WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.560 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are tackling, 00:00:02.779 --> 00:00:06.599 I mean, just a giant of a figure, a name that's 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:08.759 almost bigger than the sport itself. It really 00:00:08.759 --> 00:00:11.460 is. We're talking about Edson Arante's Du Nascimento, 00:00:11.720 --> 00:00:14.439 but of course, the entire world knows him by 00:00:14.439 --> 00:00:17.800 one name. Pele. Exactly. And this isn't just 00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:20.719 a look back at a great athlete. When you really 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:23.760 dig into the sources, you know, the stats, the 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:26.699 biographies, even the political documents, you 00:00:26.699 --> 00:00:30.079 realize you're tracing the path of a global cultural 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:33.140 earthquake. Right. So our mission for you, the 00:00:33.140 --> 00:00:35.700 listener, is to go past that simple title, the 00:00:35.700 --> 00:00:37.719 greatest footballer, and really get into the 00:00:37.719 --> 00:00:40.939 numbers, the moments and the surprising off the 00:00:40.939 --> 00:00:43.460 field stuff that made him O -Ray. The king. That's 00:00:43.460 --> 00:00:44.899 the goal. Okay, so let's just start with the 00:00:44.899 --> 00:00:46.979 foundations, because the raw statistics, they 00:00:46.979 --> 00:00:48.899 almost sound made up. They do. They really do. 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:50.719 Let's start with the big one, the number everyone 00:00:50.719 --> 00:00:53.820 sort of knows, the career goal total. He holds 00:00:53.820 --> 00:00:55.380 the Guinness World Record for the most goals 00:00:55.380 --> 00:00:59.420 in a career. And that number is? It's 1 ,279 00:00:59.420 --> 00:01:03.100 goals in 1 ,363 games. Wow. Now, you have to 00:01:03.100 --> 00:01:05.439 be clear. That number includes friendlies and 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:07.519 exhibition matches, which is a point of debate 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:10.340 for some statisticians, but the sheer volume 00:01:10.340 --> 00:01:13.079 is just... It's immense. And that's just the 00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:15.420 club side of it, really. Internationally, he 00:01:15.420 --> 00:01:17.959 stands completely alone. Completely. He is the 00:01:17.959 --> 00:01:21.060 only player, man or woman, in the entire history 00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:23.840 of the sport to win three FIFA World Cups. Three. 00:01:24.540 --> 00:01:29.219 1958, 1962, and 1970. It's a record that I don't 00:01:29.219 --> 00:01:31.280 think will ever be broken. It feels untouchable. 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:33.819 And what's fascinating is how his status just 00:01:33.819 --> 00:01:36.599 transcends football. The International Olympic 00:01:36.599 --> 00:01:39.599 Committee, the IOC, they named him athlete of 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:42.239 the century in 1999. Despite the fact he never 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:44.379 even played in the Olympics. Right. That's how 00:01:44.379 --> 00:01:46.959 big his impact was. And Time magazine put him 00:01:46.959 --> 00:01:49.760 on their list of the 100 most important people 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:52.799 of the 20th century. Not athletes, people. He's 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:54.780 up there with world leaders and scientists. And, 00:01:54.799 --> 00:01:56.519 you know, even FIFA, when they tried to name 00:01:56.519 --> 00:01:58.459 a player of the century. century, it got so contentious. 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:01.040 The internet vote went to Maradona, but the committee 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:03.760 chose Pele. So they just they end up sharing 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:06.219 the award. But his influence wasn't just in how 00:02:06.219 --> 00:02:08.580 he played. It was in how we talk about the game. 00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:11.500 Oh, absolutely. He is widely credited with coining 00:02:11.500 --> 00:02:14.240 the phrase the beautiful game. He literally gave 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:16.599 us the language to describe the art form he was 00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:18.740 creating on the pitch. And to really understand 00:02:18.740 --> 00:02:21.039 that art, you have to go back to the beginning. 00:02:21.099 --> 00:02:25.370 Yeah. To Trace Corozoins in Brazil. A very humble 00:02:25.370 --> 00:02:29.169 beginning. He was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, 00:02:29.409 --> 00:02:32.090 named after Thomas Edison, the inventor. I love 00:02:32.090 --> 00:02:34.330 that detail. But here's a little bit of chaos 00:02:34.330 --> 00:02:37.110 right from the start. His birth certificate had 00:02:37.110 --> 00:02:41.830 a typo. It listed him as Edison, not Edson. So 00:02:41.830 --> 00:02:44.310 the king's story begins with a paperwork error. 00:02:44.490 --> 00:02:46.830 And with real poverty. That's so central to his 00:02:46.830 --> 00:02:49.590 story, right? Growing up in Bauru. Profound poverty. 00:02:49.949 --> 00:02:52.169 He had to work odd jobs as a kid, serving in 00:02:52.169 --> 00:02:54.849 tea shops, shining shoes, anything to help the 00:02:54.849 --> 00:02:57.490 family. And the famous image of him playing, 00:02:57.710 --> 00:03:00.789 it wasn't with a proper football. It was a grapefruit 00:03:00.789 --> 00:03:03.430 or a sock stuffed with newspaper. Exactly. A 00:03:03.430 --> 00:03:05.389 sock stuffed with newspaper and tied up with 00:03:05.389 --> 00:03:08.050 a string. It's this perfect metaphor for genius 00:03:08.050 --> 00:03:10.789 being born out of, you know, just pure necessity 00:03:10.789 --> 00:03:13.509 and imagination. His family called him Deco. 00:03:13.729 --> 00:03:16.340 So where did the name Pele come from? It's another 00:03:16.340 --> 00:03:19.439 one of these wonderful, almost accidental stories. 