50 Fun Facts About Pelé

What was Pelé's real name?

He was named after Thomas Edison; a birth-certificate error left many documents reading 'Edison'.

Pelé was named after which American inventor?

His parents dropped the 'i' to make Edson; his family nickname was Dico.

Pelé said his nickname came from mispronouncing his favourite player, a goalkeeper called what?

In his 2006 autobiography he admitted he had no idea what 'Pelé' meant.

Unable to afford a football as a child, Pelé practised with a stuffed sock or what fruit?

He grew up poor in Bauru, São Paulo state, earning money as a server in tea shops.

Which fast indoor game did Pelé credit with teaching him to think quickly, playing for a team called Radium?

It let him play against adults at about 14, and he finished one tournament as top scorer with 14 or 15 goals.

For which Brazilian club did Pelé play from age 15, scoring 643 goals in 659 games?

That single-club record stood until Lionel Messi passed it with Barcelona in December 2020.

Who scouted the 15-year-old Pelé and called him the future 'greatest football player in the world'?

De Brito had coached him at Bauru Atlético Clube juniors; Pelé signed in June 1956.

How many goals did Pelé score in the 1958 Campeonato Paulista, a league record that still stands?

He had been the league's top scorer at 16 the year before.

In 1961 the Brazilian government declared Pelé what, to stop him being transferred abroad?

Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United had all tried to sign him after the 1958 World Cup.

Which Italian club got Pelé to sign a 1958 contract, only for its owner to tear it up after Santos fans revolted?

Valencia had also arranged a deal before the 1958 World Cup, but Santos refused to let him go.

Pelé's club won the Copa Libertadores in which two consecutive years?

They also won the Intercontinental Cup both years, beating Benfica and then AC Milan.

Pelé scored a hat-trick in Lisbon as his club beat which side 5-2 in the 1962 Intercontinental Cup?

Goalkeeper Costa Pereira said he had been undone by 'someone who was not born on the same planet as the rest of us'.

Which Brazilian phrase for a great goal was coined by Pelé's 1961 solo goal at the Maracanã?

He ran from the edge of his own box past the whole team; even Fluminense fans gave a two-minute ovation.

Pelé's 1,000th goal, O Milésimo, came on 19 November 1969 against which club?

It was a penalty at the Maracanã; the Brazilian postal service issued a stamp to mark it.

Which conflict supposedly paused for a 48-hour ceasefire in 1969 so both sides could watch Pelé?

Local researchers have found no contemporary reports of it, and Pelé himself was unsure whether it happened.

Which US club did Pelé join in 1975, coming out of semi-retirement?

He was unveiled at a chaotic press conference at New York's 21 Club.

Which team did the Cosmos beat 2-1 in the 1977 Soccer Bowl, Pelé's last official match?

The quarter-final that year drew a league-record crowd of 77,891.

Pelé's 1 October 1977 farewell exhibition was played at which New Jersey stadium?

He played one half for each side, scored a 30-yard free kick, and a Brazilian paper headlined 'Even The Sky Was Crying' when rain fell.

How many World Cups did Pelé win, a record for any player?

1958, 1962 and 1970; he only received his 1962 medal in 2007 because he missed the final through injury.

Against which country did Pelé score his first international goal, aged 16, in a 2-1 defeat in 1957?

He remains Brazil's youngest ever goalscorer.

Brazil beat which host nation 5-2 in the 1958 World Cup final, with two goals from the 17-year-old Pelé?

He passed out at the final whistle and had to be revived by Garrincha.

Pelé scored a second-half hat-trick in the 1958 World Cup semi-final against which team?

He had become the tournament's youngest scorer against Wales in the quarter-final.

Why did Pelé end up wearing the number 10 shirt at the 1958 World Cup?

The shirt he wore in the final sold for $4.9 million at Sotheby's in 2026.

Against which opponent was Pelé injured in Brazil's second game of the 1962 World Cup?

