Football
World champions Argentina likely to visit Dhaka in next June
The current FIFA World Cup Champions, Lionel Messi's Argentina, is likely to visit Dhaka next June to play a FIFA Friendly match in the capital.
BFF President Kazi Mohammad Salahuddin told the media today (Tuesday) that the Argentina team accepted our proposal to play friendly match in Dhaka in FIFA window in June.
Read more: Argentina will open embassy in Dhaka next year: Country’s President writes to PM Hasina
The tour of Argentina team in Bangladesh is almost final, we are now discussing with them about their team and conditions, if everything will progress in right way then there is no doubt about the match, he added.
But, the opponent of Argentina's team yet to be confirmed, BFF is closely communicating with some countries to play the match against Argentina.
Read more: “Hearts of the people of Bangladesh and Argentina are dearly united by football”
Lionel Messi's Argentina Football team played a friendly football match against Nigeria National team at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka on Sept 6 in 2011 where Argentina beat Nigeria by 3-1 goals, but that time, Argentina was not the World Champions.
Barça beats Betis to set up Super Cup final against Madrid
Marc-André ter Stegen saved two penalties and Pedri converted the deciding spot kick as Barcelona defeated Real Betis 4-2 in a shootout Thursday to set up a Spanish Super Cup final against rival Real Madrid this weekend in Saudi Arabia.
Madrid defeated Valencia on penalties in the other semifinal on Wednesday, when Thibaut Courtois made the decisive save.
“Ter Stegen makes the difference,” Barcelona coach Xavi said. “He makes the two saves and sends us to the final.”
Read more: Ronaldo set to face PSG, Messi in first game in Saudi Arabia
The decisive match will be on Sunday at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh.
Barcelona converted all four of its penalties in the shootout and Ter Stegen stopped the efforts by Juanmi and Willian Carvalho to give the Catalan club the victory.
“The match was super difficult, Betis made it tough for us,” Ter Stegen said. “In the end it’s about making it to finals, and we've made it. You also need some luck in the shootout, and this time it was on our side.”
The teams drew 1-1 in regulation after Robert Lewandowski scored for Barcelona in the first half and Nabil Fekir equalized for Betis near the end. The score was 2-2 after extra time as Ansu Fati gave Barcelona an early lead and Loren Morón equalized again for Betis.
In the shootout, Fati, Lewandowski and Franck Kessie also scored for Barcelona. Morón and Willian José converted for Betis.
It will be the first time Spanish powerhouses Barcelona and Madrid meet in the Super Cup final since the competition was revamped and taken to Saudi Arabia in 2020.
“It will be a beautiful match,” Ter Stegen said. “Everyone here wants to see a match like this and I’m thrilled to be able to play in it and to try to win it.”
Madrid will try to equal Barcelona with 13 Spanish Super Cup trophies, the most among all clubs. Barcelona will be trying to win its first Super Cup trophy since 2018.
Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis was trying to reach its first Super Cup final since 2005, when it lost to Barcelona.
“We are disappointed, the team played a great match," Pellegrini said. “We felt like we deserved to win in regulation but it wasn't possible, and then Ter Stegen made some good saves.”
Read more: Late goals help PSG beat 3rd-tier Châteauroux in French Cup
The Super Cup used to be played only between the Spanish league champion and the Copa del Rey winner, but now the runners-up in both competitions also participate in Final Four tournament that was taken to Saudi Arabia in a lucrative deal for the Spanish soccer federation.
Madrid defeated Barcelona 3-1 at home in the first “clásico” of the season at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in October.
Lewandowski scored his first goal since the World Cup after a pass from Ousmane Dembélé in the 40th minute. He scored in Poland’s 3-1 loss to France in December in the round of 16 in Qatar, but hadn’t found the net for Barcelona since a 1-0 win at Valencia in the Spanish league in October.
Betis equalized in the 77th when Fekir sent a low shot past Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen.
Lewandowski thought he had scored his second — and a possible winner late in regulation — but the goal was disallowed for offside in the buildup.