00:03:19.699 --> 00:03:22.560 He was a fan of a local goalkeeper named Bile. 00:03:22.740 --> 00:03:25.520 Bile. Right. And as a kid, he kept mispronouncing 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:28.159 the name. His friends started teasing him, calling 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:31.020 him Pele to make fun of him. He hated it through 00:03:31.020 --> 00:03:33.340 tantrums, which, of course, just made the name 00:03:33.340 --> 00:03:36.419 stick even harder. And the incredible irony is 00:03:36.419 --> 00:03:38.639 what the word means. It's almost too perfect. 00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:41.580 Years later, he found out that in Hebrew, the 00:03:41.580 --> 00:03:45.039 word Pele means miracle, a nickname born from 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:47.379 a childhood tantrum that translates to miracle. 00:03:47.620 --> 00:03:49.919 You couldn't write it. Before he ever stepped 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:52.159 on a professional grass pitch, though, there 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:56.479 was futsal, indoor football. The sources really 00:03:56.479 --> 00:03:58.740 stress how important this was for him. He credited 00:03:58.740 --> 00:04:00.960 it himself. He said it was the key to his development. 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:04.099 Futsal is played on a hard court, a small space, 00:04:04.379 --> 00:04:06.439 with a heavier ball that doesn't bounce much. 00:04:06.680 --> 00:04:09.569 So you have to be incredibly precise. And you 00:04:09.569 --> 00:04:13.210 have to think so much faster. The ball is on 00:04:13.210 --> 00:04:16.230 you in an instant. Pele said it taught him how 00:04:16.230 --> 00:04:18.110 to think on his feet and gave him incredible 00:04:18.110 --> 00:04:20.149 confidence playing against adults when he was 00:04:20.149 --> 00:04:22.730 just 14. He actually said it made him unafraid. 00:04:22.850 --> 00:04:25.269 He scored something like 14 or 15 goals in an 00:04:25.269 --> 00:04:28.709 adult tournament and realized, I can do this. 00:04:28.850 --> 00:04:31.550 I'm not afraid of whatever comes next. And that 00:04:31.550 --> 00:04:34.089 is the exact mentality he took with him to Santos. 00:04:34.769 --> 00:04:37.930 Which brings us to the Santos dynasty. I mean... 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:41.100 The leap from poverty to professional superstardom 00:04:41.100 --> 00:04:44.339 was, what, almost instantaneous. It was incredibly 00:04:44.339 --> 00:04:47.420 fast. He was only 15 when his youth coach, a 00:04:47.420 --> 00:04:49.680 guy named Waldemar DeBrito, took him for a trial 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:52.240 at Santos FC. And he didn't just recommend him. 00:04:52.259 --> 00:04:54.920 He made a prediction. A huge one. He told the 00:04:54.920 --> 00:04:57.620 directors at Santos, this boy will be the greatest 00:04:57.620 --> 00:04:59.939 football player in the world. Talk about pressure. 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:03.060 But he lived up to it. Immediately. He signs 00:05:03.060 --> 00:05:06.990 his contract in June 1956. By September, he makes 00:05:06.990 --> 00:05:10.129 his senior debut and scores in a 7 -1 win. By 00:05:10.129 --> 00:05:12.350 the time he's 16, he's a starter and the top 00:05:12.350 --> 00:05:14.850 scorer in the entire league for the 1957 season. 00:05:15.170 --> 00:05:18.029 The speed of that rise is just, it's dizzying. 00:05:18.750 --> 00:05:21.129 And it caused a real panic outside of Brazil. 00:05:21.350 --> 00:05:24.269 It caused a full -blown political event, which 00:05:24.269 --> 00:05:26.930 leads us to one of the most unbelievable parts 00:05:26.930 --> 00:05:28.930 of this story, the national treasure decree. 00:05:29.310 --> 00:05:32.209 Okay, let's set the stage for this. Brazil wins 00:05:32.209 --> 00:05:36.240 the World Cup in 58, then again in 62. Pele is 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:40.660 the face of global football. So every rich European 00:05:40.660 --> 00:05:44.459 club comes calling. Real Madrid, Juventus, Manchester 00:05:44.459 --> 00:05:47.540 United, Inter Milan, you name it. They were all 00:05:47.540 --> 00:05:49.939 throwing huge amounts of money at Santos to sign 00:05:49.939 --> 00:05:51.720 him. And Inter Milan actually got close, didn't 00:05:51.720 --> 00:05:53.199 they? They did. They actually had a contract 00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:55.600 with him. But the second the news broke in Brazil, 00:05:55.740 --> 00:05:58.560 there was this massive public outcry. The fans 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:01.040 were furious. It got so intense that the chairman 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:03.199 of Santos had to publicly tear up the contract. 00:06:03.420 --> 00:06:05.160 So the people basically refused to let him go. 00:06:05.379 --> 00:06:07.300 They saw him as more than a player. He was a 00:06:07.300 --> 00:06:10.180 national symbol. And the government agreed. In 00:06:10.180 --> 00:06:13.889 1961, the president. Jânio Quadros signed a law 00:06:13.889 --> 00:06:16.649 declaring Pelé an official national treasure. 00:06:16.730 --> 00:06:18.610 A national treasure. What did that mean in practical 00:06:18.610 --> 00:06:21.050 terms? It meant he couldn't be transferred out 00:06:21.050 --> 00:06:23.529 of the country. It was a political act designed 00:06:23.529 --> 00:06:26.610 specifically to prevent the international market 00:06:26.610 --> 00:06:29.110 from buying Brazil's greatest cultural asset. 