top 10 greatest football players of all time - 2 - Pele

10 November 2011 09:06

The origin of the phrase 'The Beautiful Game' has been attributed to many people but best describes the playing style and ethos of Brazil and in particular Pelé. Hold on a minute I hear you say, Pelé isn't number one? Yes I do agree he is is the greatest but I am looking for the greatest legacy to the modern game and believe there is another stronger candidate.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, more popularly known as Pelé, or 'The King Pelé', or 'The King of Football'. Like many footballers, Pelé has claimed to be the greatest footballer of all time, saying he was born for football in the same way that ‘Beethoven was born for music’. Unlike many other footballers, however, a lot of people agree with him, and in 2000 he received a FIFA award declaring him, alongside Diego Maradona, the greatest player in the history of the game.


Honours: In 1999, he was voted as the Football Player of the Century by the IFFHS International Federation of Football History and Statistics. In the same year French weekly magazine France-Football consulted their former "Ballon D'Or" winners to elect the Football Player of the Century. Pelé came in first position. In 1999 the International Olympic Committee named Pelé the "Athlete of the Century". In his career he scored 760 official goals, 541 in league championships, making him the top scorer of all time. In total Pelé scored 1281 goals in 1363 games.

World Cup (3) 1958, 1962, 1970



Full nameEdison Arantes do Nascimento
Date of birth23 October 1940
Place of birthTrês Corações, Brazil
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing positionForward

Pele image



Source: DSG