Fati scored early in extra time with a volley from just inside the area, and Morón evened the match about 10 minutes later with a backheel touch from close range.
Betis played the final minutes of extra time with 10 men as Andrés Guardado was sent off with a second yellow card for a hard foul.
Bangladesh Championship League: Wanderers overpower Little Friends 4-1
Dhaka Wanderers Club thumped Little Friends Club 4-1 in the Bangladesh Championship League (BCL) Football 2022-23 Wednesday afternoon.
At the Birshreshtha Shaheed Shipahi Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Dhaka's Kamalapur, Wanderers dominated the first half 2-0.
Sourav put them ahead in the seventh minute (1-0) and Shohag added another in the 24th (2-0). Shihab scored the third goal for Wanderers in the 56th (3-0).
Zahidul pulled one back for Little Friends in the 66th minute (3-1). Golam Sarwar scored the fourth goal for Wanderers in the 88th (4-1).
Read more: Bangladesh Championship League: Swadhinata KS off to good start beating Little Friends 2-0
Coming from behind, Wari Club defeated Swadhinata Krira Sangha 2-1 at the same venue in the day's other league match.
Shamimul scored first for Swadhinata in the ninth minute (1-0). Shakil equalised for Wari in the 51st (1-1).
Ali Akbar scored the match-winning goal for Wari in the 96th (2-1).
Read more: Bangladesh Championship League: BFF Elite Academy beat Wari Club 2-1
Fed Cup Football: Mohammedan do the 7UP against Azampur FC
Dhaka Mohammedan SC Ltd earned a comfortable 7-0 goals victory over Azampur Football Club of Uttara in the Bashundhara Group Federation Cup Football 2022-23 at the Shaheed Dhirendranath Dutta Stadium in Cumilla on Tuesday.
By virtue of the day's well merited victory, Dhaka Mohammedan SC almost assured their quarterfinal berth with two successive wins.
Read more: Bangladesh Championship League: Wanderers, Swadhinata play out 1-1 draw
Traditional giants Mohammedan SC, which managed 1-0 goal victory over Rahmatganj MFS in their first match, today (Tuesday) dominated the first half by 3-0 goals.
Uzbek midfielder Muzaffarov and local forward Sazzad Hossain struck two goals each while Brazilian defender Roger Oliveire, Spanish forward Daniel Recardo and local medio Shahriar Emon netted one each for the traditional black and white team.
Read more: Dhaka Abahani drop more points in BPL Football
In the day's other match, Rahmatganj MFS upset Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club beating them by 3-0 goals at the Fl Lt Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj Tuesday afternoon.
Tajik striker Fatkhulloev, Brazilian forward Michael Vinicius and Columbian forward Valencia scored one goal each for the old Dhaka outfit Rahmatganj, which dominated the first half by 2-0 goals.
BGMEA Director Imranur Rahman appointed DG of Asian Federation of Corporate Football
Renowned corporate footballer and corporate football organiser from Bangladesh Imranur Rahman, Managing Director of Laila Group and Director of BGMEA, has been appointed as the Director General of the Asian Federation of Corporate Football (FAFCO).
“This is a very proud moment for me and my country. The new appointment has surely added to my pride and pleasure, it also inspires me to continue to work for further development and promotion of football in Bangladesh,” said Imranur Rahman, former Vice-President for Strategy at FIFCO.
Read more: 2022 was a year of turning around: BGMEA
“Asia represents the fastest growth region in the world for football and for corporate football in particular, I am delighted to accept this challenge,” said Imranur Rahman who is also the captain of football team ‘BANDO DESIGN’.
FAFCO is the Asian department of the International Federation of Corporate Football (FIFCO), the world governing body of corporate football and headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
Read more: BGMEA for effective industry-academia partnership for tackling future challenges
With over 2.5 million players working for more than 150,000 companies located in over 65 countries, FIFCO is the only voice of World Corporate Football and official organizer of the World Corporate Champions Cup.
Brazil prepares to bury Pelé in city he made football mecca
Forty-five years after Pelé played his last game, it's hard to imagine modern soccer, or Brazil, without him.