Brazil beat the same team in the final; medals only went to finalists until the rules changed in 1978.

Which Portuguese defender's two unpunished fouls left Pelé limping through Brazil's 1966 defeat?

Referee George McCabe's failure to send him off is regarded as one of the worst refereeing errors in World Cup history; substitutes weren't allowed then.

Pelé's 1966 goal against which team made him the first to score in three successive World Cups?

Persistent Bulgarian fouling injured him and he missed the defeat to Hungary.

Which goalkeeper's block of Pelé's header at the 1970 World Cup is called the 'save of the century'?

Pelé joked that of more than a thousand goals, people always ask about the one he didn't score.

Which Uruguay goalkeeper did Pelé's 'run around' dummy fool in the 1970 semi-final?

He went around the keeper without touching the ball, then turned too far as he shot.

Pelé's headed opener in the 1970 final against Italy was Brazil's how-manyeth World Cup goal?

His leap into Jairzinho's arms afterwards is one of the World Cup's most iconic images.

Pelé's blind pass set up which teammate for Brazil's fourth goal in the 1970 final?

All but two of Brazil's outfield players touched the ball in the move.

In which stadium was the 1970 World Cup final played?

Italian marker Tarcisio Burgnich admitted he had wrongly told himself Pelé was 'made of skin and bones just like everyone else'.

Pelé was the second player, after which German, to score in four different World Cups?

His goal came in a 4-1 win over Czechoslovakia in the 1970 group stage.

How many goals did Pelé score for Brazil in 92 games?

The record stood for more than fifty years until Neymar broke it in September 2023, in his 125th game.

Who finally overtook Pelé as Brazil's all-time top scorer in September 2023?

Brazil never lost a match with both Pelé and Garrincha on the pitch.

Pelé's Guinness World Record goal tally, including exhibitions, is how many?

The RSSSF puts his official-match total at 775 goals in 840 games.

Which sportswear company broke the 'Pelé Pact' and paid Pelé to tie his laces before the 1970 quarter-final?

The Dassler brothers' two companies had agreed not to bid for him; the $120,000 stunt broadcast Puma King boots worldwide.

Pelé appeared in which 1981 John Huston film about POWs playing a German team?

He starred alongside Sylvester Stallone and Michael Caine and was credited with designing the 'soccer plays'.

Which government post did Pelé take up in January 1995 under President Fernando Cardoso?

He also received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 1997.

Which body named Pelé Athlete of the Century in 1999?

Time also put him among the 100 most important people of the 20th century that year.

With whom did Pelé share the FIFA Player of the Century award in 2000?

The IFFHS separately voted him World Player of the Century the same year.

Which phrase did Pelé famously connect with football?

He often refused to take penalties, believing it a cowardly way to score.

Pelé's embrace with which England captain after their 1970 group match embodies sportsmanship?

Moore later called him 'the most complete player I've ever seen'.

Which artist said that instead of 15 minutes of fame, Pelé would have 15 centuries?

Henry Kissinger said his performance transcended the ordinary star as much as a star exceeds ordinary performance.

Which trademark Pelé dribble is called the drible da vaca?

His paradinha, or 'little stop', was a hesitation before striking penalties.

Roughly how much did the Museu Pelé, opened in 2014, cost to build?

About $22 million went into building it.

Pelé died on 29 December 2022 at 82 from complications of what?

He had been diagnosed in 2021.

In which town in Minas Gerais was Pelé born in October 1940?

His father Dondinho played for Fluminense, and the family later moved to Bauru in São Paulo state.

In April 2023, a Michaelis dictionary entry made 'pelé' a Portuguese synonym for what?

The entry followed a campaign that gathered 125,000 signatures.

Which Santos teammate was Pelé's regular one-two partner in attack?

Zito and Pepe were also celebrated Santos stars of the era.

In 1992, the United Nations appointed Pelé an ambassador for what cause?

Two years later he became a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.