The bad news came, the legend fell, and a generation of "ball king" Pele passed away

Image source: Xinhua News Agency

On December 29th local time (early morning of December 30th, Beijing time), the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil issued an announcement saying that the well-known Brazilian athlete and "ball king" Pele Due to multiple organ failure caused by colon cancer , he died at 15:27 on the same day at the age of 82. Bailey's daughter, Kelly Nascimento, posted on social media: "We owe everything to you and we all love you."

Bailey has been undergoing chemotherapy since undergoing bowel cancer surgery last September. Earlier this month, the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, said Bailey had not responded to chemotherapy and was transferred to the hospital's hospice ward for palliative care.

On December 21, Albert Einstein Hospital stated that Bailey's condition had changed and "the tumor condition worsened", while emphasizing that he was receiving more intensive care and treatment. In the early morning of December 30th, Beijing time, the agent and relatives confirmed that Pele died of illness.

In September 2021, Bailey underwent colon tumor resection surgery and received chemotherapy as prescribed by the doctor. Since then, Bailey's condition has been repeated. On November 29, 2022, Bailey was admitted to Albert Einstein Hospital for treatment due to swelling all over his body. On December 3, several media outlets in Brazil reported that Pele had stopped chemotherapy and was receiving palliative care that could alleviate the suffering of patients. On December 21, Albert Einstein Hospital issued the last announcement about Bailey's condition, saying that his tumor showed signs of deterioration and needed more careful care.

Pele, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, was born on October 23, 1940 in Tres Colasos, Brazil. He began to receive formal football training in the Baru Athletic youth team in 1951. In 1956, Pele started his professional career at Santos Football Club in Brazil and was selected for the Brazil National Football Team in 1957. Pele represented Brazil in winning three FIFA World Cup championships in 1958, 1962 and 1970. He is the only football player in the world who has won the World Cup three times and won the title of "Ball King". In 1977, Bailey announced his official retirement. Since then, he has been awarded many honors by the International Olympic Committee, FIFA, etc., and has been included in the 100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century by Time Magazine. He also won the Lawrence Lifetime Achievement Award and is one of the greatest ball kings. When it comes to the name of the football king Pele, it can be said that everyone knows it. In a certain sense, Pele is synonymous with football. In 2020, Pele said in his speech after the death of Maradona, "One day, I hope we can play together in heaven." Desson Arantes do Nascimento, born on October 23, 1940 in Tres Corazóis, Brazil, is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time and has been voted by FIFA Known as "The King Of Football". Pele, who served as a striker, scored 77 goals in 92 national team games played on behalf of the Brazilian team, led the "Samba Army" to win the World Cup three times in 1958, 1962 and 1970, and permanently retained Remy for Brazil Special cup .

Pele played in the World Cup with the Samba Army four times in 1958, 1962, 1966, and 1970, and won three championships. In the 14 games he played, 12 games were won, in addition to 1 loss and 1 draw, the winning rate reached 86%. He personally scored 12 goals, assisted 8 times, and made 20 goals alone. Not long ago, Messi broke the record.

In 1958, Pele participated in the World Cup for Brazil for the first time. He was also the youngest player to participate in the World Cup at that time. In the final, Pele scored twice to help Brazil win the championship. He became the youngest player to participate in the World Cup final at the age of 17 years and 249 days.

In the 1962 World Cup, Pele made a pass in the first game, but was accidentally injured in the second game and could not participate in the subsequent games. The Brazilian team finally led by Garrincha Passed all the way and successfully defended the title.

In the 1966 World Cup, the Brazilian team was eliminated after only three games. Pele was repeatedly fouled by the opponent's defender, causing himself to be injured.

In the 1970 World Cup, Pele went to the World Cup for the fourth time. Under the command of the legendary coach Zagallo , the Brazilian team was invincible and reached the final. Pele, Jaizinho, , Alberto and others led the team The Brazilian team is hailed as one of the greatest teams of all time. The image of Pele jumping into Jaizinho's arms after scoring a goal against Italy in the final is considered one of the iconic moments of the World Cup. In the

final, Pele participated in a wonderful team goal that was hailed as an eternal classic in the history of the World Cup. Almost all players in the Brazilian team participated in the goal. Pele’s very confusing pass in the middle Action, after helping Alberto, he plugged in and scored. In his national team career, Pele played 92 times for Brazil and scored 77 goals. He is the historical top scorer of the Brazilian team (later tied by Neymar ). Pele, who won the World Cup three times, is also the only one in history A player capable of winning three World Cups.

Ball king Pele spent most of his career at Santos Club.

Bailey joined the Santos team at the age of 15 and became the league's top scorer at the age of 16. He was promoted from the Santos U20 team to the first team in July 1956 and played until 1975. Throughout Pele's career, he played a total of 1363 official games and scored 1281 goals, which is the highest record in history with official records.