Geovana Sarmento, 17, waited in the three-hour line to view his body as it lay in repose at the stadium where he played for most of his career. She came with her father, who was wearing a Brazil shirt with Pelé’s name.
“I am not a Santos fan, neither is my father. But this guy invented Brazil’s national team. He made Santos stronger, he made it big, how could you not respect him? He is one of the greatest people ever, we needed to honor him,” she said.
Pelé will be buried Tuesday in the city where he grew up, became famous, and helped make into a global capital of soccer. A Catholic Mass will be celebrated at the Vila Belmiro stadium before his casket is ushered through the streets of Santos to a nearby cemetery.
Brazil’s newly inaugurated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was sworn in for a third term Sunday after a comeback victory, paid his respects at Vila Belmiro.
Read more: Brazilians mourn Pelé at the stadium where he got his start
The soccer great died Thursday at age 82 after a battle with cancer. He was the only player ever to win three World Cups.
Thousands of mourners, including high school students and supreme court justices, filed Monday past the body of Pelé on the century-old field where he made his hometown team one of Brazil’s best. Pelé’s coffin, draped in the flags of Brazil and the Santos FC football club, was placed on the midfield area of Vila Belmiro.
Lula arrived at 9 a.m. and took part in a Catholic Mass as fans continued to walk past the coffin, and expressed his condolences to Pelé’s widow, Marcia Aoki, holding her head between his hands. He left 30 minutes later.
The storied 16,000-seat stadium was surrounded by mourning fans, and covered with Pelé-themed decorations inside. Fans coming out of the stadium said they’d waited three hours in line, standing under a blazing sun.
Caio Zalke, 35, an engineer, wore a Brazil shirt as he waited in line. “Pelé is the most important Brazilian of all time. He made soccer important for Brazil and he made Brazil important for the world,” he said.
In the 1960s and 70s, Pelé was perhaps the world’s most famous athlete. He met presidents and queens, and in Nigeria a civil war was put on hold to watch him play. Many Brazilians credit him with putting the country on the world stage for the first time.
Rows of shirts with Pelé’s number 10 were placed behind one of the goals, waving in the city’s summer winds. A section of the stands was filling up with bouquets of flowers placed by mourners and sent by clubs and star players — Neymar and Ronaldo among them — from around the world as loudspeakers played a song named “Eu sou Pelé” (“I am Pelé”) that was recorded by the Brazilian himself.
Read more: 'Greatest of all time': Pelé as described by his peers
The crowd was mostly local, although some came from far away. Many mourners were too young ever to have seen Pelé play. The mood was light, as people filtered out of the stadium to local bars, wearing Santos FC and Brazil shirts.
Claudio Carrança, 32, a salesman, said: “I never saw him play, but loving Pelé is a tradition that goes from father to son in Santos. I learned his history, saw his goals, and I see how Santos FC is important because he is important. I know some Santos fans have children supporting other teams. But that’s just because they never saw Pelé in action. If they had, they would feel this gratitude I feel now.”
Among those at the stadium was Pelé’s best friend Manoel Maria, also a former Santos player.
“If I had all the wealth in the world I would never be able to repay what this man did for me and my family," Maria said. "He was as great a man as he was as a player; the best of all time. His legacy will outlive us all. And that can be seen in this long line with people of all ages here.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino told journalists that every country should name a stadium after Pelé.
“I am here with a lot of emotion, sadness, but also with a smile because he gave us so many smiles,” Infantino said. “As FIFA, we will pay a tribute to the ‘King’ and we ask the whole world to observe a minute of silence.”
Another fan and friend in line was Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes.
“It is a very sad moment, but we are now seeing the real meaning of this legendary player to our country,” Mendes told journalists. “My office has shirts signed by Pelé, a picture of him as a goalkeeper, also signed by him. DVDs, photos, a big collection of him.”
Pelé had undergone treatment for colon cancer since 2021. The medical center where he had been hospitalized said he died of multiple organ failure as a result of the cancer.
