Pelé

Pelé with Brazil in 1970

Born

Edson Arantes do Nascimento

23 October 1940^{[note 1]}

Três Corações, Brazil

Died

29 December 2022 (aged 82)

São Paulo, Brazil

Resting place

Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica, Santos, São Paulo

Alma mater

Metropolitan University of Santos (UNIMES)

Occupations

Footballer
humanitarian

Height

1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)

Spouses

Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi

(m. 1966; div. 1982)

Assíria Lemos Seixas

(m. 1994; div. 2008)

Marcia Aoki

(m. 2016)

Children

7, including Edinho and Joshua Nascimento

Father

Dondinho

Relatives

Zoca (brother)

Association football career

Position(s)

Forward, attacking midfielder

Youth career

1953–1956

Bauru

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps

(Gls)

1956–1974

Santos

583

(569)

1975–1977

New York Cosmos

64

(37)

Total

647

(606)

International career

1957–1971

Brazil

92^{[note 2]}

(77)

Medal record

Men's football

Representing Brazil
FIFA World Cup
Winner	1958 Sweden
Winner	1962 Chile
Winner	1970 Mexico
South American Championship
Runner-up	1959 Argentina

*Club domestic league appearances and goals

1st Minister of Sports

In office
1 January 1995 – 30 April 1998

President

Fernando Henrique Cardoso

Preceded by

Office established

Succeeded by

Rafael Greca (Sports and Tourism)

Signature

Brazil professional footballer

Eponyms and public art

Films

Escape to Victory (1981)
Os Trapalhões e o Rei do Futebol (1986)
Hotshot (1986)
Pelé Eterno (2004)
Pelé: Birth of a Legend (2016)
Pelé (2021)

Media

Pelezinho
- Comic
- TV series
Music album (1977)

Family

Related

The beautiful game
FIFA 100
Pelé law
Pelé's Soccer (1981)
Pelé! & Pelé II: World Tournament Soccer (1993–1994)

Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈɛd(ʒi)sõ(w) aˈɾɐ̃tʃiz du nasiˈmẽtu]; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (Brazilian Portuguese: [peˈlɛ]), was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century.^[2] His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which includes friendlies, is recognised as a Guinness World Record.^[3] In 1999, he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and was included in the Time list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. In 2000, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century, alongside Diego Maradona.

Pelé began playing for Santos at age 15 and the Brazil national team at 16. During his international career, he won three FIFA World Cups: 1958, 1962 and 1970, the only player to do so and the youngest player to win a World Cup (17). He was nicknamed O Rei (The King) following the 1958 tournament. With 77 goals in 92 games^{[note 2]} for Brazil, Pelé held the record as the national team's top goalscorer for over fifty years. At club level, he is Santos's all-time top goalscorer with 643 goals in 659 games. In a golden era for Santos, he led the club to the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores, and to the 1962 and 1963 Intercontinental Cup. Credited with connecting the phrase "The Beautiful Game" with football, Pelé's "electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals" made him a global star, and his teams toured internationally to take full advantage of his popularity.^[6] During his playing days, Pelé was for a period the best-paid athlete in the world. After retiring in 1977, Pelé was a worldwide ambassador for football and made many acting and commercial ventures. In 2010, he was named the honorary president of the New York Cosmos.

Pelé averaged almost a goal per game throughout his career and could strike the ball with either foot, as well as being able to anticipate his opponents' movements. While predominantly a striker, he could also be a playmaker, providing assists with his vision and passing ability. He would often use his dribbling skills to go past opponents. In Brazil, he was hailed as a national hero for his accomplishments in football and for his outspoken support of policies that improve the social conditions of the poor. His emergence at the 1958 World Cup, where he became a black global sporting star, was a source of inspiration.^[7] Throughout his career and in his retirement, Pelé received numerous individual and team awards for his performance on the field, his record-breaking achievements, and his legacy in the sport.^[8]

Early years

[edit]

Pelé was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on 23 October 1940 in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, the son of Fluminense footballer Dondinho (born João Ramos do Nascimento) and Celeste Arantes (1922–2024).^[9] He was the elder of two siblings,^[10] with brother Zoca also playing for Santos, albeit not as successfully.^[11] He was named after the American inventor Thomas Edison.^[12] His parents decided to remove the "i" and call him "Edson", but there was a typo on his birth certificate, leading many documents to show his name as "Edison", not "Edson", as he was called.^[12]^[13] He was originally nicknamed "Dico" by his family.^[10]^[14] He received the nickname "Pelé" during his school days, it is claimed,^{[by whom?]} after mispronouncing the name of his favourite player, Vasco da Gama goalkeeper Bilé. In his autobiography released in 2006, Pelé stated he had no idea what the name means, nor did his old friends, and the word has no meaning in Portuguese. He would later learn it means "miracle" (פֶּלֶא) in Hebrew.^[10]^{[note 3]}

Pelé grew up in poverty in Bauru in the state of São Paulo. He earned extra money by working in tea shops as a servant. Taught to play by his father, he could not afford a proper football and usually played with either a sock stuffed with newspaper and tied with string or a grapefruit.^[16]^[10] He played for several amateur teams in his youth, including Sete de Setembro, Canto do Rio, São Paulinho, and Ameriquinha.^[17] Pelé led Bauru Atlético Clube juniors (coached by Waldemar de Brito) to two São Paulo state youth championships.^[18] In his mid-teens, he played for an indoor football team called Radium. Indoor football had just become popular in Bauru when Pelé began playing it. He was part of the first futsal (indoor football) competition in the region. Pelé and his team won the first championship and several others.^[19]

According to Pelé, futsal (indoor football) presented difficult challenges: he said it was a lot quicker than football on the grass, and that players were required to think faster because everyone is close to each other in the pitch. Pelé credits futsal for helping him think better on the spot. In addition, futsal allowed him to play with adults when he was about 14 years old. In one of the tournaments he participated in, he was initially considered too young to play, but eventually went on to end up top scorer with 14 or 15 goals. "That gave me a lot of confidence", Pelé said, "I knew then not to be afraid of whatever might come".^[19]

Club career

[edit]

Santos

[edit]

1956–1962: early years with Santos and declared a national treasure

[edit]

In 1956, de Brito took Pelé to Santos, an industrial and port city located near São Paulo, to try out for professional club Santos FC, telling the club's directors that the 15-year-old would be "the greatest football player in the world".^[21] Pelé impressed Santos coach Lula during his trial at the Estádio Vila Belmiro, and he signed a professional contract with the club in June 1956.^[22] Pelé was highly promoted in the local media as a future superstar. He made his senior team debut on 7 September 1956 at the age of 15 against Corinthians de Santo André and had an impressive performance in a 7–1 victory, scoring the first goal in his prolific career during the match.^[23]^[24]

When the 1957 season started, Pelé was given a starting place in the first team and, at the age of 16, became the top scorer in the league. Ten months after signing professionally, the teenager was called up to the Brazil national team. After the 1958 and the 1962 World Cup, wealthy European clubs, such as Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, tried to sign him in vain.^[25] In 1958, Inter Milan even managed to get him a regular contract, but Angelo Moratti was forced to tear the contract up at the request of Santos's chairman following a revolt by Santos's Brazilian fans.^[26] Valencia CF also arranged an agreement that would have brought Pelé to the club after the 1958 World Cup, however after his performances at the tournament, Santos declined to let the player leave.^[27]^[28] In 1961 the government of Brazil under President Jânio Quadros declared Pelé an "official national treasure" to prevent him from being transferred out of the country.^[16]^[29]

Pelé won his first major title with Santos in 1958 as the team won the Campeonato Paulista; he would finish the tournament as the top scorer, with 58 goals,^[30] a record that still stands today. A year later, he would help the team earn their first victory in the Torneio Rio-São Paulo with a 3–0 over Vasco da Gama.^[31] However, Santos was unable to retain the Paulista title. In 1960, Pelé scored 33 goals to help his team regain the Campeonato Paulista trophy but lost out on the Rio-São Paulo tournament after finishing in 8th place.^[32] In the 1960 season, Pelé scored 47 goals and helped Santos regain the Campeonato Paulista. The club went on to win the Taça Brasil that same year, beating Bahia in the finals; Pelé finished as the top scorer of the tournament with nine goals. The victory allowed Santos to participate in the Copa Libertadores, the most prestigious club tournament in the Western hemisphere.^[33]

1962–1965: Copa Libertadores success

[edit]

"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 following the loss to Santos in 1962.^[34]

Santos's most successful Copa Libertadores season started in 1962;^[35] the team was seeded in Group One alongside Cerro Porteño and Deportivo Municipal Bolivia, winning every match of their group but one (a 1–1 away tie versus Cerro). Santos defeated Universidad Católica in the semi-finals and met defending champions Peñarol in the finals. Pelé scored twice in the playoff match to secure the first title for a Brazilian club.^[36] Pelé finished as the second top scorer of the competition with four goals. That same year, Santos would successfully defend the Campeonato Paulista (with 37 goals from Pelé) and the Taça Brasil (Pelé scoring four goals in the final series against Botafogo). Santos would also win the 1962 Intercontinental Cup against Benfica.^[37] Wearing his number 10 shirt, Pelé produced one of the best performances of his career, scoring a hat-trick in Lisbon as Santos won 5–2.^[38]^[39]

Pelé states that his most memorable goal was scored at the Estádio Rua Javari on a Campeonato Paulista match against São Paulo rival Clube Atlético Juventus on 2 August 1959. As there is no video footage of this match, Pelé asked that a computer animation be made of this specific goal.^[40] In March 1961, Pelé scored the gol de placa (goal worthy of a plaque), against Fluminense at the Maracanã.^[41] Pelé received the ball on the edge of his own penalty area, and ran the length of the field, eluding opposition players with feints, before striking the ball beyond the goalkeeper.^[41] A plaque was commissioned with a dedication to "the most beautiful goal in the history of the Maracanã".^[42]

As the defending champions, Santos qualified automatically to the semi-final stage of the 1963 Copa Libertadores. The balé branco (white ballet), the nickname given to Santos at the time, managed to retain the title after victories over Botafogo and Boca Juniors. Pelé helped Santos overcome a Botafogo team that featured Brazilian greats such as Garrincha and Jairzinho with a last-minute goal in the first leg of the semi-finals which made it 1–1. In the second leg, Pelé scored a hat-trick in the Estádio do Maracanã as Santos won, 0–4, in the second leg. Santos started the final series by winning, 3–2, in the first leg and defeating Boca Juniors 1–2, in La Bombonera. It was a rare feat in official competitions, with another goal from Pelé.^[43] Santos became the first Brazilian team to lift the Copa Libertadores in Argentine soil. Pelé finished the tournament with five goals. Santos lost the Campeonato Paulista after finishing in third place but went on to win the Rio-São Paulo tournament after a 0–3 win over Flamengo in the final, with Pelé scoring one goal. Pelé would also help Santos retain the Intercontinental Cup and the Taça Brasil against AC Milan and Bahia respectively.^[37]

In the 1964 Copa Libertadores, Santos was beaten in both legs of the semi-finals by Independiente. The club won the Campeonato Paulista, with Pelé netting 34 goals. Santos also shared the Rio-São Paulo title with Botafogo and won the Taça Brasil for the fourth consecutive year. In the 1965 Copa Libertadores, Santos reached the semi-finals and met Peñarol in a rematch of the 1962 final. After two matches, a playoff was needed to break the tie.^[44] Unlike 1962, Peñarol came out on top and eliminated Santos 2–1.^[44] Pelé would, however, finish as the top scorer of the tournament with eight goals.^[45]

1965–1974: O Milésimo and final years with Santos

[edit]

In December 1965, Santos won the Taça Brasil, their fifth straight Brazilian league title, with Pelé scoring the last goal in the final series.^[46] In 1966, Santos failed to retain the Taça Brasil as Pelé's goals were not enough to prevent a 9–4 defeat by Cruzeiro (led by Tostão) in the final series. The club did, however, win the Campeonato Paulista in 1967, 1968, and 1969. On 19 November 1969, Pelé scored his 1,000th goal in all competitions, in what was a highly anticipated moment in Brazil. The goal dubbed O Milésimo (The Thousandth), occurred in a match against Vasco da Gama, when Pelé scored from a penalty kick, at the Maracanã Stadium.^[47]

Various sources have said that the two factions involved in the Nigerian Civil War agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire in 1969 so they could watch Pelé play an exhibition game in Lagos. An early source for this story was Ebony magazine in 1975.^[48] Santos ended up playing to a 2–2 draw with Lagos side Stationary Stores FC and Pelé scored his team's goals. The civil war went on for one more year after this game.^[49] In his autobiography, Pelé was unsure that there was a ceasefire, but said that there was an increased security presence at the game.^[50] Some sources, including Santos's website, say that the ceasefire was instead for the friendly in Benin City, bordering Biafra. Local researchers have not found contemporary reports of any ceasefire.^[51]

During his time at Santos, Pelé played alongside many gifted players, including Zito, Pepe, and Coutinho; the latter partnered him in numerous one-two plays, attacks, and goals.^[52] After Pelé's 19th season with Santos, he left Brazilian football.^[53] Pelé's 643 goals for Santos were the most goals scored for a single club until it was surpassed by Lionel Messi of Barcelona in December 2020.^[54]^[55]

Tours with Santos

[edit]

Even though he never played in a European league, Pelé played exhibition games in several countries all over the world in tours with Santos. He played in Spain against Real Madrid and Barcelona, in Italy against Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan and AS Roma.^[56] Pelé travelled to Egypt in 1973, and played with Santos against Al Ahly. This trip was days after his team's trip to Kuwait to play a match against Qadsia.^[57]

In Kuwait, Pelé met by chance the Egyptian movie star Zubaida Tharwat, who was in Kuwait attending a cinematic event. The two had a couple of photos and he admired her beauty. She said in a television interview about this incident that: she had traveled to Kuwait City in 1973 at the invitation of the Kuwaiti Minister of Culture at the time, and when she went to the hotel where she was going to stay, she was surprised by the presence of many people and flowers inside the hotel, and among these people came to her "Pelé" wearing a collar of roses, and he removed it from him and put it on her.^[58]^[59]

When she asked what was going on and who was this person, whom she did not know because she did not like football, the hotel staff told her that he was the famous Brazilian football player, and that the hotel was crowded with his fans who wanted to see him. Zubaida Tharwat stated that after he saw her for the first time inside the hotel where they happened to be, he kept chasing her day and night, and wanted to take her with him to Brazil.^[60] By chance, the next stop for Pelé's tour was to Cairo, and he met again with Tharwat, who stated that she could not communicate with him as he did not speak English at the time.^[61]^[62]

New York Cosmos

[edit]

After the 1974 season (his 19th with Santos), Pelé retired from Brazilian club football although he continued to occasionally play for Santos in official competitive matches. A year later, he came out of semi-retirement to sign with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1975 season.^[53] At a chaotic press conference at New York's 21 Club, the Cosmos unveiled Pelé. John O'Reilly, the club's media spokesman, stated, "We had superstars in the United States but nothing at the level of Pelé. Everyone wanted to touch him, shake his hand, get a photo with him."^[63] Though well past his prime at this point, Pelé was credited with significantly increasing public awareness and interest of the sport in the US.^[64] During his first public appearance in Boston, he was injured by a crowd of fans who had surrounded him and was evacuated on a stretcher.^[65]

