Pelé (2021)

Looks back at the extraordinary 12-year period in which Pelé, the only man to win three World Cup titles, went from young superstar in 1958 to national hero in 1970: a radical yet turbulent era in Brazil's history. 1970 world cup in Mexico. Pele is under a lot of pressure. His form has declined, and age is not on his side.

The pressure is building, and Pele hated it. Pele was born in 1940 in Brazil. Brazil was a poor and a developing country. His father was a footballer with nickname Dondinho. Maria Lucia is Pele's sister. Pele always looked up to his father and wanted to play football. His father got injured and the club stopped paying him, so Pele got a job polishing boots. Pele never thought he would become a famous footballer. Dondinho delivered Pele could become a great footballer and moved the family to Santos, which had a football club. Pepe and Dorval recognized Pele's talent from the get-go. He was called up for the 1958 world cup in Sweden. Brazil wasn't known for football, and they weren't the favorites. People were astonished to see a black man (as they had never seen one before)1950 world cup was in Brazil and there were great hopes that Brazil would win the cup and step onto the world stage as a proud nation. But Brazil lost 2-1 to Uruguay. It was a tragedy. 1958. Brazil vs Wales, Quarter Final. Pele scores the winning goal. Brazil Vs France, semi-Final. Pele scores 3 goals in a 5-2 victory. Brazil vs Sweden, Final. Sweden went ahead, but Brazil won 5-2. Pele was a national hero at 17 years of age. Everyone wanted Pele, and he was seen as royalty. He was the poor black kid, who made it big. Santos became a big club due to Pele. Santos even began to play with international clubs, due to Pele. By 21 years, he had scored 355 goals. Santos refused to sell Pele despite many lucrative offers. Pele put Santos on the world map and they became world champions of club football. Pele is now old and, on a wheelchair, but he still meets his old team-mates for lunch, and they exchange stories of their youth. 1962 world cup in Chile. Pele is 22 and is at the peak of his powers. But in the 2nd game against Czech, Pele was injured and didn't play in the world cup again. His replacement was Amarildo. Brazil plays the Czech in final. Amarildo scores and Brazil and now 2 times world champions. Pele became the icon of a confident Brazil, taking its place in the world. Pele loved being the center of attention. In 1964, the military in Brazil under General Pinto, deposed the supposedly communist government. The coup was supported by the CIA to avoid Soviets expanding their influence in South America. Pele simply accepted the regime and lived with itPele married Rose in 1966. Pele had many commercial commitments and hence less and less time for family. This required more time than just playing football. Pele also admits that it was hard for him to remain faithful to his wife, with all the girls all over the world throwing themselves at him. Some of his affairs resulted in children. Pele claims his wife knew about his affairs. 1966 world cup in England. Expectations are sky high for Brazil to win a third time. Pele was captain. Opposition had a strategy to mark Pele out of the tournament. First match against Bulgaria. Pele is brought down by aggressive marking yet ends up scoring & winning. Next match is against Hungary. Hungary beats Brazil. Portugal is next. Portugal brings down Pele so hard that he has to be carried off the pitch. The refereeing was deplorable. In 8 days, there were more injuries in the Brazilian camp than in 8 years before that. Portugal wins and Brazil is out of the competition. Pele intends not to play in a world cup again as he thinks he is unlucky in world cups. 1968 was a yr of riots in Brazil as the dictatorship enacted Institutional act # 5, which took away all civilian rights and freedoms. Medici is the dictator, who used IA5 for all forms of torture and state capture. People simply disappeared. Pele never aligned himself with any Govt but used football to rise above the politics and bring joy during the gloomiest times. Pele has reached 1000 goals in his career. 19th Nov 1969, Santos plays Vasco & Pele scores his 1000th goal. Pele represented hope in a torn country. Pele met Medici and the public turned against him. People saw him as a submissive black man. Many people compare Pele to Muhammed Ali, who refused to fight the Vietnam war. Ali never faced torture or murder, but Pele didn't have that guarantee. 1970 world cup rolled around in Mexico. Winning was crucial and support staff was made up of Military personnel. The dictatorship forced Pele to play in the world cup. Saldanha is the manager of the team and brings in changes to the Brazilian style of play. Saldanha and Pele never got along. Saldanha made up a story that Pele was short sighted and couldn't play. Pele was furious. Brazil FA intervened, and Pele was not dropped from the team. Saldanha was forced to quit by the dictatorship. Zagallo came in 2 months before the world cup. He picks Pele to play. First match against Czech. Pele is struggling and is not the same player as before. But Brazil somehow manages to score the first goal and Pele began to enjoy himself. His confidence returned. Brazil wins 4-1. Next is England, who are the current World Champions. The entire British defense goes after Pele, who helps his teammate score the first goal. Brazil wins 1-0. The team spirit was great. They beat Romania 3-2. The people knew that winning the world cup would bolster the dictatorship, yet the entire country supported their team. They beat Peru 4-2 in the Quarter Finals. Semi-Final is against Uruguay, to whom Brazil lost in the final of the 1950 world cup. The nation panics. Brazil was lucky to be 1-1 at half time. Pele transforms himself in the 2nd half and attacks relentlessly. Brazil wins 3-1. Brazil plays Italy in the final. Pele is nervous and emotional. He prays to God before the final match. Pele scores, but in finals the side that scores first, mostly loses. Italy equalizes. Brazil scores the next 3 and wins the final 4-1. Pele had achieved his destiny. 3 years later, Pele said goodbye to Santos. He joined US club, Cosmos. 1283 goals in 1367 games. Only player to win world cup 3 times.