Pelé led Brazil to World Cup titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and remains one of the team’s all-time leading scorers with 77 goals. Neymar tied Pelé’s record during this year’s World Cup in Qatar.
Leader PSG loses 3-1 at Lens for 1st defeat; Monaco in 4th
French league leader Paris Saint-Germain crumbled under pressure to lose 3-1 at Lens for its first defeat of the season on Sunday as second-place Lens cut the gap to four points and maintained its perfect home record.
PSG's weakness against the counterattack was ruthlessly exposed by Lens. The northern side scored at the start of each half and dominated the midfield battle against a rattled PSG to make it nine straight home victories for coach Franck Haise's side. Lens has the league's best defense with 11 goals allowed in 17 matches, compared to 13 for PSG.
Frustrated PSG coach Christophe Galtier was alarmed by the performance, saying his players did not stick to the game plan.
“I struggled to recognize my team. We lacked solidarity and we got wiped out the more the game went on, leaving them far too much room,” he said. “In fact, we did the opposite of what we should have. We struggled against Lens' pressing, we should have played more long passes to make them defend deeper. Athletically, we were dominated.”
Read more: Tchouaméni shows at World Cup why Mbappé wanted him at PSG
Haise, meanwhile, celebrated his 100th game in charge by grabbing a microphone and singing a club anthem with the jubilant fans. Closely knit with its supporters, Lens has strong working-class roots from its history as a mining community and is known as Les Sang et Or (The Blood and Gold) for its yellow jersey and red shorts. Lens won its only league title in 1998 and was a close runner-up to Lyon in 2002.
The first goal came in the fifth minute.
Lens used its strong pressing game to win the ball and moved it wide left to Florian Sotoca, whose goal-bound cross was palmed away by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma only for winger Przemyslaw Frankowski to volley home.
The lead was short-lived as forward Hugo Ekitiké, given a rare start in the absence of Neymar and Lionel Messi, scored from close range three minutes later after Lens failed to deal with a cross from the right.
PSG was without Neymar, through suspension, and World Cup winner Messi, who is returning to training after an extended stay back home in Argentina.
“They are two great players who make the difference but that is not an excuse,” PSG captain Marquinhos said. “We lacked cohesion, efficiency and intensity.”
PSG's weakness against rapid attacks was exposed when midfielder Seko Fofana won the ball near his own penalty area and threaded a 40-meter pass to Loïs Openda. He expertly cut inside defender Marquinhos before slipping the ball under Donnarumma.
PSG conceded just two minutes into the second half as midfielder Fabien Ruiz lost the ball, Openda back-heeled it to forward Alexis Claude-Maurice and he slotted past Donnarumma.
PSG star Kylian Mbappé was kept quiet, with the league's 13-goal top scorer mustering only a speculative shot in the 60th.
Galtier's decision to play Mbappé and Morocco right back Achraf Hakimi this week in back-to-back games so soon after the World Cup appeared to backfire as both looked jaded. Galtier said they will be rested for Friday's French Cup game at Châteauroux.
Read more: Messi, Neymar & Mbappe all score as PSG beat Troyes 4-3
OTHER MATCHES
Monaco moved up to fourth place after winning 1-0 at home to Brest, with Russia midfielder Alexandr Golovin scoring in the 54th minute.
Monaco coach Philippe Clement made a bold choice selecting 17-year-old Eliesse Ben Seghir over established striker Wissam Ben Yedder, the club's top scorer for the past three seasons.
“He brought a lot of energy to the team,” Clement said. “What’s important is not a player’s age but what he shows on the field.”
Ben Seghir made a sensational league debut in midweek, coming off the bench to score twice — including an Mbappé-style curling winner — to help Monaco win 3-2 at Auxerre.
Monaco is level on points with third-place Marseille, which plays at Montpellier on Monday.
Lyon lost 1-0 at home to Clermont, with midfielder Muhammed Cham scoring a penalty with three minutes left. The win moved Clermont into ninth place and two points behind Lyon in eighth.