Pelé made his debut for the Cosmos on 15 June 1975 against the Dallas Tornado at Downing Stadium, scoring one goal in a 2–2 draw.^[66] Pelé opened the door for many other stars to play in North America. Giorgio Chinaglia followed him to the Cosmos, then Franz Beckenbauer and his former Santos teammate Carlos Alberto. Over the next few years other players came to the league, including Johan Cruyff, Eusébio, Bobby Moore, George Best and Gordon Banks.^[64]

In 1975, one week before the Lebanese Civil War, Pelé played a friendly game for the Lebanese club Nejmeh against a team of Lebanese Premier League stars,^[67] scoring two goals which were not included in his official tally.^[68] On the day of the game, 40,000 spectators were at the stadium from early morning to watch the match.^[67]

Pelé led the Cosmos to the 1977 Soccer Bowl, in his third and final season with the club.^[69] In June 1977, the Cosmos attracted an NASL record 62,394 fans to Giants Stadium for a 3–0 victory past the Tampa Bay Rowdies with a 37-year-old Pelé scoring a hat-trick. In the first leg of the quarter-finals, they attracted a US record crowd of 77,891 for what turned into an 8–3 rout of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Giants Stadium. In the second leg of the semi-finals against the Rochester Lancers, the Cosmos won 4–1.^[64] Pelé finished his official playing career on 28 August 1977, by leading the New York Cosmos to their second Soccer Bowl title with a 2–1 win over the Seattle Sounders at the Civic Stadium in Portland, Oregon.^[70]

On 1 October 1977, Pelé closed out his career in an exhibition match between the Cosmos and Santos. The match was played in front of a sold-out crowd at Giants Stadium and was televised in the US on ABC's Wide World of Sports as well as throughout the world. Pelé's father and wife both attended the match, as well as Muhammad Ali and Bobby Moore.^[71] Delivering a message to the audience before the start of the game – "Love is more important than what we can take in life" – Pelé played the first half with the Cosmos, the second with Santos. The game ended with the Cosmos winning 2–1, with Pelé scoring with a 30-yard free-kick for the Cosmos in what was the final goal of his career. During the second half, it started to rain, prompting a Brazilian newspaper to come out with the headline the following day: "Even The Sky Was Crying."^[72]

International career

[edit]

Pelé's first international match was a 2–1 defeat against Argentina on 7 July 1957 at the Maracanã.^[73]^[74] In that match, he scored his first goal for Brazil aged 16 years and eight months, and he remains the youngest goalscorer for his country.^[75]^[76]

1958 World Cup

[edit]

Pelé arrived in Sweden sidelined by a knee injury but on his return from the treatment room, his colleagues stood together and insisted upon his selection.^[77] His first match was against the USSR in the third match of the first round of the 1958 FIFA World Cup, where he gave the assist to Vavá's second goal.^[78] He was at the time the youngest player ever to participate in the World Cup.^{[note 4]}^[74] He scored his first World Cup goal against Wales in the quarter-finals, the only goal of the match, to help Brazil advance to the semi-finals while becoming the youngest ever World Cup goalscorer at 17 years and 239 days.^[79] Against France in the semi-final, Brazil was leading 2–1 at halftime, and then Pelé scored a hat-trick, becoming the youngest player in World Cup history to do so.^[80]

On 29 June 1958, Pelé became the youngest player to play in a World Cup final match at 17 years and 249 days. He scored two goals in that final as Brazil beat Sweden 5–2 in Stockholm, the capital. Pelé hit the post and then Vavá scored two goals to give Brazil the lead. Pelé's first goal, where he flicked the ball over a defender before volleying into the corner of the net, was selected as one of the best goals in the history of the World Cup.^[81] Following Pelé's second goal, Swedish player Sigvard Parling would later comment, "When Pelé scored the fifth goal in that Final, I have to be honest and say I felt like applauding".^[82] When the match ended, Pelé passed out on the field, and was revived by Garrincha.^[83] He then recovered, and was compelled by the victory to weep as he was being congratulated by his teammates. He finished the tournament with six goals in four matches played, tied for second place, behind record-breaker Just Fontaine, and was named best young player of the tournament.^[84] His impact was arguably greater off the field, with Barney Ronay writing, "With nothing but talent to guide him, the boy from Minas Gerais became the first black global sporting superstar, and a source of genuine uplift and inspiration."^[7]

It was in the 1958 World Cup that Pelé began wearing a jersey with the number 10, which was the result of disorganization: the leaders of the Brazilian Federation did not allocate the shirt numbers of players and it was up to FIFA to choose the number 10 shirt for Pelé, who was a substitute on the occasion.^[85] The press proclaimed Pelé the greatest revelation of the 1958 World Cup, and he was also retroactively given the Silver Ball as the second best player of the tournament, behind Didi.^[82]

1959 South American Championship

[edit]

Pelé also played in the South American Championship. In the 1959 competition he was named best player of the tournament and was the top scorer with eight goals, as Brazil came second despite being unbeaten in the tournament.^[82]^[86] He scored in five of Brazil's six games, including two goals against Chile and a hat-trick against Paraguay.^[87]

1962 World Cup

[edit]

When the 1962 World Cup started, Pelé was considered the best player in the world.^[88] In the first match of the 1962 World Cup in Chile, against Mexico, Pelé assisted the first goal and then scored the second one, after a run past four defenders, to go up 2–0.^[89] He got injured in the next game while attempting a long-range shot against Czechoslovakia.^[90] This would keep him out of the rest of the tournament, and forced coach Aymoré Moreira to make his only lineup change of the tournament. The substitute was Amarildo, who performed well for the rest of the tournament. However, it was Garrincha who would take the leading role and carry Brazil to their second World Cup title, after beating Czechoslovakia at the final in Santiago.^[91] At the time, only players who appeared in the final were eligible for a medal before FIFA regulations were changed in 1978 to include the entire squad, with Pelé receiving his winner's medal retroactively in 2007.^[92]

1966 World Cup

[edit]

Pelé was the most famous footballer in the world during the 1966 World Cup in England, and Brazil fielded some world champions like Garrincha, Gilmar and Djalma Santos with the addition of other stars like Jairzinho, Tostão and Gérson, leading to high expectations for them.^[93] Brazil was eliminated in the first round, playing only three matches.^[93] The World Cup was marked, among other things, for brutal fouls on Pelé that left him injured by the Bulgarian and Portuguese defenders.^[94]

Pelé scored the first goal from a free kick against Bulgaria, becoming the first player to score in three successive FIFA World Cups, but due to his injury, a result of persistent fouling by the Bulgarians, he missed the second game against Hungary.^[93] His coach stated that after the first game he felt "every team will take care of him in the same manner".^[94] Brazil lost that game and Pelé, although still recovering, was brought back for the last crucial match against Portugal at Goodison Park in Liverpool by the Brazilian coach Vicente Feola. Feola changed the entire defense, including the goalkeeper, while in midfield he returned to the formation of the first match. During the game, Portugal defender João Morais fouled Pelé, but was not sent off by referee George McCabe; a decision retrospectively viewed as being among the worst refereeing errors in World Cup history.^[95] Pelé had to stay on the field limping for the rest of the game since substitutes were not allowed in football at that time.^[95] Brazil lost the match against the Portuguese led by Eusébio and were eliminated from the tournament as a result.^[96] After this game he vowed he would never again play in the World Cup, a decision he would later change.^[88]

1970 World Cup

[edit]

Pelé was called to the national team in early 1969, he refused at first, but then accepted and played in six World Cup qualifying matches, scoring six goals.^[4] The 1970 World Cup in Mexico was expected to be Pelé's last. Brazil's squad for the tournament featured major changes to the 1966 squad. Players like Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Valdir Pereira, Djalma Santos, and Gilmar had already retired. However, Brazil's 1970 World Cup squad, which included players like Pelé, Rivellino, Jairzinho, Gérson, Carlos Alberto Torres, Tostão and Clodoaldo, is often considered to be the greatest football team in history.^[97]^[98]^[99]

The front five of Jairzinho, Pelé, Gerson, Tostão, and Rivellino together created an attacking momentum, with Pelé having a central role in Brazil's way to the final.^[100] All of Brazil's matches in the tournament (except the final) were played in Guadalajara, and in the first match against Czechoslovakia, Pelé gave Brazil a 2–1 lead, by controlling Gerson's 50-yard pass with his chest and then scoring.^[101] In this match Pelé attempted to lob goalkeeper Ivo Viktor from the halfway line, only narrowly missing the Czechoslovak goal.^[102] Brazil went on to win the match, 4–1. In the first half of the match against England, Pelé nearly scored with a header that was saved by the England goalkeeper Gordon Banks. Pelé recalled he was already shouting "Goal" when he headed the ball. It was often referred to as the "save of the century".^[103] In the second half, he controlled a cross from Tostão before flicking the ball to Jairzinho who scored the only goal.^[104]

Against Romania, Pelé scored two goals, which included a 20-yard bending free-kick, with Brazil winning 3–2. In the quarter-final against Peru, Brazil won 4–2, with Pelé assisting Tostão for Brazil's third goal. In the semi-final, Brazil faced Uruguay for the first time since the 1950 World Cup final round match. Jairzinho put Brazil ahead 2–1, and Pelé assisted Rivellino for the 3–1. During that match, Pelé made one of his most famous plays. Tostão passed the ball for Pelé to collect which Uruguay's goalkeeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz took notice of and ran off his line to get the ball before Pelé. However, Pelé got there first and fooled Mazurkiewicz with a feint by not touching the ball, causing it to roll to the goalkeeper's left, while Pelé went to the goalkeeper's right. Pelé ran around the goalkeeper to retrieve the ball and took a shot while turning towards the goal, but he turned in excess as he shot, and the ball drifted just wide of the far post.^[102]^[105]

"I have scored more than a thousand goals in my life and the thing people always talk to me about is the one I didn't score." — Pelé on the extraordinary save by England goalkeeper Gordon Banks in their 1970 World Cup match.^[106]

Brazil played Italy in the final at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.^[107] Pelé scored the opening goal with a header after out jumping Italian defender Tarcisio Burgnich. Brazil's 100th World Cup goal, Pelé's leap of joy into the arms of teammate Jairzinho in celebrating the goal is regarded as one of the most iconic moments in World Cup history.^[108] He then made assists for Brazil's third goal, scored by Jairzinho, and the fourth finished by Carlos Alberto. The last goal of the game is often considered the greatest team goal of all time because it involved all but two of the team's outfield players. The play culminated after Pelé made a blind pass that went into Carlos Alberto's running trajectory. He came running from behind and struck the ball to score.^[109] Brazil won the match 4–1, keeping the Jules Rimet Trophy indefinitely, and Pelé received the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament.^[82]^[110] Burgnich, who marked Pelé during the final, was quoted saying, "I told myself before the game, he's made of skin and bones just like everyone else – but I was wrong".^[111] In terms of his goals and assists throughout the 1970 World Cup, Pelé was directly responsible for 53% of Brazil's goals throughout the tournament.^[112]

Pelé's last international match was on 18 July 1971 against Yugoslavia in Rio de Janeiro. With Pelé on the field, the Brazilian team's record was 67 wins, 14 draws, and 11 losses.^[4] Brazil never lost a match while fielding both Pelé and Garrincha.^[113] Pelé's 77 goals (in 92 games)^{[note 2]} for Brazil saw him hold the record as the national team's top goalscorer for over fifty years until it was surpassed by Neymar (in his 125th game) in September 2023.^[114]^[115]

On 19 December 1973, Pelé played for a Brazil XI side against the Rest of The World in a farewell game for Garrincha, scoring the equalizer in an eventual 2–1 win.^[116]^[117] On 21 July 1983, the 42-year-old Pelé played for another Brazil XI side against a South Brazil team in Goiânia in a friendly match organized by Zico to benefit the victims of a flood in Santa Catarina; he scored a free-kick in a 1–2 loss.^[118]^[119]

Style of play

[edit]

Pelé was known for connecting the phrase "The Beautiful Game" with football.^[120] A prolific goalscorer, he was known for his ability to anticipate his opponents’ movements and finish off chances with an accurate and powerful shot with either foot.^[6]^[121]^[122] Pelé was also a hard-working and complete player with exceptional vision and intelligence, who was recognised for his precise passing and the ability to provide teammates with assists.^[123]^[124]^[125]

In his early career, he played in a variety of attacking positions. Although he often operated inside the penalty area as a striker or centre forward, his wide range of skills allowed him to play as an inside forward or a second striker.^[102]^[123]^[126] In his later career, he took on a playmaking role behind the strikers, often functioning as an attacking midfielder.^[127]^[128] Pelé's unique playing style combined speed, creativity, and technical skill with physical power, stamina, and athleticism. His technique, flair, agility, and dribbling skills allowed him to beat opponents with the ball, and frequently saw him use sudden changes of direction and elaborate feints to get past players, such as his trademark move, the drible da vaca.^[102]^[126]^[129] Another one of his signature moves was the paradinha, or little stop.^{[note 5]}^[130]

Pelé excelled in the air, due to his heading accuracy, timing, and elevation.^[121]^[124]^[129]^[131] Renowned for his bending shots, he was also an accurate free-kick taker and penalty taker, although he often refrained from taking penalties, stating that he believed it to be a cowardly way to score.^[132]^[133]

Pelé was also known to be a fair and highly influential player, who stood out for his charismatic leadership and sportsmanship on the pitch. His warm embrace of Bobby Moore following the Brazil vs England game at the 1970 World Cup is viewed as the embodiment of sportsmanship, with The New York Times stating the image "captured the respect that two great players had for each other. As they exchanged jerseys, touches, and looks, the sportsmanship between them was all in the image. No gloating and no fist-pumping from Pelé. No despair, no defeatism from Bobby Moore."^[134] Pelé also earned a reputation for being a “big game player” due to his tendency to score crucial goals in important matches.^[135]^[136]^[137]

Legacy

[edit]

Named the “greatest" by FIFA in 2012,^[138]^[139] Pelé is one of the most lauded players in the history of football and has been frequently ranked the best player ever.^[140]^[141]^[142] Following his emergence at the 1958 World Cup he was nicknamed O Rei ("The King").^[143] Among his contemporaries, Dutch star Johan Cruyff stated, "Pelé was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic."^[34] Brazil's 1970 World Cup-winning captain Carlos Alberto Torres opined: "His great secret was improvisation. Those things he did were in one moment. He had an extraordinary perception of the game."^[34] According to Tostão, his strike partner at the 1970 World Cup: "Pelé was the greatest – he was simply flawless. And off the pitch he is always smiling and upbeat. You never see him bad-tempered. He loves being Pelé."^[34] His Brazilian teammate Clodoaldo commented on the adulation he witnessed: "In some countries they wanted to touch him, in some they wanted to kiss him. In others they even kissed the ground he walked on. I thought it was beautiful, just beautiful."^[34] According to Franz Beckenbauer, West Germany's 1974 World Cup-winning captain: "Pelé is the greatest player of all time. He reigned supreme for 20 years. There's no one to compare with him."^[82]

