Akhil Vaani | Alvida “O Rei,” Long Live The King

The last four words on the twitter handle of King Pelé after his death read “Love, Love and Love Forever.” Under treatment for colon cancer since 2021, as per the medical bulletin from The Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo, Pele died of the multiple organ failure as a result of the cancer on 29 December, 2022. O Rei” is dead. The King will live forever. To paraphrase the king himself, he once said famously –“ I was born for soccer, just as Beethoven was born for music and Michelangelo was born to paint.” And  a famous sportswriter once said prophetically that “if Pelé had not been born a man, he would have been born a football.” It is time to say loudly, “Pérola Negra,” the Black Pearl that Brazil gifted the world, will always shine. The legacy And what a legacy Pele leaves behind. The youngest ever to score his first FIFA goal,  in the 66th minute of the quarter-final, the only goal against Wales at 17 years and 239 days, the youngest ever to score a hat-trick in the World Cup at the age of 17 years and 244 days (in the semifinal against France on 24th June, all three goals in the second half, Brazil trounced France 5-2). Pele became and remained the youngest world champion at 17 years and 249 days. It was Circa 1958. I was not yet born. The brightest star in the galaxy The end of Pele came at the age of 82 years. The king now twinkles as the brightest star in the galaxy, and while he was still there on the Planet Earth, was the only in the world to win three FIFA World Cup (1958, 1962, 1970), was adjudged the best FIFA Footballer of the 20th Century and best ever footballer in 2012 and was conferred with the Olympic order — the highest honor given by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) in 2016 without ever playing the Olympic. The tribute The best tribute to Pele comes from, Cristiano Ronaldo: “A mere ‘goodbye’ to the eternal King Pelé will never be enough to express the pain that the entire football world is currently embracing. An inspiration to so many millions, a reference yesterday, today and forever. The love you always showed me was reciprocated in every moment we shared even from distance.” During his lifetime, Ronaldo had once said about Pele: “Pele is the greatest player in football history, and there will only be one Pele." And Bobby Moore, the England captain who lost to him the world cup in 1970 and, whom Pele embraced after win, said: “He was the greatest because he could do anything and everything on a football pitch.” And when he was still alive, when Pele retired, J.B. Pinheiro, the Brazilian ambassador to the United Nations, had said: “Pele played football for 22 years, and in that time he did more to promote world friendship and fraternity than any other ambassador anywhere” And as early as 1958 when Pele arrived on the global scene, Brazilian writer Nelson Rodrigues upon watching a 17-year-old Pelé play wrote: “He walks on the field with one of those irresistible and fatal authorities. I would say that of a king,” When Pele met American president Ronald Reagan, Reagan introduced hi: “My name is Ronald Reagan, I’m the President of the United States of America…But you don’t need to introduce yourself because everyone knows who Pelé is.” And Nelson Mandela said once about Pele: “to watch Pele play was to watch the delight of a child combined with the extraordinary grace of a man in full.” Such was the kind, tall in life and taller in death, spreading love wherever he went. The goal Pele was the master of the field goals, and he loathed penalty goals. Once he said: “A penalty is a cowardly way to score a goal.” And The Economist writes about the art of his game: “His greatest assets were his supreme positional sense, instinctive ability to read the game and magnetic ball control. He would usually be in the right place at the right time. He anticipated opponents’ moves. He was a skillful dribbler, who flummoxed defenders with feints and sudden stops and starts. He had a powerful, sometimes curving, shot with both feet and, despite his height, was a spring-heeled header of the ball.” How many goals Pele scored in his career- either God or King himself will know” No one truly knows how many goals he scored. It is 1,279 in 1,363 games, as per the Guinness Book of Records, 1,281 as per FIFA and 1283 as per a 2015 tweet by Pele himself. And what an honor! As per FIFA  Pelé is the lone ranger who scored 25 international goals as a teenager in 20 matches. Also, for 46 long years Pele held the record for the maximum goals (643 in 659 matches) scored for a single club Santos (where he played for 19 years from 1956 to 1974), a record was broken only on 22 December 2022 by Argentine Lionel Messi with his 644th goal while playing for La Liga club Barcelona. In October 1977, just he retired from a sold-out Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ in his farewell