Football in mourning: Pele died

Mourning in the world of football. At the age of 82, Pelé, world football legend, died after a fight with colon cancer for which he had been operated on last year, on 6 September 2021. Pelé had been hospitalized in the last few hours: the his body was no longer responding to chemotherapy and he was undergoing palliative care.

Pelé, pseudonym of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, was born in Tres Coraçoes on 23 October 1940. A legend of this sport, Pelé wrote pages of history from the 1950s to the 1970s, until he retired in 1977. For Fifa, the IOC and the IFFHS, Pelé was the footballer of the 20th century.

A career spent almost entirely with Santos: 17 years, from 1957 to 1974. Then two years in the United States, at the New York Cosmos, before hanging up his boots. Fifa recognizes him the record of 1281 goals in 1363 matches, while in official matches the figure is 757 goals in 816 matches. On the bulletin board 32 titles with the club shirt, but also three World Cups with Brazil: 1958, 1962 and 1970. A record, one of many by Pelé who in 1997 was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth.

After retiring Pelé has held many positions, including that of United Nations ambassador for ecology and the environment (1992), Unesco Goodwill Ambassador (1994), extraordinary minister for sport in the Cardoso government (1995-1998 ), FIFA ambassador for football, but also commitments in the social field.