"I used to go out and people said Pelé! Pelé! Pelé! Pelé! all over the world, but no one remembers Edson. Edson is the person who has the feelings, who has the family, who works hard, and Pelé is the idol. Pelé doesn't die. Pelé will never die. Pelé is going to go on for ever. But Edson is a normal person who is going to die one day, and the people forget that." — Pelé on his lasting legacy.^[144]

Former Real Madrid and Hungary star Ferenc Puskás stated: "The greatest player in history was Di Stéfano. I refuse to classify Pelé as a player. He was above that."^[34] Just Fontaine, French striker and the leading scorer at the 1958 World Cup said "When I saw Pelé play, it made me feel I should hang up my boots."^[34] England's 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore commented: "Pelé was the most complete player I've ever seen, he had everything. Two good feet. Magic in the air. Quick. Powerful. Could beat people with skill. Could outrun people. Only five feet and eight inches tall, yet he seemed a giant of an athlete on the pitch. Perfect balance and impossible vision. He was the greatest because he could do anything and everything on a football pitch. I remember João Saldanha the coach being asked by a Brazilian journalist who was the best goalkeeper in his squad. He said Pelé. The man could play in any position".^[121] Former Manchester United striker and member of England's 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning team Sir Bobby Charlton stated, "I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player."^[34] During the 1970 World Cup, when Manchester United defender Paddy Crerand (who was part of the ITV panel) was asked, "How do you spell Pelé?", he replied, "Easy: G-O-D."^[34] Following Pelé's death, former Brazilian international and World Cup Winner Ronaldo stated that his "legacy transcends generations".^[145] Ronaldo's teammate for club and country, Roberto Carlos, also expressed gratitude towards Pele, saying that the "football world thanks you for everything you did for us".^[145] Many of such tributes were issued after Pelé's death at the age of 82.^[146]^[147]^[148]^[149]

Accolades

[edit]

After retiring, Pelé continued to be lauded by players, coaches, journalists and others. Brazilian attacking midfielder Zico, who represented Brazil at the 1978, 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cup, stated: "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".^[82] French three-time Ballon d'Or winner Michel Platini said: "There's Pelé the man, and then Pelé the player. And to play like Pelé is to play like God."^[150] Diego Maradona, joint FIFA Player of the Century, and the player Pelé is historically compared with, stated, "It's too bad we never got along, but he was an awesome player".^[82] Prolific Brazilian striker Romário, winner of the 1994 FIFA World Cup and player of the tournament, remarked: "It's only inevitable I look up to Pelé. He's like a God to us".^[82] Five-time FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo said, "Pelé is the greatest player in football history, and there will only be one Pelé", while José Mourinho, two-time UEFA Champions League winning manager, commented: "I think he is football. You have the real special one – Mr. Pelé."^[151] Real Madrid honorary president and former player, Alfredo Di Stéfano, opined: "The best player ever? Pelé. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities, but Pelé was better".^[152]

Presenting Pelé with the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award, former South African president Nelson Mandela said, "To watch him play was to watch the delight of a child combined with the extraordinary grace of a man in full."^[153] US politician and political scientist Henry Kissinger stated: "Performance at a high level in any sport is to exceed the ordinary human scale. But Pelé's performance transcended that of the ordinary star by as much as the star exceeds ordinary performance."^[154] After a reporter asked if his fame compared to that of Jesus, Pelé joked, "There are parts of the world where Jesus Christ is not so well known."^[111] The artist Andy Warhol (who painted a portrait of Pelé) also quipped, "Pelé was one of the few who contradicted my theory: instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries."^[34] David Goldblatt wrote that his emergence at the World Cup in 1958 coincided with "the explosive spread of television, which massively amplified his presence everywhere",^[155] while Barney Ronay states, "What is certain is that Pelé invented this game, the idea of individual global sporting superstardom, and in a way that is unrepeatable now."^[7]

In 1999, the International Olympic Committee elected him the Athlete of the Century and Time magazine named Pelé one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century. In 2000, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) voted Pelé the World Player of the Century. During his playing days, Pelé was for a period the highest-paid athlete in the world.^[156] Pelé's "electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals" made him a star around the world. To take full advantage of his popularity, his teams toured internationally.^[6] During his career, he became known as "The Black Pearl" (A Pérola Negra), "The King of Football" (O Rei do Futebol), "The King Pelé" (O Rei Pelé) or simply "The King" (O Rei).^[16] In 2014, the city of Santos inaugurated the Pelé museum – Museu Pelé – which displays a 2,400 piece collection of Pelé memorabilia.^[157] Approximately $22 million was invested in the construction of the museum, housed in a 19th-century mansion.^[158]

In January 2014, Pelé was awarded the first ever FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur as an acknowledgment from the world governing body of the sport for his contribution to world football.^[159] After changing the rules in 1995, France Football did an extensive analysis in 2015 of the players who would have won the award if it had been open for them beginning in 1956: the year the Ballon d'Or award started. Their study revealed that Pelé would have received the award a record seven times (Ballon d'or: Le nouveau palmarès). The original recipients, however, remain unchanged.^[160] In 2020, Pelé was named in the Ballon d'Or Dream Team, a greatest all-time XI.^[161]

According to the RSSSF, Pelé was one of the most successful goal-scorers in the world, scoring 538 league goals,^[162] a total of 775 in 840 official games and a tally of 1,301 goals in 1,390 appearances during his professional senior career, which included friendlies and tour games. He is ranked among the leading scorers in football history in both official and total matches. After his retirement in 1977 he played eight exhibition games and scored three goals.^[163]

"Pelé Pact" and Puma sponsorship

[edit]

In the lead up to the 1970 World Cup, Adidas and Puma established the "Pelé Pact", where both German sportswear companies, owned by the rival Dassler brothers, agreed not to sign a deal with Pelé, feeling that a bidding war would become too expensive.^[164]^[165]^[166] However, Puma would break the pact by signing Pelé, and in addition to paying him a percentage of Puma King boot sales, gave him $120,000 ($2.85 million in 2022) to tie his laces prior to Brazil's quarter-final against Peru to advertise their boots.^[164]^[165]^[167] With the camera panning in on the most famous athlete in the world, the Puma King Pelé boots were broadcast to a global audience, generating enormous publicity for the brand.^[165]^[166] Praised as a shrewd marketing move by Puma, the Pelé deal played a prominent role in the Dassler brothers feud, with many business experts crediting the rivalry and competition for transforming sports apparel into a multi-billion pound industry.^[165]

Personal life

[edit]

Relationships and children

[edit]

Children

By Anizia Machado
- Sandra (1964–2006)
By Lenita Kurtz
- Flávia (born 1968)
By Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi
- Kely Cristina (born 1967)
- Edson (born 1970)
- Jennifer (born 1978)
By Assíria Lemos Seixas
- Joshua (born 1996)
- Celeste (born 1996)

Pelé married three times and had several affairs, fathering seven children in all.^[168]

In 1966, Pelé married Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi.^[169] They had two daughters, Kely Cristina (born 13 January 1967), who married Arthur DeLuca, and Jennifer (b. 1978), as well as one son, Edson ("Edinho", b. 27 August 1970).^[170] The couple divorced in 1982.^[171] In May 2014, Edinho was sentenced to 33 years in jail for laundering money from drug trafficking.^[172] On appeal, the sentence was reduced to 12 years and 10 months.^[173]

From 1981 to 1986, Pelé was romantically linked with TV presenter Xuxa. She was 17 when they started dating.^[174] In April 1994, Pelé married psychologist and gospel singer Assíria Lemos Seixas, who gave birth on 28 September 1996 to twins Joshua and Celeste through fertility treatments.^[170]^[175] The couple divorced in 2008.^[176]

Pelé had at least two more children from affairs. Sandra Machado, who was born from an affair Pelé had in 1964 with a housemaid, Anizia Machado, fought for years to be acknowledged by Pelé, who refused to submit to DNA tests.^[177]^[178]^[179] Pelé finally relented after a court-ordered DNA test proved she was his daughter. Sandra Machado died of cancer in 2006.^[178]^[179]^[180]

At the age of 73, Pelé announced his intention to marry 41-year-old Marcia Aoki, a Japanese-Brazilian importer of medical equipment from Penápolis, São Paulo, whom he had been dating since 2010. They first met in the mid-1980s in New York, before meeting again in 2008. They married in July 2016.^[181]

Politics

[edit]

In January 1995, he was appointed by Fernando Cardoso as minister of sports. During his tenure, multiple reforms against corruption in state football associations were presented. He resigned from the post on 30 April 1998.^[182]

During the 2013 protests in Brazil, Pelé asked for people to put aside the demonstrations and support the Brazil national team.^[183]

On 1 June 2022, Pelé published an open letter to the President of Russia Vladimir Putin on his Instagram account, in which he made a public plea to stop the "evil" and "unjustified" Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[184]^[185]^[186]

Religion

[edit]

A Catholic, Pelé donated a signed jersey to Pope Francis. Accompanied by a signed football from Ronaldo Nazario, it is located in one of the Vatican Museums.^[187]

Health

[edit]

In 1977, Brazilian media reported that Pelé had his right kidney removed.^[188] In November 2012, Pelé underwent a successful hip operation.^[189] In December 2017, Pelé appeared in a wheelchair at the 2018 World Cup draw in Moscow where he was pictured with President Vladimir Putin and Argentine footballer Diego Maradona.^[190] A month later, he collapsed from exhaustion and was taken to hospital.^[190] In 2019, after a hospitalisation because of a urinary tract infection, Pelé underwent surgery to remove kidney stones.^[191] In February 2020, his son Edinho reported that Pelé was unable to walk independently and reluctant to leave home, ascribing his condition to a lack of rehabilitation following his hip operation.^[192]

In September 2021, Pelé had surgery to remove a tumour on the right side of his colon.^[193] Although his eldest daughter Kely stated he was "doing well", he was reportedly readmitted to intensive care a few days later,^[194] before finally being released on 30 September 2021 to begin chemotherapy.^[195] In November 2022, ESPN Brasil reported that Pelé had been taken to hospital with "general swelling", along with cardiac issues and concerns that his chemotherapy treatment was not having the expected effect; his daughter Kely stated there was "no emergency".^[196]^[197]

After football

[edit]

In 1994, Pelé was appointed a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.^[198] In 1995, Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso appointed Pelé to the position of extraordinary minister for sport. During this time he proposed legislation to reduce corruption in Brazilian football, which became known as the "Pelé law".^[199] Cardoso eliminated the post of sports minister in 1998.^[200] In 2001, Pelé was accused of involvement in a corruption scandal that stole $700,000 from UNICEF. It was claimed that money given to Pelé's company for a benefit match was not returned after it was cancelled, although nothing was proven, and it was denied by UNICEF.^[201]^[202] In 1997, he received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace.^[203] Pelé also helped inaugurate the 2006 FIFA World Cup, alongside supermodel Claudia Schiffer.^[98]

In 1993, Pelé publicly accused the Brazilian football administrator Ricardo Teixeira of corruption after Pelé's television company was rejected in a contest for the Brazilian domestic rights to the 1994 World Cup.^[204] Pelé's accusations led to an eight-year feud between the pair.^[205] As a consequence of the affair, the President of FIFA, João Havelange, Teixeira's father-in-law, banned Pelé from the draw for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in Las Vegas. Criticisms over the ban were perceived to have damaged Havelange's chances of re-election as FIFA's president in 1994.^[204]

In 1976, Pelé was on a Pepsi-sponsored trip in Lagos, Nigeria, when the military attempted a coup. Pelé was trapped in a hotel together with Arthur Ashe and other tennis pros, who were participating in the interrupted 1976 Lagos WCT tournament. Pelé and his crew eventually left the hotel to stay at the residence of Brazil's ambassador as they could not leave the country for a couple of days. Later the airport was opened and Pelé left the country disguised as a pilot.^[206]^[207]

Pelé published several autobiographies, starred in documentary films, and composed musical pieces, including Sérgio Mendes' soundtrack for the film Pelé directed by François Reichenbach in 1977.^[208]^[209] He appeared in the 1981 film Escape to Victory, about a World War II-era football match between Allied prisoners of war and a German team. Pelé starred alongside other footballers of the 1960s and 1970s, with actors Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone.^[210] In 1969, Pelé starred in a telenovela called Os Estranhos, about first contact with aliens. It was created to drum up interest in the Apollo missions.^[211] In 2001, he had a cameo role in the football satire film Mike Bassett: England Manager.^[212] Pelé was asked to participate in the 2006 ESPN documentary film Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos, but declined when the producers refused to pay his requested $100,000 fee.^[213]

Pelé appeared at the 2006 World Economic Forum in Davos, and spoke on the subject titled, "Can a Ball Change the World: The Role of Sports in Development".^[214] In November 2007, Pelé was in Sheffield, England, to mark the 150th anniversary of the world's oldest football club, Sheffield F.C.^[215] Pelé was the guest of honour at Sheffield's anniversary match against Inter Milan at Bramall Lane.^[215] As part of his visit, Pelé opened an exhibition which included the first public showing in 40 years of the original hand-written rules of football.^[215] Pelé scouted for Premier League club Fulham in 2002.^[216] He made the draw for the qualification groups for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals.^[217] On 1 August 2010, Pelé was introduced as the honorary president of a revived New York Cosmos, aiming to field a team in Major League Soccer.^[218] In August 2011, ESPN reported that Santos was considering bringing him out of retirement for a cameo role in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, although this turned out to be false.^[219]

The most notable area of Pelé's life since football was his ambassadorial work. In 1992, he was appointed a UN ambassador for ecology and the environment.^[220] He was also awarded Brazil's gold medal for outstanding services to the sport in 1995. In 2012, Pelé was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh for "significant contribution to humanitarian and environmental causes, as well as his sporting achievements".^[221]

In 2009, Pelé assisted the Rio de Janeiro bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. In July 2009, he spearheaded the Rio 2016 presentation to the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa General Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria.^[222]

On 12 August 2012, Pelé was an attendee at the 2012 Olympic hunger summit hosted by British prime minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street, London, part of a series of international efforts which have sought to respond to the return of hunger as a high-profile global issue.^[223]^[224] Later on the same day, Pelé appeared at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, following the handover section to the next host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro.^[225]

In March 2016, Pelé filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois seeking US$30 million in damages claiming violations under the Lanham Act for false endorsement and a state law claim for violation of his right of publicity.^[226] The suit alleged that at one point, Samsung and Pelé came close to entering into a licensing agreement for Pelé to appear in a Samsung advertising campaign, but Samsung abruptly pulled out of the negotiations. The October 2015 Samsung ad in question included a partial face shot of a man who allegedly "very closely resembles" Pelé and also a superimposed high-definition television screen next to the image of the man featuring a "modified bicycle or scissors-kick", often used by Pelé.^[226] The case was settled out-of-court several years later.^[227]

In addition to his ambassadorial work, Pelé supported various charitable causes, such as Action for Brazil's Children, Gols Pela Vida, SOS Children's Villages, The Littlest Lamb, Prince's Rainforests Project and many more.^[228]^[229]^[230]^[231]^[232] In 2016, Pelé auctioned more than 1600 items from a collection he accumulated over decades and raised £3.6 million for charity.^[233]^[234] In 2018, Pelé founded his charitable organisation, the Pelé Foundation, which endeavours to empower impoverished and disenfranchised children from around the globe.^[235]^[236]

Death and funeral

[edit]

Wikinews has related news:

"National treasure": Former Brazilian footballer Pelé dies at age 82

In 2021, Pelé was diagnosed with colon cancer.^[237] He underwent surgery the same month, and afterwards was treated with several rounds of chemotherapy. In early 2022, metastasis were detected in the intestine, lung and liver. On 29 November, he was admitted to the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in São Paulo due to a respiratory infection after he contracted COVID-19 and for reassessment of the treatment of his colon cancer.^[238] On 3 December 2022, it was reported that Pelé had become unresponsive to chemotherapy and that it was replaced with palliative care.^[239]

On 21 December 2022, the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital, where Pelé was being treated, stated that his tumour had advanced and he required "greater care related to renal and cardiac dysfunctions".^[240] Therefore, he was not allowed to spend Christmas at home, as his family had wanted. Pelé died on 29 December 2022, at 3:27 pm, at the age of 82, due to multiple organ failure, a complication of colon cancer.^[241]^[242] Pelé's death certificate stated that he had died of kidney failure, heart failure, bronchopneumonia and colon adenocarcinoma. His 100-year-old mother, Celeste, survived him, though she had been in a vegetative state since 2019, and was thus unaware of his death; she would later die in June 2024.^[243] Pelé's sister Maria Lucia do Nascimento described their mother as "in her own little world".^[244]

He had a magnetic presence and, when you were with him, the rest of the world stopped. Today, the whole world mourns the loss of Pelé; the greatest footballer of all time.

