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MAJOR NATIONS IN A GLOBAL WORLD: BRAZIL
PELÉ PRIDE
Perhaps no soccer player is as famous, loved, and revered as Pelé. Born
in 1940 in Três Corações, Pelé became a superstar with his stunning
performance in the 1958World Cup, leading Brazil to a 5–2 win against Sweden.
Pelé was only seventeen years old when he scored three goals in a 5–2 semifinal
win over France. He later scored two goals against Sweden in the championship
game, the first time that Brazil won the World Cup.
Pelé played for twenty years, leading Brazil to two World Cup victories. He
then came to New York to play for the New York Cosmos, a professional soccer
team. In 1999, soccer’s governing body named Pelé, Player of Century.
Brazilians like to think of their country as the “spiritual home of football,” so
it is no wonder that in 2014 they took great pride in hosting the World Cup, the
most important and prestigious soccer tournament in the world. Ever since the
British brought the game to Brazil in 1892, football has been regarded as a thing
of immense joy, a combination of religion, music, and culture.
The game has shaped Brazil’s identity, transforming what was an aristo-
cratic, European sport into something with mass popularity. One sportswriter
Pelé jumps to avoid the Swedish
goalkeeper during the 1958 World
Cup final.
A 1969 stamp commemorating
Pelé's 1,000 goals.