Abebe Bikila Alain Prost Babe Ruth Bjorn Borg ... Niki Lauda Pelé Sergei Bubka Steffi Graf Teófilo Stevenson Wayne Gretzky ... Wilt Chamberlain Profile: Name: Edson Arantes do Nascimento - "Pelé" Date of Birth: Oct. 23, 1940 Place of Birth: Tres Corazones, Brazil Position: Forward Height: 5'8" Weight: 159 lbs. Clubs: Baurú, Santos (1956-74) and New York Cosmos (1975-77) International Victories: Participated in four World Cups ('58, '62, '66 and '70), won three in '58, '62 and '70. Two Intercontinental Cups ('62 and '63). Two Copas Libertadores ('61 and '62), all as a member of Santos. National Victories: 11-time champion of the Sao Paulo League ('56, '58, '60-'62, '64-'69 and '73), with Santos. Brazil Cup champion (1968) and U.S. Soccer League champion with the New York Cosmos (1977). Soccer: Pelé When you talk about Edson Arantes do Nascimento, you're not only talking about the best soccer player in the world, but also about the Athlete of the Century. He is known throughout the world and worshipped by soccer fans everywhere. Kings, princes, presidents and even the Pope have recognized his extraordinary and exemplary powers as an athlete and as a human being. Pelé wasn't just an extraordinary soccer player - to Brazilians, he was a god. In 1994, 36 years after entering the world stage as a member of the Brazilian team that won the first of three World Cup championships in Sweden in 1958, "The King" was voted by Europeans as the best soccer player in the history of the sport, a distinction already recognized on the American continent. | |
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