—FIFA President, Gianni Infantino^[245]

Tributes were paid by current players, including Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi, along with other major sporting figures, celebrities, and world leaders.^[246]^[247]^[148]^[248] The outgoing Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, declared a three-day period of national mourning.^[249] The national flags of the 211 member associations of FIFA were flown at half-mast at FIFA headquarters in Zürich.^[250] Landmarks and stadiums lit up in honour of Pelé included the Christ the Redeemer statue and Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro,^[251] the headquarters of CONMEBOL in Paraguay^[249] and Wembley Stadium in London.^[252] There was applause and a minute's silence at matches in honour of Pelé.^[253]^[254]

Pelé's funeral, which involved his body being publicly displayed in an open coffin which was draped with the flags of Brazil and Santos FC, began at Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos on 2 January 2023.^[255]^[256]^[257] Thousands of fans flooded the streets to attend the first day of the funeral service,^[258] with some in attendance claiming that they had to wait three hours in line.^[255] The public wake would continue to 3 January,^[259]^[260] and saw more than 230,000 people in attendance.^[261]^[262] Many in attendance were wearing the yellow and green No. 10 Brazilian jerseys and the black and white Santos football club jersey, which Pelé wore during his career.^[263]^[264] Brazil television channels suspended normal broadcasting to cover the funeral procession.^[265] Pelé's wife Marcia Aoki, his son Edinho, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez and president of the Brazilian Football Confederation Ednaldo Rodrigues were among those in attendance.^[266] It would continue on 3 January 2023. Newly sworn in Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was also among those who attended the wake.^[265]^[264] After the funeral procession, Pelé was buried at the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica.^[267]^[268]^[269]

Kigali Pelé Stadium in Rwanda was renamed for him in March 2023 by Rwandan president Paul Kagame and FIFA president Gianni Infantino as part of the 73rd FIFA Congress.^[270]^[271] On 26 April 2023, the nickname pelé became synonymous with "exceptional, incomparable, unique" in Michaelis Portuguese-language dictionary after a campaign with 125,000 signatories.^[272]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]

Pelé's goalscoring record is often reported by FIFA as being 1,281 goals in 1,363 games.^[82] This figure includes goals scored by Pelé in friendly club matches, including international tours Pelé completed with Santos and the New York Cosmos, and a few games Pelé played in for the Brazilian armed forces teams during his national service in Brazil and the state team of São Paulo who competed for the Brazilian Championship of States Teams (Campeonato Brasileiro de Seleções Estaduais).^[273]^[274] He was listed in the Guinness World Records for most career goals scored in football.^[3] In 2000, IFFHS declared Pelé as the "World's Best and successful Top Division Goal Scorer of all time" with 541 goals in 560 games and honoured him with a trophy.^[275]^[276]

The tables below record every goal Pelé scored in official club competitions for Santos FC and all matches and goals for the New York Cosmos.

Santos FC records
Club	Season	Campeonato Paulista		Rio-São Paulo^{[note 6]}		Campeonato Brasileiro Série A^{[note 7]}		Domestic competitions Sub-total		International competitions				Total
		Campeonato Paulista		Rio-São Paulo^{[note 6]}		Campeonato Brasileiro Série A^{[note 7]}		Domestic competitions Sub-total		Copa Libertadores		Intercontinental Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Santos	1956	0*	0*					1	1					1	1
	1957	14+15*	19+17*^{[note 8]}^{[note 9]}	9	5			38*	41*					38*	41*
	1958	38	58	8	8			46	66					46*	66*
	1959^[280]	32	45	7	6	4*	2*	39	51					43*	53*
	1960^[281]	30	33	3	0	0	0	33	33	0	0	0	0	33*	33*
	1961	26	47	7	8	5*	7	33	55	0	0	0	0	38*	62*
	1962	26	37	0	0	5*	2*	26	37	4*	4*	2	5	37*	48*
	1963^[282]	19	22	8	14	4*	8	27	36	4*	5*	1	2	36	51*
	1964	21	34	4	3	6*	7	25	37	0*	0*	0	0	31*	44*
	1965	28	49	7	5	4*	2*	39	54	7*	8	0	0	46*	64*
	1966	14	13	0*	0*	5*	2*	14*	13*	0	0	0	0	19*	15*
	1967	18	17			14*	9*	32*	26*	0	0	0	0	32*	26*
	1968	21	17			17*	12*	38*	28*	0	0	5	1^{[note 10]}	43*	30*
	1969	25	26			12*	12*	37*	38*	0	0	0	0	37*	38*
	1970	15	7			13*	4*	28*	11*	0	0	0	0	28*	11*
	1971	19	6			21	1	40	7	0	0	0	0	40	7
	1972	20	9			16	5	36	14	0	0	0	0	36	14
	1973	19	11			30	19	49	30	0	0	0	0	49	30
	1974	10	1			17	9	27	10	0	0	0	0	27	10
	Total	410	468	53	49	173*	101*	636*	618*	15	17^{[note 11]}	8	8	659	643

* Indicates that the number was deduced from the list of rsssf.com and this list of Pelé games.

New York Cosmos records
Club	Season	League^{[note 12]}		Post season		Other^{[citation needed]}		Total
Club	Season	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
New York Cosmos	1975	9	5	–		14	12	23	17
	1976	22	13	2	2	18	11	42	26
	1977	25	13	6	4	11	6	42	23
Total		56	31	8	6	43	29	107	66

International

[edit]

With 77 goals in 92 official appearances,^{[note 2]} Pelé is the second highest goalscorer of the Brazil national football team.^[82] He scored twelve goals and is credited with ten assists in fourteen World Cup appearances, including four goals and seven assists in 1970.^[23]

International records
Team	Year	Apps	Goals	Goal average
Brazil	1957	2	2	1.00
	1958	7	9	1.28
	1959	9	11	1.22
	1960	6	4	0.67
	1961	0	0	—
	1962	8	8	1.00
	1963	7	7	1.00
	1964	3	2	0.67
	1965	8	9	1.12
	1966	9	5	0.55
	1967	0	0	—
	1968	7	4	0.57
	1969	9	7	0.77
	1970	15	8	0.53
	1971	2	1	0.50
Total		92	77	0.84
Source:^[4]

Honours

[edit]

São Paulo state team

Campeonato Brasileiro de Seleções Estaduais: 1959^[283]^[284]

Santos

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968^[285]
Copa Libertadores: 1962, 1963^[36]^[286]
Intercontinental Cup: 1962, 1963^[287]
Intercontinental Supercup: 1968^[287]
Campeonato Paulista: 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973^{[note 13]}^[289]
Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 1959, 1963, 1964^{[note 14]}

New York Cosmos

North American Soccer League, Soccer Bowl: 1977^[291]
North American Soccer League, Atlantic Conference Championship: 1977^[291]

Brazil

FIFA World Cup: 1958, 1962, 1970^[292]
Taça do Atlântico: 1960^[293]
Roca Cup: 1957, 1963^[294]^[295]
Taça Oswaldo Cruz: 1958, 1962, 1968^[4]^[296]
Copa Bernardo O'Higgins: 1959^[297]

Individual

In December 2000, Pelé and Maradona shared the prize of FIFA Player of the Century by FIFA.^[298] The award was originally intended to be based upon votes in a web poll, but after it became apparent that it favoured Diego Maradona after a reported cyber-blitz by Maradona fans, FIFA then appointed a "Family of Football" committee of FIFA members to decide the winner of the award together with the votes of the readers of the FIFA magazine.^[299] The committee chose Pelé. Since Maradona was winning the Internet poll, however, it was decided he and Pelé should share the award.^[300]

Campeonato Paulista Top Scorer: 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1973^[217]
FIFA World Cup Best Young Player: 1958^[84]
FIFA World Cup Silver Ball: 1958
France Football's Ballon d'Or: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1970 – Le nouveau palmarès (the new winners)^[160]^[301]
South American Championship Best Player: 1959^[86]
South American Championship Top Scorer: 1959^[87]
Copa Bernardo O'Higgins Top Scorer: 1959 (shared with Quarentinha)^[302]^[303]
Gol de Placa: 1961^[304]^[305]
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Top Scorer: 1961, 1963, 1964^[306]
Intercontinental Cup Top Scorer: 1962, 1963^[307]^[308]^[309]
Torneio Rio-São Paulo Top Scorer: 1963^[310]
Copa Libertadores Top Scorer: 1965^[311]
BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year: 1970^[312]
Bola de Prata: 1970^[313]
FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (Best Player): 1970^[82]
South American Footballer of the Year: 1973^[314]
Included in the North American Soccer League (NASL) All-Star team: 1975, 1976, 1977^[315]
NASL Top Assist Provider: 1976^[316]
NASL Most Valuable Player: 1976^[316]
Number 10 retired by the New York Cosmos as a recognition to his contribution to the club: 1977^[317]^[318]
Elected Citizen of the World, by the United Nations: 1977^[319]
International Peace Award: 1978^[320]
Sports Champion of the Century, by L'Équipe: 1981^[321]
FIFA Order of Merit: 1984^[322]
Inducted into the American National Soccer Hall of Fame: 1992^[323]
Elected Goodwill Ambassador, by UNESCO: 1993^[319]
Winner of France Football's World Cup Top-100 1930–1990: 1994^[324]
Marca Leyenda: 1997^[325]
World Team of the 20th Century: 1998^[326]
Football Player of the Century, elected by France Football's Ballon d'Or Winners: 1999^[327]
TIME: One of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century: 1999^[328]
Greatest Player of the 20th Century, by World Soccer: 1999^[329]
Athlete of the Century, by Reuters News Agency: 1999^[330]
Athlete of the Century, elected by International Olympic Committee: 1999^[331]
World Player of the Century, by the IFFHS: 2000^[332]^[333]
South American player of the century, by the IFFHS: 2000^[332]^[333]
FIFA Player of the Century: 2000^[82]
Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award: 2000^[334]
FIFA Centennial Award: 2004^[335]
FIFA 100 Greatest Living Footballers: 2004^[336]
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award: 2005^[337]
Elected best Brazilian player of the century, by the IFFHS: 2006^[338]
FIFA Presidential Award: 2007^[339]
Greatest football player to have ever played the game, by Golden Foot: 2012^[340]
FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur: 2013^[341]
World Soccer Greatest XI of All Time: 2013^[342]
Legends of Football Award: 2013^[343]^[344]
South America's Best Player in History, by L'Équipe: 2015^[345]
Inspiration Award, by GQ: 2017^[346]
Global Citizen Award, by the World Economic Forum: 2018^[347]
FWA Tribute Award: 2018^[348]
Ballon d'Or Dream Team: 2020^[161]
IFFHS All-time Men's Dream Team: 2021^[349]
IFFHS South America Men's Team of All Time: 2021^[350]
Player of History Award: 2022^[351]
FIFA Best Special Award: 2022^[352]

Orders

Knight of the Order of Rio Branco: 1967^[353]
Elected Commander of the Order of Rio Branco after scoring the thousandth goal: 1969^[319]
Officer of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite of the Kingdom of Morocco: 1976^[354]
Awarded with the Order of Champions, by the Organization of Catholic Youth in the USA: 1978^[319]
Awarded the FIFA Order as a tribute to his 80 years as a sports institution: 1984^[319]
Awarded with the Order of Merit of South America, by CONMEBOL: 1984^[319]
He was awarded the National Order of Merit, by the government of Brazil: 1991^[319]
Awarded with the Cross of the Order of the Republic of Hungary: 1994^[319]
Awarded the Order of Military Merit: 1995^[355]^[356]
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (honorary knighthood): 1997^[357]
Awarded with the Order of Cultural Merit, by the government of Brazil: 2004^[358]
Olympic Order, by the International Olympic Committee: 2016^[359]