game between ‘New York Cosmos and Santos’, playing one half of the match for each side, scoring the final goal of his career for Cosmos in their 2-1 victory. Before his final game, Pelé took the microphone on a podium at the center of the field, his father and Muhammad Ali beside him, said: ““Love is more important than what we can take in life.” And he asked exhorted a crowd of more than 75,000. “Say with me three times now,” he declared, “for the kids: Love! Love! Love!” On that rainy fall afternoon in 1977, at a stuffed stadium, boxing legend Muhammad Ali joined dignitaries from entertainment and political circles to watch Pelé end his soccer career. “My friend, my friend!” Ali told him before the game. “Now there are two of the greatest.” On a personal note Some days are for keeps, itched in the memory onto one die. Saturday, 24 September, 267th day of the year 1977 is that day in my life. I had arrived at Howrah station a day earlier in the morning with borrowed Rs 200 travelling unreserved in the second class of Punjab Mail from Patna and spent night on the station bench to save every penny hoping to buy a match ticket from the black market for the next day match between New York Cosmos club and feisty Mohan Bagan then coached by legendry PK Banerjee. The reason de ’tat of my tryst with Calcutta was - to see a glimpse of the King - “37-year-old Pele”. I turned lucky by chance. A septuagenarian Bengali gentleman bartered his Rs 5 match-ticket for Rs 150 with me. He was dismayed that the match was cancelled due to unplayable muddy field owing to the previous day rains. To cut the long story short, King Pele, came, conquered the heart of 80,000 die-hard fans in the Eden Garden (and millions outside ), played for 30 minutes in the muddy field and the friendly match was drawn 2-2 It was money well spent. And a day to cherish. A star is born Pele was born in abject poverty on 23 October 1940 in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil. His parents named him Edson Arantes do Nasciment after American inventor Thomas Edison. Pele learned to play soccer from his father, João Ramos do Nascimento, a minor league player who found work later in life as a government clerk. It is told that Pelé’s early life was so difficult that he fashioned soccer balls from wads of paper stuffed into socks or used grapefruits instead,  but it was enough for him to fall in love with the game and for people to start noticing he was different The Washington Post reports: “When Pelé was five, his father joined a football club in the São Paulo suburb of Bauru, where he relocated his wife and three children. To help subsidize the family’s income, Pelé shined shoes as a child. But his love of soccer was so great, and his lack of interest in his studies so profound, that he quit school after the fourth grade to play the game in the streets and ply a short-lived trade as a cobbler’s apprentice.” At the age of 15, Pelé began his football career for Brazilian club Santos FC and dazzled the soccer world with his timing, accuracy, speed, dribbling and agility. He scored four goals on his league debut in a match against FC Corinthians on 7 September, 1956. And by the age of 16, was the top scorer in the Brazilian league and received a call up for the Brazilian national side. Pelé won ten league titles in Brazil with his club team, Santos. And epitomized the sublime style of play called “samba football” in Brazil — a fast, fluid style of play that revolutionized the sport. He was an athlete par excellence which is best exemplified by  his warm embrace of Bobby Moore, the England caption after England’s defeat in the 1970 World Cup. It is often held up as an embodiment of sportsmanship. Without any doubt, he is universally regarded as the greatest player of the 20th century – if not all time. He is one of the few sportsmen like Muhammad Ali and Usain Bolt, who transcend their sport to become a global icon, French footballer Michel Platini said of Pele. THE COSMOS Pele finished his career in the lucrative US league. In 1975, he signed for New York Cosmos and played three seasons. He led the New York Cosmos to the US title in 1977 – the year of his retirement. NATIONAL TREASURE And back in 1961, when he was still around 21 years old, the government of Brazilian President Janio Quadro declared him an ‘official national treasure’ to prevent European clubs from taking him away from the country. That, in a way, shows how much valued O Rei has always been from the very beginning of his career HONOURS TO THE LEGEND Pelé received several national and international Honours including the International Peace Award in 1978, and an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1997 for his work as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador. He was  co-winner of the Player of the Century award by FIFA in 2000, alongside Argentine great Diego Maradona. Accolades came easily to