00:06:29.389 --> 00:06:32.230 Was there any pushback to that? Or was it just 00:06:32.230 --> 00:06:34.910 universally accepted as the right thing to do? 00:06:35.029 --> 00:06:37.550 For most Brazilians, it was a source of national 00:06:37.550 --> 00:06:40.279 pride. The sources don't show any significant 00:06:40.279 --> 00:06:42.839 public criticism. People saw it as protecting 00:06:42.839 --> 00:06:45.180 their identity, especially after the trauma of 00:06:45.180 --> 00:06:48.639 losing the 1950 World Cup at home. It was a statement. 00:06:49.259 --> 00:06:52.480 This man belongs to Brazil. And because he stayed, 00:06:52.740 --> 00:06:55.680 Santos just became this global powerhouse. He 00:06:55.680 --> 00:06:58.699 led them to, what, 10 state championships? 10 00:06:58.699 --> 00:07:01.199 Campeonato Polista titles. And he was the top 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:04.160 scorer in that league 11 times. But it wasn't 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:06.379 just regional. They won six national championships, 00:07:06.600 --> 00:07:08.240 the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A. They were 00:07:08.240 --> 00:07:11.199 just dominant. Utterly. Yeah. And a key part 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:13.639 of that dominance was the 1958 season where he 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:16.879 scored 58 goals in the state league. 58 goals. 00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:19.800 As a 17 -year -old. And that record still stands 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:21.639 today. It's one of those benchmarks that he set 00:07:21.639 --> 00:07:23.279 at the very beginning of his career that just 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:26.060 seems impossible to reach. The peak of that club's 00:07:26.060 --> 00:07:29.300 success, though, had to be winning the Copa Libertadores 00:07:29.300 --> 00:07:31.279 South America's biggest prize back -to -back. 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:35.680 Yes, in 1962 and 1963. The team was so elegant, 00:07:35.740 --> 00:07:38.199 they were nicknamed the Ballet Branco, the White 00:07:38.199 --> 00:07:41.560 Ballet. And that 62 Intercontinental Cup final 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:44.819 against Benfica in Europe? That was his coronation. 00:07:44.959 --> 00:07:47.139 He scored a hat -trick in Lisbon. A hat -trick 00:07:47.139 --> 00:07:49.980 and a 5 -2 win that just stunned Europe. The 00:07:49.980 --> 00:07:52.480 Benfica goalkeeper, Costa Pereira, said something 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:55.060 that became legendary. He said, I arrived hoping 00:07:55.060 --> 00:07:57.459 to stop a great man, but I went away convinced 00:07:57.459 --> 00:07:59.899 I had been undone by someone who was not born 00:07:59.899 --> 00:08:02.160 on the same planet as the rest of us. Not born 00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:04.120 on the same planet. That's not just praise. That's 00:08:04.120 --> 00:08:08.029 mythology. It is. And beyond just the wins, there 00:08:08.029 --> 00:08:10.129 are these specific goals that have become part 00:08:10.129 --> 00:08:12.509 of that mythology. Right. The two goals the sources 00:08:12.509 --> 00:08:15.350 always point to. The first one is famous precisely 00:08:15.350 --> 00:08:17.730 because we can't see it. The one against Klub 00:08:17.730 --> 00:08:20.310 Athletico Juventus in 1959. There's no video 00:08:20.310 --> 00:08:23.129 footage of it. But by all accounts, he received 00:08:23.129 --> 00:08:25.389 the ball, flicked it over one defender, then 00:08:25.389 --> 00:08:27.589 another, then a third, and then chipped it over 00:08:27.589 --> 00:08:29.509 the goalkeeper. So it only exists in memory. 00:08:29.870 --> 00:08:32.149 It was considered his greatest ever goal, and 00:08:32.149 --> 00:08:34.350 he was so frustrated that no one could see it 00:08:34.350 --> 00:08:36.870 that he later commissioned a computer animation 00:08:36.870 --> 00:08:39.730 just to try and show people what happened. He 00:08:39.730 --> 00:08:41.690 had to create the evidence for his own genius. 00:08:41.950 --> 00:08:43.690 And the second one they made sure to commemorate 00:08:43.690 --> 00:08:47.370 on the spot? The gold aplaca. The goal worthy 00:08:47.370 --> 00:08:52.850 of a plaque. March 1961 at the legendary Mariconin 00:08:52.850 --> 00:08:55.509 Stadium. And this one was just pure power and 00:08:55.509 --> 00:08:57.570 grace. He gets the ball inside his own half and 00:08:57.570 --> 00:09:01.850 just runs. He runs the entire length of the field, 00:09:01.909 --> 00:09:04.029 weaving past opponent after opponent and then 00:09:04.029 --> 00:09:07.350 scores. It was so breathtaking that a plaque 00:09:07.350 --> 00:09:09.330 was commissioned right there at the stadium to 00:09:09.330 --> 00:09:11.950 dedicate it as the most beautiful goal in the 00:09:11.950 --> 00:09:14.090 history of the Mariconin. A permanent monument 00:09:14.090 --> 00:09:16.610 to a single moment of brilliance. Think about 00:09:16.610 --> 00:09:18.679 all the legends who played there. And they chose 00:09:18.679 --> 00:09:20.460 that goal. Of course, the ultimate individual 00:09:20.460 --> 00:09:23.460 milestone of that era was hitting the thousand 00:09:23.460 --> 00:09:26.340 goal mark. Oh, millesimo. The entire country 00:09:26.340 --> 00:09:28.360 was counting down. It was a national obsession. 00:09:28.659 --> 00:09:32.039 It finally happened on November 19th, 1969. It 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:33.960 came from a penalty kick. The pressure on that 00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:36.379 kick must have been insane. The stadium was silent. 