Records

Highest goals-per-game ratio for Brazil national football team: 0.84^[360]^[361]
Highest goals-per-game ratio of any South American top international scorer: 0.84^[362]
Highest goals-per-game ratio of any leading scorer in the Intercontinental Cup: 2.33^[363]
Most goals in the Intercontinental Cup: 7^[364]^[365]
Most goals for Santos: 643 (in 659 competitive games)^[366]
Most goals for Santos: 1091 (including friendlies)^[367]^[368]
Most appearances for Santos: 1116^[369]^[368]
Most goals within a single Brazilian top-flight league season: 58^[370]
Most goals scored in a single Campeonato Paulista season: 58 (in 38 competitive games,1958)^[371]
Most goals scored in a single Campeonato Paulista match: 8 (1964)^[372]
Most goals scored in Campeonato Paulista history: 466^[365]
Most seasons as Campeonato Paulista Top Scorer: 11^[373]
Most consecutive seasons as Campeonato Paulista Top Scorer: 9 (1957–1965)^[374]^[375]
Most goals in a calendar year (including friendlies, recognised by FIFA): 127 (1959)^[362]
RSSSF record for most top level goals scored in one season (including friendlies): 120 (1959)^[376]
RSSSF record for most seasons with over 100 top level goals scored (including friendlies): 3 (1959, 1961, 1965)^[376]
RSSSF record for most goals scored before the age of 30: 675^[377]
RSSSF record for most top level career goals (including friendlies): 1,274^[378]
Guinness World Record for most career goals in world football (including friendlies): 1,283 (in 1,363 games)^[379]
IFFHS record for most top division league goals: 604^[365]^[380]
IFFHS record for most top level domestic goals: 659^[365]^[380]
Guinness World Record for most hat-tricks in world football: 92^[381]^[382]
Most hat-tricks for Brazil: 7^[383]
Most FIFA World Cup winners' medals: 3 (1958, 1962, 1970)^[379]^[384]
Youngest winner of a FIFA World Cup: aged 17 years and 249 days (1958)^[385]
Youngest goalscorer in a FIFA World Cup: aged 17 years and 239 days (for Brazil vs Wales, 1958)^[82]^[386]
Youngest player to score twice in a FIFA World Cup semi-final: aged 17 years and 244 days (for Brazil vs France, 1958)^[387]
Youngest player to score a hat-trick in a FIFA World Cup: aged 17 years and 244 days (for Brazil vs France, 1958)^[386]^[388]
Youngest player to play in a FIFA World Cup Final: aged 17 years and 249 days (1958)^[389]^[388]
Youngest goalscorer in a FIFA World Cup Final: aged 17 years and 249 days (for Brazil vs Sweden, 1958)^[389]^[388]
Youngest player to score twice in a FIFA World Cup Final: aged 17 years and 249 days (for Brazil vs Sweden, 1958)^[387]
Youngest player to play for Brazil in a FIFA World Cup: aged 17 years and 234 days^[388]
Youngest player to start a knockout match at a FIFA World Cup^[390]
Youngest player to reach five FIFA World Cup knockout stage goals^[391]^[392]
Youngest player to debut for Brazil national football team: aged 16 years and 259 days (Brazil vs Argentina, 1957)^[393]^[394]
Youngest goalscorer for Brazil national football team: aged 16 years and 259 days (Brazil vs Argentina, 1957)^[395]
Youngest Top Scorer in the Campeonato Paulista^[396]
First player to score in three successive FIFA World Cups^[397]
First teenager to score in a FIFA World Cup Final^[398]
One of only five players to have scored in four different FIFA World Cup tournaments^[399]^[400]
One of only five players to have scored in two different FIFA World Cup Finals^[401]
Scored in two FIFA World Cup Finals for winning teams (shared with Vavá)
Most assists provided in FIFA World Cup history: 10 (1958–1970)^[402]
Most assists provided in a single FIFA World Cup tournament: 6 (1970)^[362]
Most assists provided in FIFA World Cup Final matches: 3 (1 in 1958 and 2 in 1970)^[362]
Most assists provided in FIFA World Cup knockout phase: 6 (shared with Messi)^[403]
Most goals from open play in FIFA World Cup Final matches: 3 (2 in 1958 and 1 in 1970) (shared with Vavá, Geoff Hurst and Zinedine Zidane)^[404]
Most FIFA World Cup goal involvements for Brazil^[405]^[406]
Most goals scored in the Copa Bernardo O'Higgins: 3 (shared with Quarentinha)^[407]^[408]
Only player to reach 25 international goals as a teenager^[409]
Only player to score in a FIFA World Cup before turning 18^[409]
Only player to score a hat-trick in a FIFA World cup before turning 18^[410]
Only player to have scored a hat-trick in the Intercontinental Cup^[411]
Only player to have scored a hat-trick in the Copa Bernardo O'Higgins^[412]^[413]

Filmography

[edit]


Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref
1969	Os Estranhos	Plínio Pompeu	TV series	^[414]
1971	O Barão Otelo no Barato dos Bilhões	Dr. Arantes/Himself		^[415]
1972	A Marcha	Chico Bondade		^[416]
1981	Escape to Victory	Corporal Luis Fernandez		^[417]
1983	A Minor Miracle	Himself	Also known as Young Giants	^[417]
1985	Pedro Mico			^[416]
1986	Hotshot	Santos		^[417]
1986	Os Trapalhões e o Rei do Futebol	Nascimento		^[416]^[418]
1989	Solidão, Uma Linda História de Amor			^[416]
2001	Mike Bassett: England Manager	Himself		^[417]^[416]
2016	Pelé: Birth of a Legend	Man sitting in hotel lobby	Cameo appearance	^[419]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

^ According to Pelé, his birth certificate listed 21 October 1940 incorrectly.^[1]
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d This includes a match for Brazil against the rest of the world, which FIFA does not recognise, played for the 10th anniversary of their first World Cup title^[4]^[5]
^ Pelé presumed that it was an insult since the word had no meaning in Portuguese. He discovered in the 2000s that the word meant "miracle" in Hebrew.^[15]
^ The mark was surpassed by Northern Ireland's Norman Whiteside in the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
^ Pelé would stop in the middle of a run-up to a penalty kick before shooting the ball; goalkeepers complained that this gave strikers an unfair advantage, however, and in the 1970s, FIFA banned this move from competitions.^[130]
^ Soccer Europe compiled this list from RSSSF.^[277]
^ Statistics from 1957 to 1974 for the Taça de Prata, Taça Brasil and Copa Libertadores were taken from Soccer Europe website. Soccer Europe lists RSSSF, but do not give a season-by-season breakdown.^[278]
^ In 1957, the Paulista Championship was divided in two phases: Blue Series and White Series. In the first, Pelé scored 19 goals in 14 games, and in the Blue Series, scored 17 goals in 15 games.^[279]
^ This number was inferred from a Santos fixture list from rsssf.com and this list of games Pelé played.
^ Intercontinental Super Cup
^ Statistics from 1957 to 1974 for the Taça de Prata, Taça Brasil and Copa Libertadores were taken from Soccer Europe website. Soccer Europe lists RSSSF, but do not give a season-by-season breakdown.^[278]
^ RSSSF recognize as league goals those scored in NASL, the post season play-offs, Campeonato Paulista goals and the original Campeonato Brazileiro goals (1971–1974). IFFHS has made the same validation in the past.
^ The 1973 Paulista was held jointly with Portuguesa.^[288]^[217]
^ The 1964 Torneio Rio-São Paulo was held jointly with Botafogo.^[290]

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[edit]

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Bibliography

[edit]

Bar-On, Tamir (2014). The World Through Soccer: The Cultural Impact of a Global Sport. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1442234734.
Bellos, Alex (2003). Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life. Bloomsbury. ISBN 0747561796.
Blevins, David (2011). The Sports Hall of Fame Encyclopedia: Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Soccer. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0810861305.
Darby, Paul (2002). Africa, Football, and FIFA: Politics, Colonialism, and Resistance. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0714649686.
Dunmore, Tom (2011). Historical Dictionary of Soccer. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0810873957.
Dunmore, Tom (2015). Encyclopedia of the FIFA World Cup. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0810887435.
"World's Highest Paid Athlete: Brazilian Soccer Star Earns $150,000 a Year". Ebony. Johnson Publishing Company. 1963. OCLC 1567306.
Freedman, Lew (2014). Pelé: A Biography. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1440829819.
Heizer, Teixeira (1997). O jogo bruto das copas do mundo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Mauad Editora Ltda. ISBN 8585756527.
Magill, Frank Northen (1999). Dictionary of World Biography: The 20th century, O–Z. Routledge. ISBN 1579580483.
Marcus, Joe (1976). The World of Pelé. Mason Charter Publishing. p. 200. ISBN 0884053660.
Pelé; Fish, Robert L. (1977). My Life and the Beautiful Game: The Autobiography of Pelé. Doubleday Publishing. ISBN 0385121857.
Pelé (2008). Pelé: The Autobiography. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1847394880.

External links

[edit]

Pelé – FIFA competition record (archived)
Pelé – UEFA competition record (archive)
Pelé at National Soccer Hall of Fame
Pelé: A Legend Looks Back – slideshow by Life magazine
List of Goals for Brazil
Pelé at Santos official website
Pelé at Planet World Cup

Political offices
FIFA World Cup
Preceded by Pinga	Jersey number 10 for Brazil	Succeeded by Rivellino
New ministerial post	Minister of Sports 1 January 1995 – 30 April 1998	Vacant Title next held by Rafael Greca as Minister of Sports and Tourism

Pelé

Football career

Eponym

Media

Films	Pelé Eterno (2004) Pelé: Birth of a Legend (2016) Pelé (2021)
Video games	Pelé's Soccer (1981) Pelé! (1993)
Music	Pelé (1977)
Comics and Animation	Pelezinho (comic book) (1977-1986) Pelezinho (animated series) (1996)

Related people

Dondinho (father)
Edinho (son)

Related topics

Category

Brazil squads

v t e Brazil squad – 1958 FIFA World Cup winners (1st title)
1 Castilho 2 Bellini (c) 3 Gilmar 4 Djalma Santos 5 Dino Sani 6 Didi 7 Zagallo 8 Oreco 9 Zózimo 10 Pelé 11 Garrincha 12 Nílton Santos 13 Moacir 14 De Sordi 15 Orlando 16 Mauro 17 Joel 18 Mazzola 19 Zito 20 Vavá 21 Dida 22 Pepe Coach: Feola

v t e Brazil squad – 1959 South American Championship (Argentina) runners-up
1 Castilho 2 Gilmar 3 Bellini 4 Coronel 5 Djalma Santos 6 Nílton Santos 7 Orlando 8 Paulinho 9 Chinesinho 10 Didi 11 Dino Sani 12 Dorval 13 Esteves 14 Formiga 15 Zito 16 Almir Pernambuquinho 17 Garrincha 18 Henrique 19 Mauro 20 Paulo Valentim 21 Pelé 22 Zagallo Coach: Feola

v t e Brazil squad – 1962 FIFA World Cup winners (2nd title)
1 Gilmar 2 Djalma Santos 3 Mauro (c) 4 Zito 5 Zózimo 6 Nílton Santos 7 Garrincha 8 Didi 9 Coutinho 10 Pelé 11 Pepe 12 Jair Marinho 13 Bellini 14 Jurandir 15 Altair 16 Zequinha 17 Mengálvio 18 Jair 19 Vavá 20 Amarildo 21 Zagallo 22 Castilho Coach: Moreira

v t e Brazil squad – 1966 FIFA World Cup
1 Gilmar 2 Djalma Santos 3 Fidélis 4 Bellini (c) 5 Brito 6 Altair 7 Orlando 8 Paulo Henrique 9 Rildo 10 Pelé 11 Gérson 12 Manga 13 Denílson 14 Lima 15 Zito 16 Garrincha 17 Jairzinho 18 Alcindo 19 Silva 20 Tostão 21 Paraná 22 Edu Coach: Feola

v t e Brazil squad – 1970 FIFA World Cup winners (3rd title)
1 Félix 2 Brito 3 Piazza 4 Carlos Alberto (c) 5 Clodoaldo 6 Marco Antônio 7 Jairzinho 8 Gérson 9 Tostão 10 Pelé 11 Rivellino 12 Ado 13 Roberto 14 Baldocchi 15 Fontana 16 Everaldo 17 Joel 18 Caju 19 Edu 20 Dario 21 Zé Maria 22 Leão Coach: Zagallo

New York Cosmos

New York City

The Club

Stadiums

Culture

Retired numbers

Key personnel

Chairman: Steven Jay Ross
Co-founders: Ahmet Ertegun; Nesuhi Ertegun

Division 1 major honors (12)
League championships (5)	1972 1977 1978 1980 1982
League premierships (7)	1972 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983

Seasons (14)
NASL (1968–84)	1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984

Awards

Preceded by Rod Laver	BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year 1970	Succeeded by Lee Trevino

1958 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament

Media's team

Goalkeeper	Harry Gregg Lev Yashin
Defenders	Orvar Bergmark Djalma Santos Hilderaldo Bellini Nílton Santos Vasilije Šijaković Bobby Evans Bengt Gustavsson
Midfielders	Yuriy Voynov Horst Szymaniak Danny Blanchflower
Forwards	Garrincha Didi Pelé Raymond Kopa Lennart Skoglund Eddie Turnbull Helmut Rahn Just Fontaine Jean Vincent Kurt Hamrin

v t e 1970 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament
Goalkeeper	Ladislao Mazurkiewicz
Defenders	Carlos Alberto Atilio Ancheta Franz Beckenbauer Giacinto Facchetti
Midfielders	Gérson Rivellino Bobby Charlton
Forwards	Pelé Gerd Müller Jairzinho

v t e 1959 South American Championship (Argentina) Team of the Tournament
Goalkeeper	Rafael Asca
Defenders	Mirto Davoine Víctor Benítez Vladislao Cap
Midfielders	Eliseo Mouriño Alcides Silveira
Forwards	Garrincha Didi Vladas Douksas Pelé Raúl Belén

v t e FIFA World Cup Statistical Summary's Best Player
1930: Nasazzi 1934: Meazza 1938: Leônidas 1950: Zizinho 1954: Puskás 1958: Didi 1962: Garrincha 1966: Charlton 1970: Pelé 1974: Cruyff 1978: Kempes

v t e FIFA World Cup Young Player Award
Best Young Player	1958: Pelé 1962: Albert 1966: Beckenbauer 1970: Cubillas 1974: Żmuda 1978: Cabrini 1982: Amoros 1986: Scifo 1990: Prosinečki 1994: Overmars 1998: Owen 2002: Donovan
FIFA Young Player Award	2006: Podolski 2010: Müller 2014: Pogba 2018: Mbappé 2022: Fernández
FIFA Young Player Award was first awarded in 2006.

South American Championship and Copa América top scorers

South American
Championship era

1916: Gradín
1917: Romano
1919: Friedenreich & Neco
1920: Pérez & Romano
1921: Libonatti
1922: Francia
1923: Aguirre & Petrone
1924: Petrone
1925: Seoane
1926: Arellano
1927: Carricaberry, Figueroa, Luna, Petrone & Scarone
1929: González
1935: Masantonio
1937: Toro
1939: Fernández
1941: Marvezzi
1942: Masantonio & Moreno
1945: De Freitas & Méndez
1946: Medina
1947: Falero
1949: Jair
1953: Molina
1955: Micheli
1956: Hormazábal
1957: Ambrois & Maschio
1959 (Argentina): Pelé
1959 (Ecuador): Sanfilippo
1963: Raffo
1967: Artime

Copa América era

1975: E. Díaz & Luque
1979: Morel & Peredo
1983: Aguilera, Burruchaga & Dinamite
1987: Iguarán
1989: Bebeto
1991: Batistuta
1993: Dolgetta
1995: Batistuta & García
1997: Hernández
1999: Rivaldo & Ronaldo
2001: Aristizábal
2004: Adriano
2007: Robinho
2011: Guerrero
2015: Guerrero & Vargas
2016: Vargas
2019: Everton & Guerrero
2021: L. Díaz & Messi
2024: Martínez

v t e South American Championship and Copa América Player of the Tournament
Unofficial award	1916: Gradín 1917: Scarone 1919: Friedenreich 1920: Piendibene 1921: Tesoriere 1922: Fortes 1923: Nasazzi 1924: Petrone 1925: Seoane 1926: Andrade 1927: Seoane 1929: Ferreira 1935: Nasazzi 1937: Mata 1939: Fernández 1941: Livingstone 1942: Varela 1945: Da Guia 1946: Pedernera 1947: Moreno 1949: Ademir 1953: Herrera 1955: Hormazábal 1956: Míguez 1957: Sívori 1959 (Argentina): Pelé 1959 (Ecuador): Silveira 1963: Blacut 1967: Rocha 1975: Cubillas 1979: Caszely 1983: Francescoli
Official award	1987: Valderrama 1989: Sosa 1991: L. Rodríguez 1993: Goycochea 1995: Francescoli 1997: Ronaldo 1999: Rivaldo 2001: Guevara 2004: Adriano 2007: Robinho 2011: Suárez 2015: Messi¹ 2016: Sánchez 2019: Alves 2021: Messi 2024: J. Rodríguez
¹ Messi was given the 2015 award, but rejected it. Argentina's staff was to receive the award.

