Now that the most iconic sportsman of all-time Pelé has passed away, we are left wondering if he was really different from football itself. Yes, he was not only the symbol of football, the standard of excellence, and the embodiment of the game, but also a simple and humble person!
As BBC reported, “Pele was an incredible success story in a country where racism and classism are still so dominant. He always championed the power of football to bring the nation together, and to give opportunities to even the poorest Brazilians”.
For every football lover, Pele meant something. Even people with no interest in football refer to him as the King. There was barely any place on the planet where the Brazilian legend wasn’t known! Everyone has a Pele story!
Pele has been an oft-heard name since my school days. Like many of my contemporaries in the football-crazy Indian state of Kerala where watching the Brazilian legend on television live in the mid-70s was a distant dream, still, he was familiar by not actually watching him play, but by studying a lesson about him in our school textbook.
I remember “A Miracle in the Football World”, the three-page lesson in Kerala state education syllabus that was part of the fifth class Malayalam language portraying the life of the legendary Brazilian player who was 30 at that time.
Pele was deeply connected to India. He visited India three times. The first was in 1977 when the ‘king of football’ flew down for a friendly match against the local club Mohun Bagan in the then Calcutta while playing for the New York Cosmos. It was the penultimate match of Pele's career.
The second and third visits came in 2015 and 2018, respectively, as a guest for events. Pele could have won over a nation with which he had no direct connection, 50-odd years ago.
I still remember his photos in yellow jersey printed on the covers of many leading sports magazines and newspapers in India.
Pele was born into a poor family in Tres Coracoes in southern Brazil on October 23, 1940. He was christened Edson Arantes do Nascimento, which, he revealed in a 2014 tweet, was in honour of US inventor Thomas Edison as electricity had just been introduced to his hometown.
He never really forgot about the difficult circumstances in Bauru, Sao Paulo, where he grew up. "I'm sure I've done more to help Brazil with my football and my way of life than a lot of people who make their living in politics," he once said.
Understanding that his father, Dondinho, was a better footballer than it had been recognised, Pele’s pursuit to gain big things in football followed a wish to bring apposite dignity to the sacrifices of his poor family.
Like many celebrities, Pele too encountered problems like being labelled as a left-wing antagonist of the government or his commercial activities getting stuck in controversies or his extramarital affairs.
Still, he was the most outstanding player and an extraordinary human being who was fearless in raising his voice against racism, injustice, and inequality. He was an advocate for the education of the poor and all.
Pele 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.
No doubt, the world has lost once-in-a-lifetime sportsman who leaves an extraordinary legacy. The king of football has left us but his contributions will never be forgotten. A great loss to not just to football but to the whole world of sports. Goodbye and thank you, Pele, for all you gave us.
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