The magical football legend, Pele, who rose from barefoot poverty to summits of fame has passed away aged 82.
“Everything that we are, is thanks to you,” his daughter Kely Nascimento wrote on her Instagram post, below the picture of family members holding Pele’s hands. “We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”
Pele was admitted to a hospital in Sao Paulo late last month for respiratory infection and for complications relating to colon cancer. Health condition took turn for the worse last week and eht end came from multiple organ failure majorly from advance cancer, according to the hospital statement.
Pele was synonymous with soccer over six decades. He played four World Cups and remains the only player to win three.
“I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint,” the soccer hero had famously said.
Pele was born Edson Arantes do Nascinmento to an extremely poor home in a remote village on a Brazilian island, from where the family moved to city of Bauru in Sao Paulo. As a child he played football barefoot with socks and rags rolled up into a ball - a humble beginning that would later shoot into summits of world fame and legacy.
Pele left home as a teenager and started to train with Santos, scoring his first goal for the clubside. He was just 15. He would go on to score 619 times over 638 appearances fro the club, but the world’s lasting memory is of his feats in the iconic yellow jersey of Brazil.
Pele caught world attention first for his magical ability in World Cup of 1958 at age 17. He then scored Brazil’s only goal in quarterfinal victory against Wells, then netted a hat-trick in the semifinal agains France and two in the final against host Sweden. It were these standout performances that put his country on the world sporting map.
With his larger-than-life personality Pele remained in public eye through endorsement deals and as a forthright political voice who championed the poor in Brazil. He served as Goodwill ambassador for UNICEF for several years, promoting peace and support for vulnerable children.