00:09:36.539 --> 00:09:39.360 And when he scored, the pitch was invaded. He 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:41.879 was carried on people's shoulders. It was this 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:45.639 massive shared national celebration. The number 00:09:45.639 --> 00:09:48.200 itself became the achievement. And to put his 00:09:48.200 --> 00:09:52.600 club record in perspective, he scored 643 official 00:09:52.600 --> 00:09:56.000 goals for Santos. That record for most goals 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:58.919 at a single club stood for half a century. Until 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:01.820 Lionel Messi finally broke it in 2020. It just 00:10:01.820 --> 00:10:03.879 shows you the level of sustained excellence over 00:10:03.879 --> 00:10:06.059 such a long period. Since he couldn't leave Brazil, 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:08.809 Santos basically took him on the road. They became 00:10:08.809 --> 00:10:12.090 a global touring act, like a rock band. It was 00:10:12.090 --> 00:10:14.149 a way to capitalize on his fame. They played 00:10:14.149 --> 00:10:16.470 exhibition matches everywhere, Europe, the Middle 00:10:16.470 --> 00:10:18.870 East, North America. And that touring led to 00:10:18.870 --> 00:10:21.169 probably the most surreal story about his power, 00:10:21.330 --> 00:10:23.370 the one about the Nigerian Civil War. It's an 00:10:23.370 --> 00:10:25.789 incredible story. The legend goes that in 1969, 00:10:26.090 --> 00:10:28.470 the two sides fighting the Nigerian Civil War 00:10:28.470 --> 00:10:31.870 agreed to a 48 -hour ceasefire just so that people 00:10:31.870 --> 00:10:34.110 could watch Pele play an exhibition match. A 00:10:34.110 --> 00:10:36.509 ceasefire. for a football game. Now, in his own 00:10:36.509 --> 00:10:38.750 autobiography, Pele said he wasn't sure if an 00:10:38.750 --> 00:10:41.789 official ceasefire was actually declared, but 00:10:41.789 --> 00:10:43.889 he confirmed the security was unlike anything 00:10:43.889 --> 00:10:46.889 he'd ever seen. The fact that the story was even 00:10:46.889 --> 00:10:49.409 believable, that his presence could be perceived 00:10:49.409 --> 00:10:52.049 as something that could halt a war, tells you 00:10:52.049 --> 00:10:54.230 everything about the kind of soft power he had. 00:10:54.389 --> 00:10:57.309 He was like a head of state. He was. And there 00:10:57.309 --> 00:10:58.990 were lighter moments on these tours, too, like 00:10:58.990 --> 00:11:01.710 the story about the Egyptian movie star Zubaydah 00:11:01.710 --> 00:11:05.009 Tharwat. Right. In Kuwait in 1973. She claimed 00:11:05.009 --> 00:11:07.049 he just fell for her instantly and kept chasing 00:11:07.049 --> 00:11:09.519 her day and night. But they couldn't communicate 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:11.259 at all because he didn't speak English. It's 00:11:11.259 --> 00:11:13.960 just this funny little image of his global celebrity 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:17.179 colliding with, you know, everyday life. A global 00:11:17.179 --> 00:11:20.860 icon who could stop a war but couldn't chat up 00:11:20.860 --> 00:11:22.940 a movie star because of a language barrier. It 00:11:22.940 --> 00:11:24.960 shows the human side of the myth. But all that 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:27.539 fame, all that commercial power, it was all built 00:11:27.539 --> 00:11:29.559 on the foundation of what he did for Brazil in 00:11:29.559 --> 00:11:32.559 the World Cup. The ultimate stage. And his journey 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:34.440 there was, well, it was a roller coaster. It 00:11:34.440 --> 00:11:36.600 started with a bang. His very first game for 00:11:36.600 --> 00:11:40.100 Brazil. He scores against Argentina. He's only 00:11:40.100 --> 00:11:43.139 16, still the youngest goal scorer in the country's 00:11:43.139 --> 00:11:46.460 history. Then comes the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. 00:11:46.659 --> 00:11:49.100 He almost doesn't go. He arrives with a knee 00:11:49.100 --> 00:11:51.379 injury. But his teammates basically demanded 00:11:51.379 --> 00:11:54.059 he be included. They did. And once he got on 00:11:54.059 --> 00:11:57.139 the pitch in the knockout stages, he just took 00:11:57.139 --> 00:12:01.159 over. He scores the only goal against Wales in 00:12:01.159 --> 00:12:03.059 the quarterfinal, becoming the youngest goal 00:12:03.059 --> 00:12:05.899 scorer in World Cup history. And then the semifinal 00:12:05.899 --> 00:12:08.580 against France. He scores a hat -trick. The youngest 00:12:08.580 --> 00:12:10.960 player ever to do that in a World Cup. He was 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:13.659 just unstoppable. And in the final against the 00:12:13.659 --> 00:12:17.580 hosts, Sweden, he becomes a global icon. He scores 00:12:17.580 --> 00:12:20.139 two goals. Including that legendary one where 00:12:20.139 --> 00:12:22.080 he flicks the ball over a defender's head and 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:23.899 then follies it into the net. It's one of the 00:12:23.899 --> 00:12:26.080 most famous goals ever scored. There's that great 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:28.500 quote from the Swedish player Sigvard Parling. 00:12:28.620 --> 00:12:31.340 Oh, it's perfect. He said, when Pele scored the 00:12:31.340 --> 00:12:33.379 fifth goal in that final, I have to be honest 00:12:33.379 --> 00:12:35.720 and say I felt like applauding. Your opponent 00:12:35.720 --> 00:12:37.580 wants to clap for you as you're beating them 00:12:37.580 --> 00:12:39.879 in a World Cup final. It speaks to a kind of 00:12:39.879 --> 00:12:42.789 genius that just transcends competition. He finished 00:12:42.789 --> 00:12:44.950 that tournament as the best young player, and 00:12:44.950 --> 00:12:46.950 he did it all while wearing the number 10 jersey. 00:12:47.210 --> 00:12:49.090 Which he only got because of a clerical error. 