Page 15 - XIC Class Magazine

PELÉ

Some unknown facts

He’s named after Thomas Edison
Pelé was named after the inventor of the lightbulb, Thomas Edison. The young Edson “Pelé”
Arantes do Nascimento certainly showed plenty of invention in his career and lit up many a
football pitch with his skills.

A promise to his father
When Brazil lost the World Cup final to Uruguay in 1950, Pelé saw his father crying. “Don’t
worry,” he told him. “One day I’ll win it.” Now that was a promise!

He scored four goals on his debut
Pelé signed for Santos at the tender age of 15 and proceeded to score four goals on his debut
against FC Corinthians. That's one way to reward the scout's faith.

Goals, goals, goals
The Brazil and Santos star wasn’t someone who was happy scoring just one goal. He scored 92
hat tricks, four goals on 31 occasions, five goals on six occasions and he once scored eight in a
single match. If only Fantasy Football was around in those days.

He’s the only player to win three World Cups
Pelé is the only footballer to have been on three World Cup winning teams.

He’s a national treasure
No really - he's literally a national treasure. The Brazilian government declared him one in 1961
to prevent foreign football clubs from taking him out of the country.

Name
Pelé got his nickname after his mispronunciation of the name of the Brazilian goalkeeper, Bilé,
as Pelé. One of his classmates started to call him “Pelé” to tease him and the name stuck.
We’re pretty sure his classmate hasn’t won three World Cups so it’s safe to say that Pelé had
the last laugh.

19 November is Pelé Day
Pelé scored his 1000th goal on 19 November 1969, causing the day to be simply known as Pelé
Day in Santos. We wouldn’t begrudge the legend a day of his own, in fairness.

Kashmeev Anil