him-athlete of the century, by Reuters News Agency: 1999; athlete of the Century, elected by International Olympic Committee: 1999; UNICEF Football Player of the Century: 1999, TIME Magazine one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century: 1999 (one of the only three sportspersons — along with Muhammad Ali and Jackie Robinson) And he was honored with an Olympic order — the highest honor given by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) — in 2016 at Pelé museum in Santos. Eclectic post soccer life Pelé’s life after soccer took many forms. He was a politician — Brazil’s Extraordinary Minister for Sport — a wealthy businessperson, and an ambassador for UNESCO and the United Nations. He played roles in movies, soap operas and even composed songs and recorded CDs of popular Brazilian music. His most notable movie was the World War II film “Victory,” and was one of the stars of a Brazilian comedy that brought more than 3.6 million people to the theaters in the South American nation. He said jokingly If I had to give myself a grade as an actor it would be a 10,” Pelé jokingly said in several interviews after “Victory, also known as “Escape to Victory” in many places, made almost $28 million at the box office. EPITAPH: ‘Pelé is eternal! Pele rose from a Brazilian slum to become the iconic soccer player and the ultimate cultural icon transformative figure in 20th-century sports who achieved a level of global celebrity few athletes can dream of. Famed artist Andy Warhol once said: “Pelé is one of the few who contradicted my theory,” famed artist. “Instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries.” And the New York Times adds poetically: “A poet once remarked that Pelé seemed to drag the field with him toward the opposing goal, like an extension of his own skin. A philosopher conceded, playfully, the possibility of glimpsing flickers of the Absolute in him. The beauty and intelligence of his body in action, plus his eagle eye and the unpredictability of his tricks, made Pelé appear to be operating on a different frequency from the other players, watching in slow motion the same game he was participating in at high speed, while others around him seemed to be doing the reverse.” Pelé was a trailblazer for both, Brazil and the World and he was and one who made football the beautiful game. Celebrated for his peerless talent and originality on the field transcending  the soccer around the world enchanting fans and dazzling opponents becoming perhaps the most well-known person on Earth. Ronaldo, who led Brazil to a fifth World Cup title in 2002, described Pelé as “Unique. Genius. Skilled. Creative. Perfect. Unmatched.” The image of Pelé in a bright, yellow Brazil jersey, with the No. 10 stamped on the back, remains alive with soccer fans of all generations everywhere. As does his trademark goal celebration – a leap with a right fist thrust high above his head. His grace, athleticism and mesmerizing moves  transfixes players and fans till today. He orchestrated a fast, fluid style that revolutionized the sport — a samba-like flair that personified his country’s elegance on the field. Few of the next generation will recall how Pelé was the emblem of his country’s World Cup triumph of 1970 in Mexico. He scored in the final and set up Carlos Alberto with a nonchalant pass for the last goal in a 4-1 victory over Italy. And what more a player can ask – Pelé’s fame was such that in 1967 both factions of a civil war in Nigeria agreed to a brief 48-hour ceasefire so he could play an exhibition match in the country I concur with Barrack Obama who has just uttered: “Pele was one of the greatest to ever play the beautiful game. And as one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, he understood the power of sports to bring people together. Our thoughts are with his family and everyone who loved and admired him.” And President Joe Biden adds further: “For a sport that brings the world together like no other, Pelé’s rise from humble beginnings to soccer legend is a story of what is possible.” For a half-century, people who knew the name of only one soccer player knew Pelé, and the man himself loved life as a football match and met his health problems with the trademark humor. “I will face this match with a smile on my face,” he posted on Instagram in September 2021, after surgery to remove his colon tumor”. And even when the death came calling, I am sure, he would have shouted even the deep slumber: “LOVE ALL.” The author is a Multidisciplinary Thought Leader and Impact Consultant. Sahay considers him a voracious reader and rookie book reviewer. He resided in Sri Lanka during closing Years of Sri Lanka ethnic conflict. Sahay works as President (Advisory Services) in consultancy firm Barsyl. Views are of the writer and do not represent views of this publication or company where Sahay works. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.