• Brazilian football legend Pele passed away on December 29, after a prolonged illness. He was 82 and is survived by his wife Marcia Aoki and seven children.
  • In a professional career that spanned 21 years (he turned pro when he was still 15), Pele created football history that is practically impossible to emulate.
  • At 17 years, he was not only the youngest player to play in a World Cup final but was also the youngest to score a hat-trick in the World Cup.
  • The “Pele phenomenon” touched and inspired every tier of human society from slums to palaces.
  • Standing at just 5’8”, Pele moved on the pitch as though to the rhythm of a Samba beat in his head.
  • Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former President of Brazil, under whom Pele served as Sports Minister for three years, credited him for transforming the country into one that “believed in itself”.