Summarizing the list of incredible feats Edson Arantes do Nascimento ‘Pele‘ achieved throughout his career in one news item is near impossible for any editor.
The magic of ‘O Rei’ could fill all the pages of the MARCA newspaper, so here we’ll give you a just a small taste of what led to him being considered one of the best players in the history of the sport.
The magic of dribbling: dribbling without touching the ball and the double dribble
In the semi-finals between Brazil and Uruguay at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, Pele came close to scoring one of the best goals in the history of the World Cup, only for the ball to go just wide of the mark.
The Brazilian star left the goalkeeper behind with a dribble – without touching the ball – but sent the ball wide when the hard part had already been done.
This was Pele’s great work of art that was never seen before
Así fue la gran obra de arte de Pelé que nunca se vio
Through the testimonies of friends, former teammates and rivals, a group of researchers put together this elaborate reproduction of the goal scored by Pele in 1959 during a match between Santos and Juventus when he was 18 years old, which many believe to be Pele’s greatest goal.
His iconic celebration in the 1970 World Cup
Así fue la icónica celebración de Pelé en la final del Mundial 1970
The Brazilian legend embraced Jairzinho after scoring the first goal in the 1970 Mexico World Cup final in an image that would be seen around the world.
Gordon Banks’ historic save on Pele
La histórica parada de Gordon Banks a Pelé
“I’m glad you saved that goal. Rest in peace, my friend,” Pele said in farewell to his friend. Gordon Banks will forever remain in the collective memory for being the author of ‘The Save of the Century’, as his save on Pele during the group stage of the 1970 Mexico World Cup was dubbed.
Pele’s goal against Sweden in 1958
Sombrero y gol: Pelé
In the final against Sweden, Pele scored one of the most famous goals in football history. ‘O Rei’ swept past Gustavsson and hit the ball without dropping it to make it 3-1 in favor of Brazil.
Pele’s best goals with the Cosmos
Los mejores goles de Pelé con el Cosmos
At the age of 34, Pele left Santos in 1974 to play in a more relaxed environment for the New York Cosmos of the NASL.
Pele’s shot from midfield against Czechoslovakia
El tiro de Pelé desde el centro del campo ante Checoslovaquia
Pele showed his quality at Mexico 70 during Brazil’s first match in a World Cup they dominated from start to finish.
The No.10 scored in the 4-1 win over Czechoslovakia, but the most memorable image of that day was the shot from his own half that almost ended up in the net. A move that had never been seen before.
Pele made his debut at the age of 15 and by the age of 17 he was already scoring goals in a World Cup
Pelé debutó con 15 años y a los 17 ya marcaba goles en un Mundial
The Brazilian’s talent helped him quickly rise through the ranks, and at the age of 15 he made his debut for Santos FC.
It didn’t take long for him to make a name for himself and at the age of 17 he played and won his first World Cup in Sweden 1958, becoming the youngest player to score a goal in a World Cup.
Pele’s hat-trick in the 1962 Intercontinental Cup against Benfica.
Hattrick de Pelé en la Intercontinental de 1962 ante el Benfica
The Brazilian star scored three goals in the second leg of a 5-2 win for Santos.