00:12:49.210 --> 00:12:51.570 Total disorganization. The Brazilian Federation 00:12:51.570 --> 00:12:53.950 forgot to assign numbers, so FIFA just did it 00:12:53.950 --> 00:12:57.269 randomly. Pelé, a substitute at the start, got 00:12:57.269 --> 00:13:00.610 number 10. And a legend was born from chaos. 00:13:01.009 --> 00:13:04.230 The 1962 World Cup in Chile should have been 00:13:04.230 --> 00:13:07.129 his tournament. He was at that point the undisputed 00:13:07.129 --> 00:13:09.090 best player in the world. And he started like 00:13:09.090 --> 00:13:11.519 it. In the first game against Mexico, he assists 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:13.860 one and scores a brilliant solo goal. But then 00:13:13.860 --> 00:13:16.419 in the second match. Disaster. He pulls a muscle 00:13:16.419 --> 00:13:19.320 trying a long range shot and he's out for the 00:13:19.320 --> 00:13:21.419 entire rest of the tournament. So Brazil won 00:13:21.419 --> 00:13:24.100 that World Cup, but really without him for the 00:13:24.100 --> 00:13:26.379 most part. Mostly without him, yes. It was Garincha 00:13:26.379 --> 00:13:29.120 who really stepped up and carried the team. Pele 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:30.779 didn't get a winner's medal at the time because 00:13:30.779 --> 00:13:32.940 he didn't play in the final. FIFA gave him one 00:13:32.940 --> 00:13:36.080 retroactively years later in 2007. Which brings 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:40.600 us to 1966 in England. If 62 was tragic, 66 was 00:13:40.600 --> 00:13:43.919 just brutal. It was. The strategy to stop him 00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:47.019 was just to kick him. Repeatedly. He scored in 00:13:47.019 --> 00:13:48.980 the first game against Bulgaria, making him the 00:13:48.980 --> 00:13:50.820 first player to score in three straight World 00:13:50.820 --> 00:13:53.039 Cups. But he paid the price for it. Heavily. 00:13:53.470 --> 00:13:56.009 In the final group game against Portugal, he 00:13:56.009 --> 00:13:58.370 was fouled so viciously he could barely walk. 00:13:58.509 --> 00:14:00.889 And back then there were no substitutes. So he 00:14:00.889 --> 00:14:03.330 was forced to just limp around the pitch, a passenger, 00:14:03.529 --> 00:14:06.710 as Brazil were eliminated. He was so disgusted 00:14:06.710 --> 00:14:08.309 by it all, he said he'd never play in a World 00:14:08.309 --> 00:14:10.690 Cup again. He did. It was a really low point 00:14:10.690 --> 00:14:13.429 for him. It showed how the sheer physicality 00:14:13.429 --> 00:14:16.490 of the game could nullify even his level of genius. 00:14:16.870 --> 00:14:19.429 But thank goodness he changed his mind. Because 00:14:19.429 --> 00:14:22.620 1970 in Mexico is the ultimate redemption. It's 00:14:22.620 --> 00:14:25.279 the perfect final act. He initially refused to 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:27.740 play, but eventually came back. And that 1970 00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:30.919 Brazil squad, my goodness. It's often called 00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:33.360 the greatest football team ever assembled. You 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:36.700 had Rivalino, Jairzinha, Gerson, Carlos Alberto, 00:14:37.179 --> 00:14:41.200 Tostão, and Pelé at the heart of it all. He wasn't 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:43.419 the young explosive forward anymore. He was the 00:14:43.419 --> 00:14:45.960 playmaker, the brain. The ultimate number 10. 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:49.340 Their style was just, it was fluid, it was fast, 00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:52.220 it was joyful. And Pele created so many iconic 00:14:52.220 --> 00:14:54.320 moments in that tournament, even ones where he 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:56.159 didn't score. Like the shot from the halfway 00:14:56.159 --> 00:14:58.340 line against Czechoslovakia. Or that incredible 00:14:58.340 --> 00:15:01.500 save by Gordon Banks for England. Pele's header 00:15:01.500 --> 00:15:03.879 looked destined for the net. He used to joke 00:15:03.879 --> 00:15:06.240 that people remember Banks' save more than any 00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:09.299 of his goals. And that dummy against the Uruguayan 00:15:09.299 --> 00:15:12.159 keeper in the semifinal. The non -touch. Pure 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:15.039 genius. Just letting the ball run past him while 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:16.820 he sprinted around the other side of the keeper. 00:15:16.980 --> 00:15:19.820 It didn't result in a goal, but it showed a level 00:15:19.820 --> 00:15:22.299 of thinking that was just on another plane. And 00:15:22.299 --> 00:15:25.480 then the final against Italy. He opens the scoring 00:15:25.480 --> 00:15:28.980 with a towering header. It was Brazil's 100th 00:15:28.980 --> 00:15:32.000 World Cup goal. The celebration, him leaping 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:34.720 into Jairzinho's arms, is one of the most famous 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:36.659 photos in sports. And for the rest of the game, 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:39.559 he's the creator. Especially for that final goal. 00:15:39.700 --> 00:15:41.980 The Carlos Alberto goal. It's considered the 00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:44.759 perfect team goal. And it ends with Pele receiving 00:15:44.759 --> 00:15:47.580 the ball, pausing for just a split second, and 00:15:47.580 --> 00:15:50.580 then rolling this perfectly weighted, no -look 00:15:50.580 --> 00:15:53.559 pass into the path of his captain. It was sublime. 00:15:54.220 --> 00:15:56.500 Tarcisio Brunic, the Italian defender who marked 00:15:56.500 --> 00:15:59.220 him, said it all. I told myself before the game, 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:01.019 he's made of skin and bones just like everyone 00:16:01.019 --> 00:16:04.399 else, but I was wrong. He was wrong. Pele won 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:06.399 the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. 