Rock-bottom Angers took a 10th-minute lead through striker Abdallah Sima, but Lorient equalized in the 79th when Sima turned Enzo Le Fée's corner into his own net. Le Fée hit the winner for 2-1 as Lorient moved up to sixth spot.
Toulouse won 2-0 against Ajaccio, with goals from Rafael Ratao and captain Brecht Dejaegere.
Substitute Marcus Coco scored the winner as Nantes beat Auxerre 1-0 to pull clear of the relegation zone.
MONDAY'S GAMES
Rennes needs a home win over Nice to move above Monaco into at least fourth place in the chase for a Europa League spot.
After a narrow 2-1 defeat at PSG, struggling Strasbourg hosts Troyes, and Lille hosts Reims.
'Greatest of all time': Pelé as described by his peers
Pele has been praised over the decades by everyone from world leaders to artists. Here are superlatives from over the years about Pele, who died Thursday in Brazil at age 82:
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“To watch him play was to watch the delight of a child combined with the extraordinary grace of a man in full.” — Nelson Mandela.
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“I told myself before the game, he’s made of skin and bones just like everyone else — but I was wrong.” — Italy's Tarcisio Burgnich, after playing against Pele in the 1970 World Cup Final.
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“Pelé was one of the few who contradicted my theory: Instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries.” — Andy Warhol.
Read more: Pelé remembered for transcending football around world
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“I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player.” — Sir Bobby Charlton, retired England great who won 1966 World Cup and Ballon d’Or in same year.
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“Pelé was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic.” — Johan Cruyff, the late Dutch star and standout manager who won the Ballon d’Or three times.
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“He is the most complete player I ever saw.” — Retired German great Franz Beckenbauer.
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“If you take the qualities of Cristiano Ronaldo and (Lionel) Messi, put them together, then you’d have a player to compare to Pelé!” — Retired Brazil forward Tostao.
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“The best player ever? Pelé. (Lionel) Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities, but Pelé was better.” — Alfredo Di Stefano, the late Argentine star for Real Madrid.
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“His great secret was improvisation. Those things he did were in one moment. He had an extraordinary perception of the game.” — Brazil defender Carlos Alberto Torres.
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“This debate about the player of the century is absurd. There’s only one possible answer: Pelé. He’s the greatest player of all time, and by some distance, I might add.” — Retired Brazil star Zico.
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“The greatest player in history was Di Stefano. I refuse to classify Pelé as a player. He was above that.” — Hungary star Ferenc Puskas.
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“We went up together to head a ball. I was taller, had a better impulse. When I came back down, I looked up in astonishment. Pelé was still there, in the air, heading that ball. It was like he could stay suspended for as long as he wanted to.” — Italy defender Giacinto Facchetti.
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“When I saw Pelé play, it made me feel I should hang up my boots.” — Just Fontaine, the Morocco-born French star who scored 13 goals in six games in the 1958 World Cup.
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“The moment the ball arrived at Pelé’s feet, football transformed into poetry.” — Italian poet Pier Paolo Pasolini.
Read more: Pelé set the standard for greatness in the land of his sport
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“The difficulty, the extraordinary, is not to score 1,000 goals like Pelé — it’s to score one goal like Pelé.” — Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Brazilian poet.
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“Pelé was the most complete player I’ve ever seen. Two good feet. Magic in the air. Quick. Powerful. Could beat people with skill. Could outrun people. Only 5-feet-8 inches tall, yet he seemed a giant of an athlete on the pitch. Perfect balance and impossible vision.” — Bobby Moore, captain of the 1966 World Cup champion team from England.
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“I arrived hoping to stop a great man, but I went away convinced I had been undone by someone who was not born on the same planet as the rest of us.” — Benfica goalkeeper Costa Pereira after 5-2 loss to Santos.
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“There’s Pelé the man, and then Pelé the player. And to play like Pelé is to play like God.” — Retired France star and three-time Ballon d’Or winner Michel Platini.
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“Pelé is the greatest player in football history, and there will only be one Pelé in the world.” — Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal star forward.
