Before Pele made his debut for Brazil, the South American nation had never won the World Cup. By the time he retired, they had won three - more than any other team.Arguably Pele's greatest contribution to both soccer and Brazil was to transform his underachieving nation into a footballing superpower."Pre-1958 Brazil has a rich football heritage but it was not the country of football," David Tryhorn, co-director of the 2021 Netflix documentary "Pele," told Reuters."Post-1970 the first thing that comes to mind when we think of Brazil is football. And while there is a wildly talented double generation of players responsible for that, the unifying figure is Pele."He remains the only player to have played for three World Cup winning teams, although his experiences in the tournament varied greatly.He burst on to the scene at the age of 17 in 1958, scoring six goals in the knock-out stages, including two in the final against Sweden, as Brazil recorded their first triumph._________________________________Read also:
- "Brazil's performance in the World Cup final of 1970 was a masterclass," said the late England goalkeeper Banks. "On that day Brazil firmly planted their flag on the summit of world football, a peak to which all other teams must aspire."
December 30, 2022 | 12:23 AM