00:16:06.970 --> 00:16:10.450 his third World Cup, a legacy cemented forever. 00:16:10.750 --> 00:16:14.289 He retired from Brazil in 1971, and that amazing 00:16:14.289 --> 00:16:17.470 stat, with both him and Garincha on the pitch, 00:16:17.629 --> 00:16:21.789 Brazil never, ever lost a single match. Let's 00:16:21.789 --> 00:16:23.889 pivot from the records to the style to the brand. 00:16:24.129 --> 00:16:27.659 He coined the beautiful game. And his play was 00:16:27.659 --> 00:16:30.080 the definition of it. He was just so complete. 00:16:30.179 --> 00:16:32.120 He could shoot powerfully with both feet. He 00:16:32.120 --> 00:16:34.440 was amazing in the air, despite not being tall 00:16:34.440 --> 00:16:36.759 because his timing was perfect. But his real 00:16:36.759 --> 00:16:39.840 genius was his vision and intelligence. He saw 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:41.700 the game three steps ahead of everyone else. 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:44.379 And he had these signature moves that drove defenders 00:16:44.379 --> 00:16:46.879 crazy. He did. There was the dribble de vaca, 00:16:46.980 --> 00:16:49.379 the cow dribble, this little feint to get past 00:16:49.379 --> 00:16:51.700 a player. But the most famous and maybe the most 00:16:51.700 --> 00:16:54.960 controversial was the paradinha. The little stop 00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:58.070 on penalty kicks. Exactly. He'd run up to take 00:16:58.070 --> 00:17:00.250 a penalty and then just stop dead in his tracks. 00:17:00.470 --> 00:17:03.070 The keeper would dive and Paley would just roll 00:17:03.070 --> 00:17:05.269 the ball into the other side of the net. It seems 00:17:05.269 --> 00:17:07.750 so simple, but it's pure psychological warfare. 00:17:08.089 --> 00:17:10.509 It was so effective that FIFA eventually banned 00:17:10.509 --> 00:17:13.750 it in the 70s. Think about that. You're so good 00:17:13.750 --> 00:17:16.849 at one move that the sports governing body has 00:17:16.849 --> 00:17:20.049 to literally change the rules to stop you. But 00:17:20.049 --> 00:17:22.269 for all that trickery, he was also known for 00:17:22.269 --> 00:17:25.009 his sportsmanship. The image of him and Bobby 00:17:25.009 --> 00:17:27.190 Moore swapping shirts after the England game 00:17:27.190 --> 00:17:30.470 in 1970 is iconic. It really is. It represents 00:17:30.470 --> 00:17:33.829 this deep mutual respect between two of the game's 00:17:33.829 --> 00:17:35.829 greats. There's no gloating, no despair, just 00:17:35.829 --> 00:17:39.849 admiration. That image, that brand, made him 00:17:39.849 --> 00:17:43.089 a commercial juggernaut. Which brings us to the 00:17:43.089 --> 00:17:45.539 story of the Puma Pact. This is a business school 00:17:45.539 --> 00:17:48.440 case study. Before the 1970 World Cup, you had 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:51.700 the two big German sportswear brands, Adidas 00:17:51.700 --> 00:17:54.180 and Puma, run by the rival Dassler brothers. 00:17:54.460 --> 00:17:56.500 And they were terrified of getting into a bidding 00:17:56.500 --> 00:17:58.940 war over Pele. So they made a secret gentleman's 00:17:58.940 --> 00:18:01.259 agreement, the Pele Pact. Neither company would 00:18:01.259 --> 00:18:04.140 try to sign him. Puma had other ideas. Puma broke 00:18:04.140 --> 00:18:07.380 the pact. They went to Pele and paid him a huge 00:18:07.380 --> 00:18:12.140 sum, about $120 ,000 for one single simple action. 00:18:12.339 --> 00:18:15.279 Which was? Right before the kickoff of the quarterfinal 00:18:15.279 --> 00:18:17.839 against Peru, he asked the referee to pause for 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:20.480 a moment so he could tie his shoes. In the center 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:23.599 circle. In the center circle. In front of a global 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:25.940 television audience of hundreds of millions. 00:18:26.339 --> 00:18:28.980 The cameras, of course, zoom right in on his 00:18:28.980 --> 00:18:31.880 hands as he slowly, deliberately ties his brand 00:18:31.880 --> 00:18:34.559 new Puma King boots. It's brilliant. Gorilla 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:36.559 marketing before that was even a term. It was 00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:39.039 a masterstroke. It launched the Puma brand globally 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:41.720 overnight and basically kickstarted the modern 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:44.940 era of multi -million dollar athlete endorsements. 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:47.700 He wasn't just a player, he was a walking billboard. 00:18:47.819 --> 00:18:50.160 After all that, after conquering Brazil and the 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:52.359 world, he did the one thing no one expected. 