As 'The King,' Pelé enchanted fans and dazzled opponents
Pelé was simply “The King.” He embraced “the beautiful game” of soccer in his 1958 World Cup debut for Brazil and never really let go.
He won a record three World Cups and was widely regarded as one of his sport's greatest players. His majestic and galvanizing presence set him among the most recognizable figures in the world.
Pelé died Thursday at 82. He had undergone treatment for colon cancer since 2021.
Pelé was among the game’s most prolific scorers and spent nearly two decades enchanting fans and dazzling opponents. His grace, athleticism and moves on soccer’s highest stage transfixed all. He orchestrated a fast, fluid style of play that revolutionized the sport — a flair that personified Brazilian elegance on the field.
He carried his country to soccer’s heights and became a global ambassador for his sport in a journey that began on the streets of Sao Paulo state, where he would kick a sock stuffed with newspapers or rags.
“Pelé changed everything. He transformed football into art, entertainment,” Neymar, a fellow Brazilian soccer player, said on Instagram. “Football and Brazil elevated their standing thanks to the King! He is gone, but his magic will endure. Pelé is eternal!”
Read more: Pelé, Brazil’s mighty king of ‘beautiful game,’ has died
In the conversation about soccer’s greatest player, only the late Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are mentioned alongside him.
Different sources, counting different sets of games, list Pelé’s goal totals anywhere between 650 (league matches) to 1,281 (all senior matches, some against low-level competition). When Maradona once interviewed Pelé, he playfully asked the Brazilian how he accumulated so many goals.
The player who would be dubbed “The King” was introduced to the world at 17 at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the youngest player ever at the tournament.
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.
The image of Pelé in a bright-yellow Brazil jersey, with the No. 10 stamped on the back, remains alive with soccer fans everywhere. As does his trademark goal celebration — a leap with a right fist thrust high above his head.
Pelé’s fame was such that in 1967 factions of a civil war in Nigeria agreed to a brief cease-fire so he could play an exhibition match in the country. He was knighted by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in 1997. When Pelé visited Washington to help popularize the game in North America, it was the U.S. president who stuck out his hand first.
"You don’t need to introduce yourself because everyone knows who Pelé is,” Ronald Reagan said.
Pelé was Brazil’s first modern Black national hero but rarely spoke about racism in a country where the rich and powerful tend to hail from the white minority.
Opposing fans taunted Pelé with monkey chants at home and all over the world.
“He said that he would never play if he had to stop every time he heard those chants," said Angelica Basthi, one of Pelé’s biographers. "He is key for Black people’s pride in Brazil, but never wanted to be a flagbearer.”
Pelé’s life after soccer took many forms. He was a politician — Brazil’s Extraordinary Minister for Sport — a wealthy businessman, and an ambassador for UNESCO and the United Nations.
He had roles in movies, soap operas and even composed songs and recorded CDs of popular Brazilian music.
Pelé was an ambassador for his sport until his final years but as his health deteriorated his travels and appearances became less frequent. After needing a hip replacement, he started using a cane.
Read more: Pelé’s family gathers at hospital in Sao Paulo
He was often seen in a wheelchair during his final years and did not attend a ceremony to unveil a statue of him representing Brazil’s 1970 World Cup team.
“He gets very shy, he gets very embarrassed," his son Edinho told Globoesporte.com. "He doesn’t want to go out.”
Pelé spent his 80th birthday with a few relatives.
Pelé spent a month hospitalized in 2021 after surgery to remove a tumor from his colon. Pelé said he was ready “to play 90 minutes, plus extra time,” but soon started chemotherapy.
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, in the small city of Tres Coracoes in the interior of Minas Gerais state on Oct. 23, 1940, Pelé grew up shining shoes to buy his modest soccer gear. His father was also a player.
Pelé’s talent drew notice when he was 11, and a local professional player brought him to Santos’ youth squads. Despite his youth and 5-foot-8 frame Pelé’ scored against grown men with the same ease he displayed against friends back home. He debuted with the Brazilian club at 15 in 1956, and the club quickly gained worldwide recognition.