Pele scored 643 goals in 659 appearances for Brazil's Santos Club, during which he won 2 South American Libertadores Cup champions, 2 Intercontinental Cup champions, 6 Brazilian National Championship champions, and 11 Sao Paulo State Football Championships League Champions.

Bailey then went to the New York Cosmos for two years in 1975 and retired there. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Pele has played 1,363 games in his career and scored 1,279 goals (including friendly matches), making him the person with the most goals in history. After

retired, Bailey was named "one of the best athletes of the 20th century" by several newspapers and the International Olympic Committee. In 2000, Bailey won the first Lawrence Lifetime Achievement Award. In the same year, he also shared the FIFA Player of the Century issued by FIFA with the legendary Argentine star Diego Maradona.

Pele's daughter once posted a photo: One more night together

On the evening of December 23, local time, Kelly Nascimento, the daughter of the ball king Pele, posted a photo of herself embracing her father at St. Paul's Hospital on social media.

"We are still here, fighting with faith, and staying together for another night." Nascimento posted a photo on Instagram at 11 pm local time on the 23rd and accompanied the text like this. Agence France-Presse and many other foreign media have reported the photos posted by Bailey's daughter. In the photo, Nascimento hugs the 82-year-old Pele, who can only see a profile of the latter in bed.

According to foreign media reports, the 82-year-old Pele's condition took a turn for the worse, and Pele's relatives and the Brazilian government have already begun preparations for the funeral.

Pelé has a close relationship with China

Whether he was a player or after he retired, Pele has a close relationship with China. 1977 was the last year of Bailey's playing career. At that time, the New York Cosmos, where he played, organized a unique farewell performance for the king - a one-month global tour. After the first match of the Asian tour in Japan, the New York Cosmos arrived in Beijing on September 15, and played the first match with the National Football Team at the Workers' Stadium two days later. Although Liu Lifu took the lead in the 56th minute of the national football team, the New York Cosmos still equalized the score before the end of the game. In the end, the two sides shook hands 1-1. After the

game, the Chinese side also hosted a banquet for the New York Cosmos team, and all the players of the national football team also collectively toasted the ball king Pele to show their respect. Bailey also said at the time: "Before I came to China, I only knew that China was very big, but I didn't expect the level of Chinese football to be so high." It took 25 years for the national football team to finally achieve this.

September 20, the two sides launched a second contest at Shanghai Jiangwan Stadium , this timeThe national football team took a 2-0 lead with the goals of Chi Shangbin and Shen Xiangfu , while Bailey staged a good show of free kick and finally the national football team won 2-1. Just after the game, Pele exchanged jerseys with Chinese football legend Rong Zhixing, and praised Rong Zhixing as "a player of world-class level". The origin of

Pele and Chinese football does not stop there. In the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup , the national football team and Brazil were in Group C of the group stage. Pele still praised the national football team this time and believed that the national football team could qualify from the group stage, but in the end the national football team ended with 0-2, 0 The scores of -4 and 0-3 were lost to Costa Rica , Brazil and Turkey successively. They scored nine bombs in all three games and ranked bottom in the group stage.

is not just football, Pele's "prestigious" predictive ability has also been associated with China in other sports. Just at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Bailey predicted that Serbia would win the gold medal in the women's volleyball event, but in the end, the Chinese women's volleyball team staged a comeback under the desperation of losing the first game in the final against Serbia, 3 -1 to defeat the opponent and successfully win the championship.

After the news of Pele's unfortunate death was announced, another Brazilian football legend, Ronaldo, expressed his condolences on his personal social media. Ronaldo wrote: "Unique. Talent, technique, creativity, perfection, incomparable. Where Pele has been, it is all there. He has never left the top and today he has left us. There is only one king of football and he The greatest of all time." "The world mourns, the sadness of parting mingled with the intense pride of writing history." "It is an honor, my friend, to follow in your footsteps. Your gift is A school every player deserves, your legacy spans generations and that's how you continue to live. We will celebrate you both today and for eternity." "Thank you, Pele. Rest in peace."

Messi also expressed his condolences through social media. Messi wrote: "Rest in peace Pele", accompanied by a photo of the two at the awards ceremony. It is worth mentioning that Messi, who just helped Argentina win the championship, scored 21 goals in the World Cup, breaking the long-standing record held by Pele. In addition, the Portuguese national team, Real Madrid , Manchester City , Chelsea , Paris Saint-Germain and many other clubs also issued messages to mourn Pele.

goodbye, ball king!

go all the way!

Comprehensive | CCTV News, Xinhua News Agency, , Global Network , Sports Weekly, etc.

Source: Future Net