Born in Minas Gerais

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pele, expanded the possibilities of football to their absolute limits. The creativity and technique he displayed on the pitch transcended sport and entered the realm of art.

Born in 1940 in Tres Coracoes, Minas Gerais, to a poor family, his father Dondinho was a former footballer whose career was cut short by a knee injury. Young Pele played street football with a ball made of stuffed socks, catching a local coach's eye at eleven. He signed professionally with Santos FC at fifteen and was called up to the Brazilian national team at sixteen.

At the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, seventeen-year-old Pele stunned the world. He scored a hat trick in the semifinal and two goals in the final, lifting Brazil to their first World Cup title. After the match, Swedish players embraced the weeping teenager - one of football's most beautiful moments.

He went on to win the 1962 World Cup (injured early but still a champion) and the 1970 World Cup, where Brazil's squad is called 'the greatest team in history' with Pele at its center. His assist to Carlos Alberto in the final exemplified his extraordinary vision and decision-making, undiminished at thirty.

Pele's playing style was total. Explosive speed, extraordinary leaping ability, precise shooting, creative passing, and unpredictable dribbling - no other player before or since has combined all attacking capabilities at the highest level simultaneously. His 1,281 career goals, even counting only official matches, far exceeded the world record of his era.

Off the pitch, Pele served as football's global ambassador, traveling the world to promote the sport. As a Brazilian national treasure, he played a diplomatic role, becoming a symbol of international goodwill through sport. He died on December 29, 2022, at age eighty-two, mourned worldwide.

The title 'King of Football' is no exaggeration. Without Pele, it is uncertain whether soccer would have become the world's most popular sport as it is today. He proved that a single athlete can alter the destiny of a sport itself.