The name Pelé came from him mispronouncing the name of a player called Bilé. He later became known simply as ‘O Rei’ – The King.
Pelé went to the 1958 World Cup as a reserve but became a key part for his country’s championship team. His first goal, in which he flicked the ball over the head of a defender and raced around him to volley it home, was voted as one of the best in World Cup history.
“When Pelé scored,” veteran Swedish midfielder Sigge Parling said, “I have to be honest and say I felt like applauding.”
The 1966 World Cup in England — won by the hosts — was a bitter one for Pelé, by then already considered the world’s top player. Brazil was knocked out at the group stage and Pelé, angry at fouls and hard tackles by Portugal, swore it was his last World Cup.
He changed his mind and was rejuvenated in the 1970 World Cup. In a game against England, he struck a header for a certain score, but the great goalkeeper Gordon Banks flipped the ball over the bar in an astonishing move. Pelé likened the save — one of the best in World Cup history — to a “salmon climbing up a waterfall.” Later, he scored the opening goal in the final against Italy, his last World Cup match.
Read more: Image of Pelé shines bright for Brazilian fans at World Cup
In all, Pelé played 114 matches with Brazil, scoring a record 95 goals — including 77 in official matches. Most of his goals came with Santos, which he led to five national titles, two Copa Libertadores trophies and two club world championships — all in the 1960s.
His run with Santos stretched over three decades until he went into semi-retirement after the 1972 season. Wealthy European clubs tried to sign him, but the Brazilian government intervened to keep him from being sold, declaring him a national treasure.
On the field, Pelé’s energy, vision and imagination drove a gifted Brazilian national team, with intricate passing combinations slicing defenses while leaving room for players to showcase flashy skills.
The fast, fluid style of play exemplified “O Jogo Bonito” — Portuguese for “The Beautiful Game.” And at the center of it all, like a maestro in command of his orchestra, was Pelé. It was his 1977 autobiography, “My Life and the Beautiful Game,” that made the phrase part of soccer’s lexicon.
In 1975, he joined the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. Although he was past his prime at 34 years old, Pelé briefly gave soccer a higher profile in North America before ending his career on Oct. 1, 1977, in an exhibition between the Cosmos and Santos. Among the dignitaries on hand was perhaps the only other athlete whose renown spanned the globe — Muhammad Ali.
Pelé had two daughters out of wedlock and five children from his first two marriages, to Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi and Assiria Seixas Lemos. He later married businesswoman Marcia Cibele Aoki.
Pelé, Brazil’s mighty king of ‘beautiful game,’ has died
Pelé, the Brazilian king of football who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died Thursday. He was 82.
The standard-bearer of “the beautiful game” had undergone treatment for colon cancer since 2021. He had been hospitalised for the last month with multiple ailments.
His agent Joe Fraga confirmed his death.
Widely regarded as one of football’s greatest players, Pelé spent nearly two decades enchanting fans and dazzling opponents as the game’s most prolific scorer with Brazilian club Santos and the Brazil national team.
His grace, athleticism and mesmerising moves transfixed players and fans. He orchestrated a fast, fluid style that revolutionised the sport — a samba-like flair that personified his country’s elegance on the field.
He carried Brazil to football’s heights and became a global ambassador for his sport in a journey that began on the streets of Sao Paulo state, where he would kick a sock stuffed with newspapers or rags.
In the conversation about football’s greatest players, only the late Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are mentioned alongside Pelé.
Different sources, counting different sets of games, list Pelé’s goal totals anywhere between 650 (league matches) and 1,281 (all senior matches, some against low-level competition.)
The player who would be dubbed “The King” was introduced to the world at 17 at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the youngest player ever at the tournament. He was carried off the field on teammates’ shoulders after scoring two goals in Brazil’s 5-2 victory over the host country in the final.
Injury limited him to just two games when Brazil retained the world title in 1962, but 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.
The image of Pelé in a bright, yellow Brazil jersey, with the No. 10 stamped on the back, remains alive with football fans everywhere. As does his trademark goal celebration -- a leap with a right fist thrust high above his head.