Copa Libertadores top scorers

1960: Spencer
1961: Panzutto
1962: Coutinho, Raymondi & Spencer
1963: Sanfilippo
1964: Rodríguez
1965: Pelé
1966: Onega
1967: Raffo
1968: Tupãzinho
1969: Ferrero
1970: Bertocchi & Más
1971: Artime & Castronovo
1972: Cubillas, Ramírez, Rojas & Toninho Guerreiro
1973: Caszely
1974: Morena, Rocha & Terto
1975: Morena & Ramírez
1976: Palhinha
1977: Scotta
1978: La Rosa & Scotta
1979: Miltão & Oré
1980: Victorino
1981: Zico
1982: Morena
1983: Luzardo
1984: Tita
1985: Sánchez
1986: de Lima
1987: Gareca
1988: Iguarán
1989: Aguilera & Amarilla
1990: Samaniego
1991: Gaúcho
1992: Palhinha
1993: Almada
1994: Rivas
1995: Jardel
1996: de Ávila
1997: Acosta
1998: Sérgio João
1999: Bonilla, Fernando Baiano, Gauchinho, Morán & Sosa
2000: Luizão
2001: Lopes
2002: Rodrigo Mendes
2003: M. Delgado & Ricardo Oliveira
2004: Luís Fabiano
2005: Salcedo
2006: Aloísio, F. Borja, Calderón, A. Delgado, Ereros, Farías, Fernandão, Marcinho, Nilmar, Montenegro, Pavone, Quinteros, Urrutia & Washington
2007: Cabañas
2008: Cabañas & Moreno
2009: Boselli
2010: Thiago Ribeiro
2011: Nanni & Wallyson
2012: Alustiza & Neymar
2013: Jô
2014: Dos Santos & Olivera
2015: Bou
2016: Calleri
2017: Sand
2018: M. Borja & Morelo
2019: Gabriel
2020: Martínez
2021: Gabriel
2022: Pedro
2023: Cano
2024: Jr. Santos

Torneio Rio–São Paulo top scorers

Campeonato Paulista top scorers

1902: Miller
1903: Boyes
1904: Boyes & Miller
1905: Friese
1906: Friese & Léo
1907: Léo
1908: Léo & Peres
1909: Bibi
1910: Boyes, Eurico & Rubens Salles
1911: Décio
1912: Friedenreich
1913 (APEA): Gilberto
1913 (LPF): Décio
1914 (APEA): Friedenreich
1914 (LPF): Neco
1915 (APEA): Nazaré
1915 (LPF): Facchini
1916 (APEA): Ary, Mariano & Zacchi
1916 (LPF): Apparício
1917: Friedenreich
1918: Friedenreich
1919: Andrada
1920: Neco
1921: Friedenreich
1922: Gambarotta
1923: Feitiço
1924: Feitiço
1925: Feitiço
1926 (APEA): Heitor
1926 (LAF): Araken & Filó
1927 (APEA): Araken
1927 (LAF): Friedenreich
1928 (APEA): Heitor
1928 (LAF): Friedenreich
1929 (APEA): Feitiço
1929 (LAF): Friedenreich & Nabor
1930: Feitiço
1931: Feitiço
1932: Romeu
1933 (APEA): Waldemar de Brito
1933 (FPF): Miguel
1934 (APEA): Romeu
1934 (FPF): Euclydes
1935 (APEA): Figueiredo
1935 (LPF): Teleco
1936 (APEA): Carioca
1936 (LFP): Teleco
1937: Teleco
1938: Elyseo
1939: Teleco
1940: Peixe
1941: Teleco
1942: Milani
1943: Milani
1944: Luisinho
1945: Passarinho & Servílio
1946: Servílio
1947: Servílio
1948: Cilas
1949: Friaça
1950: Pinga
1951: Carbone
1952: Baltazar
1953: Humberto
1954: Humberto
1955: Del Vecchio
1956: Paulo
1957: Pelé
1958: Pelé
1959: Pelé
1960: Pelé
1961: Pelé
1962: Pelé
1963: Pelé
1964: Pelé
1965: Pelé
1966: Toninho Guerreiro
1967: Flávio
1968: Téia
1969: Pelé
1970: Toninho Guerreiro
1971: César Maluco
1972: Toninho Guerreiro
1973: Pelé
1974: Geraldão
1975: Serginho
1976: Sócrates
1977: Serginho
1978: Juary
1979: Luís Fernando
1980: Edmar
1981: Jorge Mendonça
1982: Casagrande
1983: Serginho
1984: Chiquinho & Serginho
1985: Careca
1986: Kita
1987: Edmar
1988: Evair
1989: Toni & Toninho
1990: Alberto, Rubem & Volnei
1991: Raí
1992: Válber
1993: Viola
1994: Evair
1995: Bentinho & Paulinho McLaren
1996: Giovanni
1997: Dodô
1998: França
1999: Alex
2000: França
2001: Washington
2002: Alex Alves
2003: Luís Fabiano
2004: Vágner Love
2005: Finazzi
2006: Nilmar
2007: Somália
2008: Alex Mineiro
2009: Pedrão
2010: Ricardo Bueno
2011: Elano & Liédson
2012: Neymar
2013: William
2014: Alan Kardec, Cícero, Léo Costa & Luís Fabiano
2015: Ricardo Oliveira
2016: Roger
2017: Gilberto & Pottker
2018: Borja
2019: Jean Mota
2020: Ytalo
2021: Mezenga
2022: Ronaldo
2023: Galoppo & Guedes
2024: López
2025: Guilherme

v t e South American Footballer of the Year
Men's winners (Rey de América)
El Mundo award	1971: Tostão 1972: Cubillas 1973: Pelé 1974: Figueroa 1975: Figueroa 1976: Figueroa 1977: Zico 1978: Kempes 1979: Maradona 1980: Maradona 1981: Zico 1982: Zico 1983: Sócrates 1984: Francescoli 1985: Romerito 1986: Maradona 1987: Valderrama 1988: Paz 1989: Maradona 1990: Maradona 1991: Batistuta 1992: Maradona
El Gráfico award	1980: Maradona 1981: Maradona 1982: Zico 1983: Sócrates
El País award	1986: Alzamendi 1987: Valderrama 1988: Paz 1989: Bebeto 1990: Amarilla 1991: Ruggeri 1992: Raí 1993: Valderrama 1994: Cafu 1995: Francescoli 1996: Chilavert 1997: Salas 1998: Palermo 1999: Saviola 2000: Romário 2001: Riquelme 2002: Cardozo 2003: Tevez 2004: Tevez 2005: Tevez 2006: Fernández 2007: Cabañas 2008: Verón 2009: Verón 2010: D'Alessandro 2011: Neymar 2012: Neymar 2013: Ronaldinho 2014: Gutiérrez 2015: Sánchez 2016: Borja 2017: Luan 2018: Martínez 2019: Gabriel 2020: Marinho 2021: Alvarez 2022: Pedro 2023: Cano 2024: Luiz Henrique
Women's winners (Reina de América)
El País award	2021: Tamires 2022: Caicedo 2023: Priscila

v t e Bola de Ouro
Men's
1970: Pelé¹ 1971: Dirceu Lopes² 1973: Ancheta & Cejas 1974: Zico 1975: Waldir Peres 1976: Figueroa 1977: Cerezo 1978: Falcão 1979: Falcão 1980: Cerezo 1981: Paulo Isidoro 1982: Zico 1983: Roberto Costa 1984: Roberto Costa 1985: Marinho 1986: Careca 1987: Renato 1988: Taffarel 1989: Ricardo Rocha 1990: César Sampaio 1991: Mauro Silva 1992: Júnior 1993: César Sampaio 1994: Amoroso 1995: Giovanni 1996: Djalminha 1997: Edmundo 1998: Edílson 1999: Marcelinho Carioca 2000: Romário 2001: Alex Mineiro 2002: Kaká 2003: Alex 2004: Robinho 2005: Tevez 2006: Lucas 2007: Thiago Neves 2008: Rogério Ceni 2009: Adriano 2010: Darío Conca 2011: Neymar 2012: Neymar¹ & Ronaldinho 2013: Éverton Ribeiro 2014: Ricardo Goulart 2015: Renato Augusto 2016: Gabriel Jesus 2017: Jô 2018: Dudu 2019: Gabriel Barbosa 2020: Claudinho 2021: Hulk 2022: Gustavo Scarpa 2023: Suárez 2024: Estêvão
Women's
2021: Bia Zaneratto 2022: Adriana 2023: Aline Gomes 2024: Vic Albuquerque
¹ As Hors concours ² Placar started to give this prize to the best grade holder at Bola de Prata since 1973. In its 2013 ceremonies, a Bola de Ouro was given to Dirceu Lopes, holder of the best 1971 grade. Francisco Reyes and Elías Figueroa, holders of 1970 and 1972 ones respectively, have not been announced as these years' winners yet.

v t e NASL (1968–1984) MVP
1968: Kowalik 1969: Fernández 1970: Metidieri 1971: Metidieri 1972: Horton 1973: Archibald 1974: Silvester 1975: David 1976: Pelé 1977: Beckenbauer 1978: Flanagan 1979: Cruyff 1980: Davies 1981: Chinaglia 1982: Ward 1983: Cabañas 1984: Žungul

v t e 1975 NASL All-Stars
First Team	GK: Bonetti DF: Smith DF: England DF: Roth DF: Quraishi MF: Griffiths MF: Sharp MF: Simões FW: David FW: Pelé FW: Hill
Second Team	GK: Cooper DF: Want DF: Jump DF: Wright DF: Mitchell MF: Powell MF: Boyle MF: Hope FW: Withe FW: Ord FW: Scullion
Honorable Mention	GK: Watling DF: McConville DF: Gillett DF: Day DF: Rowan MF: Sissons MF: Fisher MF: Sühnholz FW: Best FW: Smethurst FW: Graffigna

v t e 1976 NASL All-Stars
First Team	GK: Mausser DF: Eddy DF: Moore DF: T. Smith DF: England MF: Marsh MF: Mifflin MF: Simões FW: Pelé FW: Best FW: Chinaglia
Second Team	GK: Martin DF: Jump DF: Ley DF: Webster DF: B. Smith MF: West MF: Hope MF: Trost FW: Smethurst FW: Bourne FW: Scullion
Honorable Mention	GK: Cimpiel DF: Gillett DF: Spraggon DF: Holton DF: McNab MF: Clements MF: Sühnholz MF: Cooke FW: Robertson FW: Liveric FW: Ord

v t e 1977 NASL All-Stars
First Team	GK: Banks DF: Beckenbauer DF: England DF: Wilson DF: Machin MF: Best MF: Sühnholz MF: West FW: David FW: Pelé FW: Smethurst
Second Team	GK: Mayer DF: Evans DF: Pecher DF: Coelho DF: Ley DF: Auguste MF: Cooke MF: Dimitrijević MF: Marsh FW: Stojanović FW: Wegerle FW: Parsons
Honorable Mention	GK: Chursky DF: Litt DF: McAlister DF: Merrick DF: Day MF: Simões MF: Ntsoelengoe MF: Trost FW: Morgan FW: Chinaglia FW: Robertson

v t e FIFA World Cup All-Time Team
Goalkeeper	Lev Yashin
Defenders	Djalma Santos Franz Beckenbauer Bobby Moore Paul Breitner
Midfielders	Johan Cruyff Michel Platini Bobby Charlton
Forwards	Garrincha Pelé / Ferenc Puskás

v t e World Team of the 20th Century
Goalkeeper	Lev Yashin
Defenders	Carlos Alberto Franz Beckenbauer Bobby Moore Nílton Santos
Midfielders	Johan Cruijff // Alfredo Di Stéfano Michel Platini
Forwards	Garrincha Diego Maradona Pelé

v t e South American Team of the 20th Century
Goalkeeper	Ubaldo Fillol
Defenders	Carlos Alberto Elías Figueroa Daniel Passarella Nílton Santos
Midfielders	Didi / Alfredo Di Stéfano Rivellino
Forwards	Garrincha Diego Maradona Pelé

v t e FIFA World Cup Dream Team
Goalkeeper	Lev Yashin
Defenders	Paolo Maldini Franz Beckenbauer Roberto Carlos
Midfielders	Roberto Baggio Zinedine Zidane Michel Platini Diego Maradona
Forwards	Romário Johan Cruyff Pelé

v t e Copa América Historical Dream Team
José Luis Chilavert Héctor Chumpitaz Alfredo Di Stéfano Marco Etcheverry Elías Figueroa Diego Maradona José Nasazzi Pelé Alberto Spencer Carlos Valderrama Obdulio Varela

Ballon d'Or Dream Team

First Team

Goalkeeper	Lev Yashin
Defenders	Cafu Franz Beckenbauer Paolo Maldini
Midfielders	Diego Maradona Xavi Lothar Matthäus Pelé
Forwards	Lionel Messi Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo

Second Team

Goalkeeper	Gianluigi Buffon
Defenders	Carlos Alberto Franco Baresi Roberto Carlos
Midfielders	/ Alfredo Di Stéfano Andrea Pirlo Frank Rijkaard Zinedine Zidane
Forwards	Garrincha Johan Cruyff Ronaldinho

Third Team

Goalkeeper	Manuel Neuer
Defenders	Philipp Lahm Sergio Ramos Paul Breitner
Midfielders	Michel Platini Johan Neeskens Didi Andrés Iniesta
Forwards	George Best Marco van Basten Thierry Henry

v t e IFFHS Men's World Team of the 20th Century
Goalkeeper	Lev Yashin
Defenders	Franco Baresi Franz Beckenbauer Bobby Moore
Midfielders	Lothar Matthäus Diego Maradona Michel Platini Johan Cruyff
Forwards	/ Ferenc Puskás Pelé // Alfredo Di Stéfano

v t e IFFHS Men's South American Team of the 20th Century
Goalkeeper	Amadeo Carrizo
Defenders	Carlos Alberto Elías Figueroa Daniel Passarella Nílton Santos
Midfielders	Didi Diego Maradona Zico
Forwards	Garrincha Pelé / Alfredo Di Stéfano

IFFHS All-time Men's World Dream Team

Dream Team

Goalkeeper	Lev Yashin
Defenders	Cafu Franz Beckenbauer Franco Baresi Paolo Maldini
Midfielders	Xavi Diego Maradona Johan Cruyff
Forwards	Cristiano Ronaldo Pelé Lionel Messi

