos to keep Pelé for almost two decades until 1974. With Pelé within their ranks, Santos reached their zenith by winning the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores, the most prestigious club competition in South American football. In 1962 Santos became the first football club ever to win four out of four competitions in a single year, thus achieving the quadruple. Pelé’s electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals made him a star around the world. His team Santos toured internationally in order to take full advantage of his popularity. Pelé played most of his career as a deep-lying forward. Pelé's technique and natural athleticism have been universally praised and during his playing years he was renowned for his excellent dribbling and passing, his pace, powerful shot, exceptional heading ability, and prolific goalscoring.
He is the all-time leading scorer of the Brazil national football team and is the only footballer to be a part of three World Cup-winning squads.
Torres is a Spanish international and made his debut against
Portugal in 2003. He has been capped over 100 times and is his country's
third-highest goalscorer of all time. With Spain he has participated in five
major tournaments; UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, the
2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. Spain won the latter three tournaments,
with Torres scoring in the finals of both Euro 2008 and Euro 2012.


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