Pele Has Turned 80

Misbar has discovered that soccer-great Pele, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, turned 80 on Friday, Oct. 23 according to ESPN.com.  Pele remains the only man in history to win three World Cups. According to CNN.com, Pele was born in 1940 in Tres Coracoes, an inland city about 350 kilometers (220 miles) northwest of Rio de Janiero, Brazil. He grew up poor, playing barefoot with improvised balls made of coconuts or balls of socks.

By the age of 14, Pele started playing for Sao Paulo's Baura Athletic Club. Two years later he was playing professional soccer. He averaged nearly a goal a game for the Brazilian soccer club, quickly earning a reputation as one of the best players ever produced in the country. His record still stands of being Brazil's all-time leading scorer with 77 goals according to MSN.com. He was also the youngest goal-scorer in World Cup history. In 2000, FIFA named Pele as its Player of the Century, an honor he shared with Argentina's Diego Maradona.

Pele played his last soccer game more than forty years ago. These days, according to CNN.com, Pele is in good spirits and uses a walker to get around following complications from a hip surgery. 

Due to Covid-19, Pele will celebrate his birthday in isolation at home in Brazil. According to Reuters.com, Pele sent a short video to the media to mark his 80th: “Now that I am 80, I need to thank God for giving me the health to get this far, and lucidly, although not always intelligently.”