00:18:52.759 --> 00:18:55.579 He went to America. To the New York cosmos in 00:18:55.579 --> 00:18:58.720 1975, he came out of semi -retirement to play 00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:00.769 in the North American Soccer League. Which at 00:19:00.769 --> 00:19:03.369 the time was a very minor league. Very. Signing 00:19:03.369 --> 00:19:05.390 him was a massive gamble to try and make soccer 00:19:05.390 --> 00:19:07.509 popular in the U .S. They made him the highest 00:19:07.509 --> 00:19:10.109 paid athlete in the world to do it. And the impact 00:19:10.109 --> 00:19:13.009 was immediate. It was chaos. His first public 00:19:13.009 --> 00:19:15.309 appearance in Boston, the crowds were so huge 00:19:15.309 --> 00:19:17.309 he was crushed and had to be carried out on a 00:19:17.309 --> 00:19:20.069 stretcher. He was a phenomenon on a level America 00:19:20.069 --> 00:19:22.809 hadn't really seen before from a global star. 00:19:23.049 --> 00:19:25.769 And he legitimized the league. For Americans 00:19:25.769 --> 00:19:28.930 and for other players. Absolutely. His arrival 00:19:28.930 --> 00:19:31.769 was a signal for other legends to follow. Friends 00:19:31.769 --> 00:19:35.109 Beckenbauer came, Johan Cruyff, Eusebio. The 00:19:35.109 --> 00:19:38.569 NASL suddenly became this glamorous, star -studded 00:19:38.569 --> 00:19:40.410 league. He didn't just play in the league. He 00:19:40.410 --> 00:19:43.230 basically built its reputation. And he went out 00:19:43.230 --> 00:19:46.029 on top. He did. He led the Cosmos to the Soccer 00:19:46.029 --> 00:19:49.230 Bowl title in 1977, his final season. And his 00:19:49.230 --> 00:19:51.470 farewell match was just this perfectly staged 00:19:51.470 --> 00:19:55.069 event. Cosmos versus his old club. Santos. In 00:19:55.069 --> 00:19:57.829 a sold -out giant stadium, Muhammad Ali was there, 00:19:57.910 --> 00:20:00.069 Robert Redford. It was a huge deal. He played 00:20:00.069 --> 00:20:01.970 one half for each team. And he delivered a little 00:20:01.970 --> 00:20:03.849 speech before the game. Love is more important 00:20:03.849 --> 00:20:05.910 than what we can take in life. And then he went 00:20:05.910 --> 00:20:07.769 out and scored his final goal, a 30 -yard free 00:20:07.769 --> 00:20:10.430 -quick for the Cosmos. And then the perfect ending. 00:20:10.509 --> 00:20:13.369 It started to rain. And the next day, a Brazilian 00:20:13.369 --> 00:20:16.549 newspaper ran the headline, Even the Sky Was 00:20:16.549 --> 00:20:20.730 Crying. A fittingly poetic end to an epic career. 00:20:21.109 --> 00:20:24.130 So his playing day's end. But the legacy, the 00:20:24.130 --> 00:20:26.750 awards, they just keep coming. For the rest of 00:20:26.750 --> 00:20:28.890 his life. And the testimonials from the people 00:20:28.890 --> 00:20:31.269 who played against him, they're almost more powerful 00:20:31.269 --> 00:20:33.410 than the trophies. Let's talk about some of those. 00:20:33.609 --> 00:20:36.670 Johan Cruyff. A genius in his own right. Cruyff 00:20:36.670 --> 00:20:39.809 said, Pele was the only footballer who surpassed 00:20:39.809 --> 00:20:42.430 the boundaries of logic. Bobby Moore, his great 00:20:42.430 --> 00:20:44.869 English rival. Moore said, Pele was the most 00:20:44.869 --> 00:20:47.710 complete player I've ever seen. He seemed a giant 00:20:47.710 --> 00:20:50.390 of an athlete on the pitch. And Ferenc Puskas, 00:20:50.549 --> 00:20:53.049 the Hungarian legend. What did he say? Puskas 00:20:53.049 --> 00:20:55.990 said, I refuse to classify Pele as a player. 00:20:56.130 --> 00:20:58.170 He was above that. That's maybe the ultimate 00:20:58.170 --> 00:20:59.930 compliment. He's not even in the category of 00:20:59.930 --> 00:21:01.809 player. And then there's that joke from the 1970 00:21:01.809 --> 00:21:04.890 broadcast. Panelist asks how to spell Pele, and 00:21:04.890 --> 00:21:08.210 Patty Curran just says, easy, G -O -D. Pele himself 00:21:08.210 --> 00:21:10.450 seemed to struggle with that level of deification. 00:21:10.890 --> 00:21:13.910 He did. He once said, Pele doesn't die. Pele 00:21:13.910 --> 00:21:16.910 will never die. But Edson is a normal person 00:21:16.910 --> 00:21:18.849 who is going to die one day, and the people forget 00:21:18.849 --> 00:21:21.670 that. He understood he had become two different 00:21:21.670 --> 00:21:24.920 things. the myth, and the man. Even with all 00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:27.980 that, he never won the Ballon d 'Or, the big 00:21:27.980 --> 00:21:30.240 individual prize? Well, he couldn't. Back then, 00:21:30.299 --> 00:21:33.180 it was only for European players, which is a 00:21:33.180 --> 00:21:35.660 huge historical asterisk. But they corrected 00:21:35.660 --> 00:21:38.220 that, in a way. They did. France Football, the 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:40.799 magazine that gives out the award, did a re -evaluation 00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:44.299 years later. They calculated that if non -Europeans 00:21:44.299 --> 00:21:46.640 have been eligible from the start, Pele would 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:49.220 have won the Ballon d 'Or record seven times. 00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:52.299 Seven. Wow. It just reinforces his statistical 00:21:52.299 --> 00:21:54.980 dominance over that era. Beyond football, he 00:21:54.980 --> 00:21:57.259 moved into some serious roles. He was knighted 00:21:57.259 --> 00:21:59.559 by the Queen of England. He was a U .N. ambassador. 00:22:00.059 --> 00:22:02.359 And he became a government minister in Brazil. 00:22:02.599 --> 00:22:05.980 Yes. From 1995 to 1998, he was Brazil's minister 00:22:05.980 --> 00:22:08.880 of sports. An extraordinary move. And his big 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:11.019 project was trying to clean up the sport. It 00:22:11.019 --> 00:22:13.920 was. He proposed what became known as the Pele 00:22:13.920 --> 00:22:17.180 Law, which was a major piece of legislation designed 00:22:17.180 --> 00:22:19.920 to fight corruption and modernize Brazilian football. 00:22:20.119 --> 00:22:23.140 What did it actually do? It tried to force clubs 00:22:23.140 --> 00:22:25.240 to be more like professional businesses instead 00:22:25.240 --> 00:22:29.059 of these old, opaque social clubs. And crucially, 00:22:29.140 --> 00:22:31.460 it gave players more freedom and control over 00:22:31.460 --> 00:22:34.099 their own contracts, which was a huge shift in 00:22:34.099 --> 00:22:36.920 power. away from the club owners. I imagine that 00:22:36.920 --> 00:22:38.740 didn't go over well with the establishment. Not 00:22:38.740 --> 00:22:41.500 at all. He faced incredible resistance from the 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:43.740 old guard who benefited from the corrupt system. 