Pelé’s fame was such that in 1967 factions of a civil war in Nigeria agreed to a brief cease-fire so he could play an exhibition match in the country. He was knighted by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in 1997. When he visited Washington to help popularise the game in North America, it was the US president who stuck out his hand first.
“My name is Ronald Reagan, I’m the president of the United States of America,” the host said to his visitor. “But you don’t need to introduce yourself because everyone knows who Pelé is.”
Pelé was Brazil’s first modern Black national hero but rarely spoke about racism in a country where the rich and powerful tend to hail from the white minority.
Opposing fans taunted Pelé with monkey chants at home and all over the world.
“He said that he would never play if he had to stop every time he heard those chants,” said Angelica Basthi, one of Pelé’s biographers. “He is key for Black people’s pride in Brazil, but never wanted to be a flagbearer.”
Pelé’s life after football took many forms. He was a politician -- Brazil’s Extraordinary Minister for Sport -- a wealthy businessman, and an ambassador for UNESCO and the United Nations.
He had roles in movies, soap operas and even composed songs and recorded CDs of popular Brazilian music.
As his health deteriorated, his travels and appearances became less frequent. He was often seen in a wheelchair during his final years and did not attend a ceremony to unveil a statue of him representing Brazil’s 1970 World Cup team. Pelé spent his 80th birthday isolated with a few family members at a beach home.
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, in the small city of Tres Coracoes in the interior of Minas Gerais state on October 23, 1940, Pelé grew up shining shoes to buy his modest football gear.
Pelé’s talent drew attention when he was 11, and a local professional player brought him to Santos’ youth squads. It didn’t take long for him to make it to the senior squad.
Despite his youth and 5-foot-8 frame, he scored against grown men with the same ease he displayed against friends back home. He debuted with the Brazilian club at 16 in 1956, and the club quickly gained worldwide recognition.
The name Pelé came from him mispronouncing the name of a player called Bilé.
He went to the 1958 World Cup as a reserve but became a key player for his country’s championship team. His first goal, in which he flicked the ball over the head of a defender and raced around him to volley it home, was voted as one of the best in World Cup history.
The 1966 World Cup in England -- won by the hosts -- was a bitter one for Pelé, by then already considered the world’s top player. Brazil was knocked out in the group stage and Pelé, angry at the rough treatment, swore it was his last World Cup.
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He changed his mind and was rejuvenated in the 1970 World Cup. In a game against England, he struck a header for a certain score, but the great goalkeeper Gordon Banks flipped the ball over the bar in an astonishing move. Pelé likened the save — one of the best in World Cup history — to a “salmon climbing up a waterfall.” Later, he scored the opening goal in the final against Italy, his last World Cup match.
In all, Pelé played 114 matches with Brazil, scoring a record 95 goals, including 77 in official matches.
His run with Santos stretched over three decades until he went into semi-retirement after the 1972 season. Wealthy European clubs tried to sign him, but the Brazilian government intervened to keep him from being sold, declaring him a national treasure.
On the field, Pelé’s energy, vision and imagination drove a gifted Brazilian national team with a fast, fluid style of play that exemplified “O Jogo Bonito” -- Portuguese for “The Beautiful Game.” His 1977 autobiography, “My Life and the Beautiful Game,” made the phrase part of football’s lexicon.
In 1975, he joined the New York Cosmos of the North American Football League. Although 34 and past his prime, Pelé gave football a higher profile in North America. He led the Cosmos to the 1977 league title and scored 64 goals in three seasons.
Pelé ended his career on Oct. 1, 1977, in an exhibition between the Cosmos and Santos before a crowd in New Jersey of some 77,000. He played half the game with each club. Among the dignitaries on hand was perhaps the only other athlete whose renown spanned the globe — Muhammad Ali.
Pelé would endure difficult times in his personal life, especially when his son Edinho was arrested on drug-related charges. Pelé had two daughters out of wedlock and five children from his first two marriages, to Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi and Assiria Seixas Lemos. He later married businesswoman Marcia Cibele Aoki.
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