B Team

Goalkeeper	Gianluigi Buffon
Defenders	Carlos Alberto Bobby Moore Daniel Passarella Roberto Carlos
Midfielders	Lothar Matthäus Zinedine Zidane Michel Platini
Forwards	Ronaldo Gerd Müller / Alfredo Di Stéfano

v t e IFFHS All-time Men's South American Dream Team
Goalkeeper	Amadeo Carrizo
Defenders	Cafu Elías Figueroa Daniel Passarella Roberto Carlos
Midfielders	Didi Diego Maradona Zico
Forwards	Alfredo Di Stéfano Pelé Lionel Messi

v t e FIFA 100
UEFA	Baggio Ballack Banks Baresi Van Basten Beckenbauer Beckham Bergkamp Bergomi Best Boniek Boniperti Breitner Buffon Butragueño Cantona Ceulemans Charlton Cruyff Dalglish Dasayev Davids Del Piero Desailly Deschamps Emre Eusébio Facchetti Figo Fontaine Gullit Hagi Henry Kahn Keane Keegan R. van de Kerkhof W. van de Kerkhof Klinsmann Kluivert Kopa B. Laudrup M. Laudrup Lineker Luis Enrique Maier Maldini Masopust Matthäus Müller Nedvěd Neeskens Nesta Van Nistelrooy Owen Papin Pfaff Pires Platini Puskás Raúl Rensenbrink Rijkaard Rivera Rossi Rui Costa Rummenigge Rüştü Schmeichel Seedorf Seeler Shearer Shevchenko Stoichkov Šuker Thuram Totti Trésor Trezeguet Van der Elst Vieira Vieri Zidane Zoff
CONMEBOL	Carlos Alberto Batistuta Cafu Crespo Cubillas Di Stéfano Falcão Figueroa Francescoli Júnior Kempes Maradona Passarella Pelé Rivaldo Rivelino Roberto Carlos Romário Romerito Ronaldinho Ronaldo Djalma Santos Nílton Santos Saviola Sívori Sócrates Valderrama Verón Zamorano Zanetti Zico
CAF	Diouf Milla Okocha Abedi Pelé Weah
CONCACAF	Akers Hamm Sánchez
AFC	Hong M.B. Nakata

v t e Golden Foot Legends Award
2003	Eusébio Fontaine Maradona Rivera
2004	Di Stéfano Platini Zoff
2005	Best Gento Riva Rivellino Weah
2006	Facchetti Ghiggia Kopa Puskás Zico
2007	Kempes Müller Romário Rossi Stoichkov
2008	Aldair Belanov Suárez Zidane
2009	Blokhin Boniek Higuita Rummenigge Nílton Santos
2010	Antognoni Beckenbauer Dunga Sánchez Varallo
2011	Figo Gullit Madjer Abedi Pele Zanetti
2012	Baresi Cantona Matthäus Pelé
2013	Ardiles Papin Valderrama
2014	Hamm Milla Nakata Panenka Pfaff Şükür
2015	Dasayev Hagi Passarella Trezeguet
2016	De Boer Deco Puyol Ranieri
2017	Desailly Kahn Li Mancini Owen
2018	Deschamps Leonardo Lippi Pirlo Seedorf
2019	Altafini Falcão Vieira Morace
2021	Alves Maldini Netzer Oriali Smith
2022	Butragueño Terim Verón
2024	Cannavaro Costa Krol Llorente Piqué

v t e Ballon d'Or Special awards
France Football magazine awards
Honorary Ballon d'Or	1989 (Super Ballon d'Or): / Di Stéfano 1995 (Golden Ballon d'Or): Maradona 2013 (FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur): Pelé
Football Player of the Century	1st: Pelé 2nd: Maradona 3rd: Cruyff 4th: / Di Stéfano 5th: Platini
Internationalized reevaluation	1958: Pelé 1959: Pelé 1960: Pelé 1961: Pelé 1962: Garrincha 1963: Pelé 1964: Pelé 1970: Pelé 1978: Kempes 1986: Maradona 1990: Maradona 1994: Romário
Ballon d'Or additional awards (Ballon d'Or Féminin, Kopa Trophy, Yashin Trophy, Gerd Müller Trophy, Ballon d'Or Dream Team) Related awards (French Player of the Year, FIFA Ballon d'Or (2010–2015), FIFA World Player of the Year (1991–2009), The Best FIFA Men's Player)

FWA Tribute Award

1983: Greenwood
1984: Paisley
1985: Brooking
1986: Jennings
1987: Dalglish
1988: Finney
1989: Charlton
1990: Moore
1991: Shilton
1992: Bo. Robson
1993: Clough
1994: Law
1995: Matthews
1996: Ferguson
1997: Lineker
1998: Hurst
1999: Smith
2000: Best
2001: Shearer
2002: Taylor
2003: Adams
2004: Hill
2005: Wenger
2006: Br. Robson
2007: Giggs
2008: Beckham
2009: Redknapp
2010: Lampard
2011: Henry
2012: Neville & Scholes
2013: Gerrard
2014: Mourinho
2015: Drogba
2016: Vieira
2017: Rooney
2018: Pelé
2019: Southgate
2020: Kompany
2021: Rashford
2023: Touré
2024: Hayes

v t e Brazilian Football Museum – Hall of Fame
Ademir Bebeto Carlos Alberto Torres Chico Didi Djalma Santos Falcão Garrincha Gérson Gilmar Jairzinho Julinho Nílton Santos Pelé Rivaldo Rivellino Roberto Carlos Romário Ronaldinho Ronaldo Sócrates Taffarel Tostão Vavá Zagallo Zico Zizinho
Honorable mentions: Domingos da Guia Leônidas

Members of the National Soccer Hall of Fame

Players

Builders

BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year

1960: Herb Elliott
1961: Valeriy Brumel
1962: Donald Jackson
1963: Jacques Anquetil
1964: Abebe Bikila
1965: Ron Clarke & Gary Player
1966: Eusébio & Garfield Sobers
1967: George Moore
1968: Ludmila Belousova & Oleg Protopopov
1969: Rod Laver
1970: Pelé
1971: Lee Trevino
1972: Olga Korbut
1973: Muhammad Ali
1974: Muhammad Ali
1975: Arthur Ashe
1976: Nadia Comăneci
1977: Niki Lauda
1978: Muhammad Ali
1979: Björn Borg
1980: Jack Nicklaus
1981: Chris Evert
1982: Jimmy Connors
1983: Carl Lewis
1984: Seve Ballesteros
1985: Boris Becker
1986: Greg Norman
1987: Martina Navratilova
1988: Steffi Graf
1989: Mike Tyson
1990: Mal Meninga
1991: Mike Powell
1992: Andre Agassi
1993: Greg Norman
1994: Brian Lara
1995: Jonah Lomu
1996: Evander Holyfield & Michael Johnson
1997: Martina Hingis
1998: Mark O'Meara
1999: Maurice Greene
2000: Tiger Woods
2001: Goran Ivanišević
2002: Ronaldo
2003: ~~Lance Armstrong~~
2004: Roger Federer
2005: Shane Warne
2006: Roger Federer
2007: Roger Federer
2008: Usain Bolt
2009: Usain Bolt
2010: Rafael Nadal
2011: Novak Djokovic
2012: Usain Bolt
2013: Sebastian Vettel
2014: Cristiano Ronaldo
2015: Dan Carter
2016: Simone Biles
2017: Roger Federer
2018: Francesco Molinari
2019: Eliud Kipchoge
2020: Khabib Nurmagomedov
2021: Rachael Blackmore
2022: Lionel Messi
2023: Erling Haaland
2024: Armand Duplantis

Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award

2000: Pelé
2001: Steve Redgrave
2002: Peter Blake
2003: Gary Player
2004: Arne Næss Jr.
2005: No award
2006: Johan Cruyff
2007: Franz Beckenbauer
2008: Sergey Bubka
2009: No award
2010: Nawal El Moutawakel
2011: Zinedine Zidane
2012: Bobby Charlton
2013: Sebastian Coe
2014: No award
2015: No award
2016: Niki Lauda
2017: No award
2018: Edwin Moses
2019: Arsène Wenger
2020: Dirk Nowitzki
2021: Billie Jean King
2022: Tom Brady
2023: No award
2024: No award
2025: Kelly Slater

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award

1996: Frank Bruno
1997: Seve Ballesteros
1998: No award
1999: No award
2000: No award
2001: Alex Ferguson
2002: George Best
2003: Martina Navratilova
2004: Ian Botham
2005: Pelé
2006: Björn Borg
2007: Bobby Robson
2008: Bobby Charlton
2009: Seve Ballesteros
2010: David Beckham
2011: Steve Redgrave
2012: Sebastian Coe
2013: No award
2014: Chris Hoy
2015: Tony McCoy
2016: Michael Phelps
2017: Jessica Ennis-Hill
2018: Billie Jean King
2019: Tanni Grey-Thompson
2020: No award
2021: Simone Biles
2022: Usain Bolt
2023: Kenny Dalglish