00:22:44.099 --> 00:22:46.859 The law's impact was mixed, but it was a brave 00:22:46.859 --> 00:22:49.799 and significant attempt by a sporting icon to 00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:52.539 use his political power for reform. He never 00:22:52.539 --> 00:22:55.319 really stopped being a global voice. Even late 00:22:55.319 --> 00:22:58.119 in his life, in 2022, he wrote an open letter 00:22:58.119 --> 00:23:00.299 to Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine. He 00:23:00.299 --> 00:23:02.440 always saw himself as having a platform and a 00:23:02.440 --> 00:23:04.440 responsibility. He started the Pele Foundation 00:23:04.440 --> 00:23:07.740 in 2018 to help underprivileged children. His 00:23:07.740 --> 00:23:09.920 legacy was always something he was actively building. 00:23:10.359 --> 00:23:12.559 Unfortunately, his final years were marked by 00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:14.480 a serious battle with his health. They were. 00:23:14.599 --> 00:23:16.519 He had had health issues for a while, but in 00:23:16.519 --> 00:23:19.539 September 2021, he had surgery for a colon tumor. 00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:21.799 And that was the beginning of the end. It was. 00:23:21.900 --> 00:23:24.720 He started chemotherapy, but by November 2022, 00:23:25.140 --> 00:23:27.880 he was hospitalized and the cancer was no longer 00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:29.819 responding to treatment. He died on December 00:23:29.819 --> 00:23:33.880 29th, 2022 at 82. And the whole world mourned. 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:35.980 The Brazilian government declared three days 00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:39.380 of national mourning. Landmarks everywhere, from 00:23:39.380 --> 00:23:41.480 the Christ the Redeemer statue to Wembley Stadium, 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:44.880 were lit up in the colors of Brazil. The funeral 00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:47.980 was a massive public event in Santos. A two -day 00:23:47.980 --> 00:23:49.779 wake at the stadium where he became a legend, 00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:53.619 over 230 ,000 people came to pay their respects. 00:23:53.940 --> 00:23:56.779 He was buried in a vertical cemetery on the ninth 00:23:56.779 --> 00:23:59.079 floor in a tomb that overlooks the Santos football 00:23:59.079 --> 00:24:01.619 pitch. A final resting place watching over the 00:24:01.619 --> 00:24:03.819 field where he made his name. A poetic final 00:24:03.819 --> 00:24:06.680 touch. And even after his death, the honors continue. 00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:09.619 And one of them is maybe the most unique tribute 00:24:09.619 --> 00:24:12.140 of all. It has to be the dictionary entry. After 00:24:12.140 --> 00:24:15.160 a big public campaign in Brazil in April 2023, 00:24:15.700 --> 00:24:18.039 the Michaelis Portuguese Dictionary officially 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:21.240 added Pelé as an adjective. As an adjective. 00:24:21.380 --> 00:24:24.980 So what's the definition? The definition is exceptional, 00:24:25.339 --> 00:24:29.559 incomparable, unique. His name is now officially 00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:32.940 a synonym for perfection. That is just incredible. 00:24:32.980 --> 00:24:34.640 So when we wrap all this up, when we look at 00:24:34.640 --> 00:24:36.940 the whole picture, you're left with this dual 00:24:36.940 --> 00:24:41.119 legacy that is just. It's unmatched. On one hand, 00:24:41.160 --> 00:24:43.940 you have the pure athlete. Three World Cups, 00:24:44.019 --> 00:24:46.180 the Guinness World Record for goals, athlete 00:24:46.180 --> 00:24:49.220 of the century. The numbers are undeniable. But 00:24:49.220 --> 00:24:51.359 on the other hand, you have this cultural force. 00:24:51.640 --> 00:24:54.660 The man who coined the beautiful game, who could 00:24:54.660 --> 00:24:57.680 allegedly stop a war, who pioneered global sports 00:24:57.680 --> 00:25:00.720 marketing with a shoelace, and opened up America 00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:04.000 to soccer. He was both at the same time. Which 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:05.980 brings you to that great quote from Henry Kissinger 00:25:05.980 --> 00:25:07.900 of all people. Kissinger knew him well. What 00:25:07.900 --> 00:25:10.019 did he say? He said, performance at a high level 00:25:10.019 --> 00:25:12.500 in any sport is to exceed the ordinary human 00:25:12.500 --> 00:25:15.880 scale. But Pele's performance transcended that 00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:18.519 of the ordinary star by as much as the star exceeds 00:25:18.519 --> 00:25:21.740 ordinary performance. So he's saying Pele wasn't 00:25:21.740 --> 00:25:23.380 just in a different league from normal people. 00:25:23.539 --> 00:25:25.880 He was in a different league from other superstars. 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:28.599 Exactly. His actions just had a different weight. 00:25:28.859 --> 00:25:30.779 And that leaves us with a final thought for you 00:25:30.779 --> 00:25:33.500 to consider. In our modern world of social media 00:25:33.500 --> 00:25:36.880 and fragmented fame, can any athlete today truly 00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:39.740 have that kind of impact? Can anyone become so 00:25:39.740 --> 00:25:42.140 big that their nickname becomes a literal definition 00:25:42.140 --> 00:25:44.920 of greatness in the dictionary, a political force, 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:47.339 and a cultural icon, all from the simple act 00:25:47.339 --> 00:25:49.720 of playing a game beautifully? Thank you for 00:25:49.720 --> 00:25:51.680 joining us for this deep dive into the legacy 00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:52.279 of O -Ray.