Pele

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Pele Imagine yourself in a packed stadium in Mexico in the year 1970. Suddenly you see a player come out on to the pitch. All of a sudden there is a big commotion in the stadium and everyone is going wild. Who is this guy and what is so special about him. His name is Pele and he is from Brazil. He led Brazil to three World Cup titles and is considered one of the best soccer players of all time. He was born in Tres Coracoes, Brazil. Pele was noted for his powerful kicking, skillful ball control, and for his brilliant passing and field strategy. Pele became the only player to participate in three World Cup victories when he led the Brazilian National Team to titles in 1958, 1962, and 1970. Pele also scored 1200 goals in 1253 games, which makes him the top scorer in the history of soccer.

In this paper, I am mainly going to focus on Pele's performance in the 1958,1962,1966,1970 World Cups. Pele. (2001). Encarta Pele was a very good player. He was good at dribbling, passing, heading, and shooting. He was also considered a soccer psychic. Most of the times he would dribble past at least three or four people before he scores. He was such a deadly player the other team usually had three to four players on him. His passing was amazing. Pele was also a very good passer. He is so good at passing, he just hits the ball off the opponent, and the ball would just come back to him. So he was able to use the other team to help him too! He had amazing headers. He once scored 3 goals in one game with his head. His shots were extremely powerful and at the same time it was very accurate. He could kick just as well with both his foot. He was able to curve the ball very well. He once curved the ball through 4 people who were lined up just 5 feet away from him and ended up scoring. He was considered to be a soccer psychic because there was once a game, when he took a shot, and it hit the post and it almost went in. Then Pele goes up to the officials and tells him that the goal post he shot the ball in was shorter than the other post by about 3 millimeters. After Pele said this officials measured the post and found out that what Pele said was true. This showed everyone that Pele knows exactly what is going to happen to the ball when he does something with it. (JP Tokoto, 2001) Carlos Drummond de Andrade a Brazillian poet said, "Scoring 1000 goals like Pele is not that difficult, but scoring one goal like Pele is." The 1958 World Cup, which was held in Sweden, was the first World Cup Pele participated in. At this time Pele was only 17 years old. The first game Pele played in that World Cup was Brazils 3rd game. The game was against Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). He was put in because all the good players on the team requested the coach to put him in. In that game they won 2-0. Even though Pele didn't score a goal he played very well and made many nice passes to his teammates. In the next game Brazil won again 1-0. Pele scored a spectacular goal in that game. In the semi-finals, which were against France, Pele scored three incredible goals. By the end of the game Brazil won 5-2! The finals were against Sweden. At that time Sweden was one of the best countries in the world at soccer. With the help of Pele they won the game 5-2 again. This time Pele scored 2 goals. After they won the 1958 worldcup, Pele became a national treasure. Pele. (February 27, 2002). http://www.360soccer.com/pele/pelebio.html The next World Cup Pele was going to play in was held in 1962 and was hosted by Chile. This World Cup was a very upsetting one for Pele. The first team they played against was Mexico, which they beat 1-0. Pele scored the goal. The second game was against Czechoslovakia. In the first ten minutes of the game, Pele pulled a muscle in his legs and was pulled out of the tournament. Even though Pele was not able to play most of the games in this World Cup, Brazil still won the World Cup. Pele. (February 27, 2002). http://www.360soccer.com/pele/pelebio.html The next World Cup was in 1966 and was hosted by England. Almost everything seemed to have gone wrong for Brazil. When the Brazilian National Team went to England, two of their really good players, forward Servilio and goalkeeper Valdir were cut out. In the first game Brazil played Bulgaria and beat them 2-0. In that game Pele scored 1 goal. The next team they played was Hungary and surprisingly they lost that game 3-1. The next game was which many people around the world thought were unfair. The game was between Brazil and Portugal. The Portuguese played a very cheap game. During the game the Portuguese players purposely injured Pele very severely. Pele had to be taken of the field and once again he was taken out of the tournament. Unfortunately England wins that World Cup. Pele. (February 27, 2002). http://www.360soccer.com/pele/pelebio.html The last World Cup Pele played in was in 1970 and was hosted by Mexico. To Pele this World Cup was all about revenge. He was really mad that he just got out of two World Cups. This is the World Cup Pele played best in. He scored so many incredible goals. Pele also had the best 3 "almost goals" in history. This meant that if he scored the goals it would have been the best goal of all time. In the first game they played Czechoslovakia and Brazil wins 4-1. Pele scored one goal in that game. In the next game they play England and beat them 1-0. Surprisingly, Pele did not score any goals in that game. They won again when they played Romania with a score of 3-2. Pele scored 2 goals in that game. Then they go on to play Peru and end up beating them 4-2. In the semifinal they play Uruguay and beat them 3-1. In the finals they play Italy and beat them 4-1. Pele scored 1 goal in that game. Pele. (February 27, 2002). http://www.360soccer.com/pele/pelebio.html These are all the World Cups Pele played in. He played in the 1958, 1962, 1966, and 1970. He was also very good at shooting, dribbling and passing. He was an amazing player because he was able to help Brazil win 3 World Cup titles. Unlike other athletes at the time like Mohamed Ali, Pele wasn't full of himself. Pele was able to get the whole crowd to cheer not only for his skills but also for his kind heart and good sportsmanship. These are all the reasons why he is considered to be the greatest player in the history of soccer.