v t e Order of Cultural Merit (Brazil)
1995	Antônio Carlos Magalhães Celso Furtado Fernanda Montenegro Joãosinho Trinta Jorge Amado José Mindlin José Sarney Nascimento Brito Nise da Silveira Pietro Maria Bardi Ricardo Gribel Roberto Marinho
1996	Athos Bulcão Bibi Ferreira Carybé Carlos Eduardo Moreira Ferreira Edemar Cid Ferreira Francisco Brennand Franco Montoro Jens Olesen Joel Mendes Rennó Max Justo Guedes Mestre Didi Nélida Piñon Olavo Setúbal Padre Vaz Sérgio Motta Walter Salles
1997	Adélia Prado Antônio Poteiro Antônio Salgado Braguinha David Assayag Diogo Pacheco Dona Lenoca Fayga Ostrower Gilberto Chateaubriand Gilberto Ferrez Helena Severo Hilda Hilst Jorge da Cunha Lima Jorge Gerdau José Ermírio de Moraes José Safra Lúcio Costa Luís Carlos Barreto Mãe Olga do Alaketu Marcos Vilaça Maria Clara Machado Robert Broughton Ubiratan Aguiar Wladimir Murtinho
1998	Abram Szajman Altamiro Carrilho Antônio Britto Ariano Suassuna Carlos Diegues Décio de Almeida Prado Franz Weissmann João Carlos Martins José Hugo Celidônio Lily Marinho Mãe Cleusa Millet Milu Villela Miguel Jorge Dona Neuma Octavio Frias Olavo Monteiro de Carvalho Paulo Autran Paulo César Ximenes Roseana Sarney Ruth Rocha Ruy Mesquita Sebastião Salgado Walter Hugo Khouri Zenildo Gonzaga Zoroastro de Lucena
1999	Abraham Koogan Almir Gabriel Aloysio Faria Ana Maria Diniz Angel Vianna Antônio Houaiss Beatriz Pimenta Camargo Ecyla Brandão Enrique Iglesias Esther Bertoletti Hélio Jaguaribe Hermínio Bello de Carvalho J. Borges João Antunes Mãe Stella de Oxóssi Maria Cecília Geyer Maria Delith Balaban Mário Covas Paixão Côrtes Paulo Fontainha Geyer Romero Magalhães Washington Novaes
2000	Ana Maria Machado Angela Gutierrez Dom Geraldo Dalal Achcar Edino Krieger Elizabeth D'Angelo Serra Firmino Ferreira Sampaio Neto Siron Franco Gianfrancesco Guarnieri Gilberto Gil José Alves Antunes Filho Luiz Henrique da Silveira Luiz Sponchiato Maria João Bustorff Mário Miguel Nicola Garófalo Martinho da Vila Nelson José Pinto Freire Paulo Tarso Flecha de Lima Plínio Pacheco Rodrigo Pederneiras Barbosa Ruth Escobar Sabine Lovatelli Sérgio Paulo Rouanet Sérgio Amaral Thomaz Farkas Tizuka Yamasaki Zezé Motta
2001	Arthur Moreira Lima Catherine Tasca Célia Procópio de Araújo Carvalho Euclides Menezes Ferreira Dona Zica Fernando Faro G.R.E.S. Império Serrano G.R.E.S. Portela G.R.E.S. Vila Isabel G.R.E.S. Mangueira Haroldo Costa Hermínio Bello de Carvalho Henri Philippe Reichstul Hildmar Diniz Ivo Abrahão Nesralla Jamelão João Câmara Filho Luciana Stegagno Picchio Luís Antônio Viana Lygia Fagundes Telles Manuel Salustiano Soares Milton Gonçalves Milton Nascimento Paulinho da Viola Pilar del Castillo Purificación Carpinteyro Calderón Sari Bermúdez Sheila Copps Synésio Scofano Fernandes Thiago de Mello Yvonne Lara da Costa
2002	Alberto Alves da Silva Ana Botafogo Candace Slater Carlos Roberto Faccina Centro Cultural Pró-Música Dalva Lazaroni Dominguinhos Dona Lucinha EDUSP Eduardo Baptista Vianna Frances Marinho George Savalla Gomes Guillermo O'Donnell G.R.E.S. Camisa Verde e Branco G.R.E.S. Vai Vai Henry Sobel Jack Leon Terpins João Filgueiras Jon M. Tolman Júlio Neves Julio Landmann Kabengele Munanga Lima Duarte Maria Della Costa Marlui Miranda Mestre Juca Niède Guidon Paulo Evaristo Arns Renato Borghetti Roberto Carlos Roberto DaMatta Sergio Kobayashi Silvio Barbato SBB Tania Mariza Kuchenbecker Rösing Vitae – Apoio à Cultura, Educação e Promoção Social
2003	Afro Reggae Agostinho da Silva Aloísio Magalhães Antônio Nóbrega Ary Barroso ABC-SERRA Bené Fonteles Benedito Nunes Boi Caprichoso Boi Garantido Candido Portinari Carmen Costa Casseta & Planeta Chico Buarque de Holanda Coral dos Guarani Dorival Caymmi Eduardo Bueno Gilberto Mendes Grupo Ponto de Partida e o coro Meninos de Araçuaí Haroldo de Campos Herbert Vianna João Pequeno Jongo da Serrinha Jorge Mautner Maria Judith Zuzarte Cortesão Luiz Costa Lima Mangueira do Amanhã Manoel de Barros Marília Pêra Milton Santos Moacyr Scliar Nelson Pereira dos Santos Projeto Axé Projeto Guri Rita Lee Roberto Farias Rogério Sganzerla Rubinho do Vale Velha Guarda da Portela Zezé Di Camargo & Luciano
2004	Alberto da Costa e Silva Angeli Arnaldo Carrilho Caetano Veloso Candombe do Açude Companhia Barrica Cordão da Bola Preta Danilo Miranda Fernando Sabino Frans Krajcberg Franco Fontana Fundação Casa Grande Geraldo Sarno Inezita Barroso João Donato José Júlio Pereira Cordeiro Blanco Lia de Itamaracá Liz Calder Márcia Haydée Mauricio de Sousa Movimento Arte contra a Barbárie Odete Lara Olga Praguer Coelho Orlando Villas-Bôas Ozualdo Candeias Paulo José Paulo Mendes da Rocha Pelé Povo Panará, Mato Grosso e Pará Pracatum Projeto Dança Comunidade Pulsar Companhia de Dança Rachel de Queiroz Renato Russo As Ceguinhas de Campina Grande Teatro Oficina Violeta Arraes Vó Maria Walter Firmo Waly Salomão
2005	Alfredo Bosi Ana das Carrancas Antonio Jerônimo de Meneses Neto Antonio Manuel Lima Dias Augusto Boal Augusto Carlos da Silva Teles Pinduca Ballet Stagium Carlos Lopes CUCA/UNE Cleyde Yáconis Clóvis Moura Darcy Ribeiro Eduardo Coutinho Egberto Gismonti Eliane Lage Grupo Bandolins de Oeiras Henri Salvador Isabel Mendes da Cunha João Gilberto José Antônio de Almeida Prado José Mojica Marins Lino Rojas Manuel dos Reis Machado Maria Bethânia Mario Augusto de Berredo Carneiro Maurice Capovilla Dona Militana Movimento Manguebeat Museu Casa do Pontal Nei Lopes Nino Fernandes Olivério Ferreira Paulo Linhares Roger Avanzi Ruth de Souza Silviano Santiago Vicente Joaquim Ferreira Pastinha Ziraldo
2006	Amir Haddad Banda de Pífanos de Caruaru Berthold Zilly Casa de Cultura Tainã CEASM Conselho Internacional de Museus Cora Coralina Curt Meyer-Clason Daniel Munduruku Dino Garcia Carrera Dona Teté Cacuriá Emmanuel Nassar Escola de Museologia da UniRio Feira do Livro de Porto Alegre Fernando Birri Grupo Corpo Henry Thorau Intrépida Trupe Johannes Odenthal José Mindlin Josué de Castro Júlio Bressane Laura Cardoso Lauro César Muniz Lygia Martins Costa Luiz Phelipe de Carvalho Castro Andrés Mário Cravo Neto Mário de Andrade Mário Pedrosa Mestre Eugênio Mestre Verequete Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte Moacir Santos MAX Paulo César Saraceni Pompeu Christovam de Pina Racionais MC's Ray-Güde Mertin Rodrigo Melo Franco Sábato Magaldi Santos Dumont Sivuca Tânia Andrade Lima Teodoro Freire Tomie Ohtake Vladimir Carvalho
2007	Abdias Nascimento Álvaro Siza Vieira Antônio Carlos Jobim Associação Cultural Cachuera Banda Cabaçal dos Irmãos Aniceto Bárbara Heliodora Cacique Raoni Cartola Celine Imbert Cildo Meireles Castelo Rá-Tim-Bum Claude Lévi-Strauss Clube do Choro de Brasília Dodô e Osmar Escola de Circo Picolino Glauber Rocha Grande Otelo Grupo Nós do Morro Hermilo Borba Filho Lina Bo Bardi Lia Robatto Luiz Gonzaga Luiz Otavio Souza Santos Luiz Mott José Aparecido de Oliveira Jean-Claude Bernardet Jorge Benjor Judith Malina Kanuá Kamayurá Marcelo Grassmann Moniz Bandeira Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi Orides Fontela Oscar Niemeyer Ronaldo Fraga Selma do Coco Sérgio Britto Solano Trindade Tônia Carrero Tostão Vânia Toledo Walter Smetak
2008	Ailton Krenak Altemar Dutra Anselmo Duarte Athos Bulcão Benedito Ruy Barbosa Bule-Bule Carlos Lyra Claudia Andujar Dulcina de Moraes Edu Lobo Efigênia Ramos Rolim Eva Todor Goiandira do Couto Guimarães Rosa Hans-Joachim Koellreutter João Candido Portinari Johnny Alf Leonardo Villar Maria Bonomi Marlene Mercedes Sosa Milton Hatoum Nelson Triunfo Marcantônio Vilaça Otávio Afonso Orlando Miranda Paulo Emílio Sales Gomes Paulo Moura Pixinguinha Roberto Corrêa Ruy Guerra Sérgio Ricardo Tatiana Belinky Teresa Aguiar Vicente Salles Zabé da Loca Apiwtxa ABGLT ABI Associação Comunidade Yuba Centro Cultural Piollin Coletivo Nacional de Cultura do MST Giramundo Teatro de Bonecos Instituto Baccarelli Mestres da Guitarrada Música no Museu Quasar Cia de Dança
2009	Aderbal Freire Filho Afoxé Filhos de Gandhy Alexandre Wollner Ângela Maria Ataulfo Alves Balé Popular do Recife Beatriz Sarlo Bispo do Rosário Boaventura de Sousa Santos Carlos Manga Carmen Miranda Chico Anysio Deborah Colker Davi Kopenawa Yanomami Elifas Andreato Fernanda Abreu Fernando Peixoto Fundação Iberê Camargo Gerson King Combo Gilvan Samico Heleny Guariba Instituto Olga Kos de Inclusão Cultural Ivaldo Bertazzo José Eduardo Agualusa José Miguel Wisnik Laerte Coutinho Luiz Olimecha Lydia Hortélio Mamulengo Só-Riso Manoel de Oliveira Maria Lúcia Godoy Maracatu Estrela de Ouro de Aliança Mestre Vitalino Mia Couto Miguel Rio Branco Nathalia Timberg Ney Matogrosso Noca da Portela Os Gêmeos Patativa do Assaré Paulo Vanzolini Paulo Bruscky Raul Seixas Roberto Burle Marx Sérgio Rodrigues Teatro Vila Velha ONG Video nas Aldeias Walmor Chagas Zeca Pagodinho
2010	Andrea Tonacci Anna Bella Geiger Armando Nogueira Azelene Kaingang Cândido Mendes de Almeida Carlos Drummond de Andrade Carlota Albuquerque Cazuza Cesária Évora Companhia de Danças Folclóricas Aruanda Demônios da Garoa Denise Stoklos Época de Ouro Escuela Internacional de Cine y Televisión Gal Costa Glória Pires Hermeto Pascoal Ilo Krugli Ismael Ivo Ítalo Rossi Jaguar João Cabral de Melo Neto João Carlos de Souza Gomes Joaquim Nabuco Joênia Wapixana Lavadeiras de Almenara Leon Cakoff Leonardo Boff Lira Ceciliana Maracatu Estrela Brilhante de Igarassú Mário Gruber Correia Maureen Bisilliat Maurício Segall Mestre Alberto da Paz Moacir Werneck de Castro Nelson Rodrigues Pedro Casaldáliga Rogério Duarte Tonico Vinicius de Moraes
2011	Academia Brasileira de Letras Adriana Varejão Afonso Borges Ana Montenegro Antônio Nóbrega Antônio Pitanga Apolônio Melônio Associação Capão Cidadão Associação dos Artesãos de Santana do Araçuaí Beth Carvalho Campos de Carvalho Capiba Casa de Produtos Indígenas Wariró Central Única das Favelas Clarice Lispector Claudett de Jesus Ribeiro Dançando para não dançar Dzi Croquettes Espedito Seleiro Evando dos Santos Festival de Dança de Joinville Festival Santista de Teatro Glênio Bianchetti Grupo Galpão Gustavo Dahl Héctor Babenco Helena Kolody Herbert de Sousa Ítala Nandi Jair Rodrigues João do Vale João das Neves José Renato Pécora Leila Diniz Lélia Abramo Luiz Melodia Lygia Bojunga Nunes Maracatu Estrela de Tracunhaém Mário Lago Memorial Jesuíta Unisinos Nelson Cavaquinho Paulo Freire Paulo Gracindo Quinteto Violado Samba de Cumbuca Teatro Tablado Tereza Costa Rêgo Vik Muniz Valdemar de Oliveira Zuzu Angel
2012	Abelardo da Hora Aguinaldo Silva Alceu Valença Almir Narayamoga Suruí Amácio Mazzaropi Anna Muylaert Associação Carnavalesca Bloco Afro Olodum Autran Dourado Breno Silveira Carlos Alberto Cerqueira Lemos Cleodes Maria Piazza Julio Ribeiro Dener Pamplona de Abreu Elba Ramalho Fafá de Belém Felipe Schaedler Hebe Camargo Herivelto Martins Humberto Piva Campana and Fernando Piva Campana Escola de Dança e Integração Social Para Criança e Adolescente Fundação Municipal de Artes de Montenegro Ifigênia Rosa de Oliveira Isay Weinfeld Ismail Xavier Jorge Amado José Sarney Marieta Severo Mário Schenberg Martha Medeiros Miguel Chikaoka Milton Guran Movimento Gay de Minas Museu de Valores do Banco Central Museu Histórico Nacional Orquestra Popular da Bomba do Hemetério Orlando Orfei Paulo Goulart Plínio Marcos Raquel Trindade Regina Casé Rose Marie Muraro Senor Abravanel
2013	Antônio Abujamra Antônio Fagundes Antunes Filho Associação de Sambadores e Sambadeiras do Estado da Bahia Bárbara Paz Carlos Diegues Daniel Munduruku Dona Zica Eleazar de Carvalho Erasmo Carlos Grupo de Dança Primeiro Ato Grupo Gay da Bahia Hélio Cabral Henfil Ilê ayê Ivan Lins Laerte Coutinho Lucy Barreto Maracambuco Maria Adelaide Amaral Maria Cândido Marlos Nobre Maurice Capovilla Mira Haar Naná Vasconcelos Nilcemar Nogueira Paulo Archias Mendes da Rocha Paulo Borges Roberto Pires Ronaldo Correia de Brito Rosa Maria dos Santos Alves Rubem Braga Sérgio Mamberti Sociedade Junina Bumba Meu Boi da Liberdade Tomie Ohtake Walda Marques Walter Pinto
2014	Alex Atala Alexandre Herchcovitch Bernardo Paz Bruno e Marrone Celso Frateschi Chico de Assis Eliane Potiguara Henricredo Coelho Hermano Vianna Jenner Augusto José Carlos Meirelles Júlio Medaglia Mano Brown Marisa Monte Matheus Nachtergaele Ogã Bangbala Orlando Senna Oskar Metsavaht Patrícia Pillar Paulo Martins Tião Oleiro Vange Leonel
2015	Adylson Godoy Ailton Krenak Aldyr Schlee Antônio Araújo Arnaldo Antunes As Ceguinhas de Campina Grande Augusto de Campos Casa de Cinema de Porto Alegre Centro de Memória do Circo Cesare La Rocca Comissão Guarani Yvyrupa Daniela Mercury Davi Kopenawa Yanomami Eva Schul Humberto Teixeira Italo Campofiorito Mestre João Grande José Mourão Luís Humberto Mãe Beth de Oxum Marcelo Yuka Niède Guidon Paulo Herkenhoff Rolando Boldrin Ruy Cezar Sociedade Musical Curica Sônia Guajajara Tribo de Atuadores Uruhu Mehinako Vanisa Santiago Vera Tostes Walter Carvalho
2016	Abel Gomes Alcymar Monteiro Ana Mae Barbosa Andrucha Waddington Beatriz Milhazes Carlinhos de Jesus Carlos Alberto Serpa de Oliveira Carlos Vereza Clementina de Jesus Dona Ivone Lara Donga Fernando Meirelles Ferreira Gullar Focus Cia. De Dança Fred Gelli Fundação Darcy Ribeiro Grupo Teatro da Laje Instituto Ricardo Brennand Isaurinha Garcia Ismael Silva Jorge Aragão Jovelina Pérola Negra Maracatu Feminino Coração Nazareno Marcus Faustini Mauro Mendonça Museu do Samba Neguinho da Beija-Flor Nelson Sargento Noel Rosa Papete Ricardo Cravo Albin Rildo Hora Rosa Magalhães Rosa Maria Araújo Silas de Oliveira Vik Muniz
2017	Afonso Oliveira Ana Maria Nobrega Miranda Augusto Marzagão Beto Kelner Boni Carla Camurati Carlos Tufvesson Cláudia Costin Domingo Alzugaray Dona Onete Eduardo Portella Eduardo Saron Nunes Fernando Alterio Galo da Madrugada Genival Lacerda Ivo Barroso Jair de Souza Luciane Gorgulho Luis Severiano Ribeiro Luiz Calainho Marcelo Bertini Marcelo Bratke Marcelo Dantas Maria Ignez Mantovani Moeller & Botelho Produções Artísticas Mãe Neide Oyá D´Oxum Paulo Cruz Pierre André Mantovani Renato Aragão Ricardo Amaral Roberto Minczuk Roberto Santucci
2018	Abelardo Barbosa Antonio Mazzafera Biblioteca Oliveira Lima Bruno Wainer Carlos Saldanha Carlos Vereza Dedé Santana Eva Sopher Eva Wilma Festival Villa Mix Guilherme Fiuza Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro Jorge Caldeira José Bonifácio Kati Almeida Braga King's Brazil Institute Luiz Oscar Niemeyer Marcelo Castello Branco Marcio Fraccaroli Martim Vasques da Cunha Milton Gonçalves Monah Delacy Museu de Arte de São Paulo Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo Museu da Gente Sergipana Orquestra Filarmônica de Minas Gerais Roberto Teixeira da Costa Saulo Ferreira Sérgio Mendes Sérgio Mielniczenko Thiago Soares Trio Roraimeira Vó Mera Wanda Sá

v t e Time 100: The Most Important People of the 20th Century
Leaders & revolutionaries	David Ben-Gurion Winston Churchill Mahatma Gandhi Mikhail Gorbachev Adolf Hitler Ho Chi Minh Pope John Paul II Ruhollah Khomeini Martin Luther King Jr. Vladimir Lenin Nelson Mandela Mao Zedong Ronald Reagan Eleanor Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Margaret Sanger Margaret Thatcher Unknown Tiananmen Square rebel Lech Wałęsa
Artists & entertainers	Louis Armstrong Lucille Ball The Beatles Marlon Brando Coco Chanel Charlie Chaplin Le Corbusier Bob Dylan T. S. Eliot Aretha Franklin Martha Graham Jim Henson James Joyce Pablo Picasso Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein Bart Simpson Frank Sinatra Steven Spielberg Igor Stravinsky Oprah Winfrey
Builders & titans	Stephen Bechtel Sr. Leo Burnett Willis Carrier Walt Disney Henry Ford Bill Gates Amadeo Giannini Ray Kroc Estée Lauder William Levitt Lucky Luciano Louis B. Mayer Charles E. Merrill Akio Morita Walter Reuther Pete Rozelle David Sarnoff Juan Trippe Sam Walton Thomas J. Watson Jr.
Scientists & thinkers	Leo Baekeland Tim Berners-Lee Rachel Carson Albert Einstein Philo Farnsworth Enrico Fermi Alexander Fleming Sigmund Freud Robert H. Goddard Kurt Gödel Edwin Hubble John Maynard Keynes Leakey family Jean Piaget Jonas Salk William Shockley Alan Turing Francis Crick & James Watson Ludwig Wittgenstein Wright brothers
Heroes & icons	Muhammad Ali The American G.I. Lady Diana Spencer Anne Frank Billy Graham Che Guevara Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay Helen Keller Kennedy family Bruce Lee Charles Lindbergh Harvey Milk Marilyn Monroe Emmeline Pankhurst Rosa Parks Pelé Jackie Robinson Andrei Sakharov Mother Teresa Bill W.

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