Product Description

Even people who don't know football know Pele. The best of a generation of Brazilian players universally acknowledged as the most accomplished and attractive group of footballers ever to play the game, he won the World Cup three times and is Brazil's all-time record goalscorer. But how did this man -- a sportsman, a mere footballer, like many others -- become a global icon? Was it just by being the best at what he did, or do people respond to some other quality? The world's greatest footballer now gives us the full story of his incredible life and career. Told with his characteristic grace and modesty, but covering all aspects of his playing days and his subsequent careers as politician, international sporting ambassador and cultural icon, PELE: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY is an essential volume for all sports fans, and anyone who admires true rarity of spirit.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36053 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

From the Inside Flap
The man.
The legend.
The autobiography.

Even people who don't know football know Pelé. The best of a generation of Brazilians universally acknowledged as the most brilliant group of footballers ever to play the game, he won the World Cup three times and is Brazil's all-time record goalscorer.

But how did this man -- a sportsman, a mere footballer, like many others -- become a global icon? Was it just by being the best at what he did? Or do we respond to some other quality?

Born on 23 October 1940 to a poor family in Três Corações, Brazil, the boy who would become known as Pelé grew up playing football on the streets, taught by his father, who had been a decent player himself until an injury cut short his career. For extra cash Pelé worked as a shoe-shine boy, and when he joined Santos FC at the age of fifteen his mother had to make him a pair of long trousers -- until then he'd only ever worn shorts. His impact was immediate: his mentor, Waldemar de Brito, told the Santos directors the boy he'd discovered would be the greatest football player in the world, but despite their initial scepticism it soon looked like he might be right.

Pelé went on to set numerous records at both club and international level. Now, the world's greatest footballer gives us the full story of his incredible life and career. Told with his characteristic grace and modesty, but covering all aspects of his playing days and his subsequent careers as politician, international sporting ambassador and cultural icon, PELE: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY is an essential volume for all sports fans, and anyone who admires true rarity of spirit.

About the Author
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known to the world as Pele, won the World Cup with Brazil in 1958, 1962 and 1970. He scored nearly 1,300 goals in his professional career and is Brazil's record goalscorer with 97 goals. He lives in Brazil and the United States.

Customer Reviews

A brief history of a great footballer
Although Pele is regarded by many to be the greatest footballer of all time, he was at his peak before TV coverage became what it is today. That and that he never played European club football means that the only time many of us actually saw Pele play was in World Cup tournaments. In fact to the vast majority of people under the age of thirty Pele is probably most famous for his advertisements about erectile disfunction! Like all football supporters I have seen his header that produced Gordon Banks' miraculous save, his outrageous dummy and his lob from the halfway line during the same World Cup but I was hoping this book would tell me a little more about the man and the footballer. I was disappointed. It rattles along at a pace - rather too quickly for my liking. The description of his childhood is brief, preferring to move onto his football career. Even this is touched on all too briefly; at one stage he tells us about playing football with a ball made out of rolled up socks then within a few pages he his part of Brazils World Cup winning team of 1958! This continues all the way through. In particular I wanted to find out more about the wonderful Brazil team of 1970, but this book tells me little I didn't already know.
This is not a bad book, in fact as footballers autobigraphies go its good, but I will wait till until somebody writes the definative biography before I read about the true story of Pele.

The greatest player I never saw
For those who can remember seeing him play, and many who can't, Pele is to football what The Beatles were to music and Scorsese is to cinema.
To put him into context, he is the boy from Brazil who went on to shine in four World Cups, winning three of them, and scoring more than 1,200 career goals. In short, he is the greatest player of all-time.
Helped along by Alex Bellos (author of the excellent Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life), the book charts his progress to global recognition as the ultimate footballing icon - a player that epitomised the Samba ethos of the Brazilians with a grace and modesty seldom repeated.
As a tale, it faithfully recreates his journey and fills in the gaps before and after his playing days, but the real emotion is summed up by those fortunate, or in the case of Italian defender Tarcissio Burgnich, unfortunate enough to play alongside or against him.
"I told myself, he's flesh and blood, just like me." says Burgnich, "I was wrong."

The King
This book is really good. as football books go it is very close to Tony Adam's Addicted which was very good.
This book tells the story of The King, Pele, it charts his life from boy to the king of football, but the best thing about this book which i like is that 'it gets on with it' it doesnt hang around telling us too much about his boyhood, some footy books go too deep into there boyhoods, books like john barnes story. pele actually at one point in the book actually says 'now to the football....' which is good because you have bought it for that.
this is a must read really if you are football fan or not. because he is a icon he is Mr. Football, and when you get too the 1970 world cup which he describes in detail you are in awe of the man and the team of 1970, easily the best team ever.
i must give a little quote from the book which sum's up everything about the man:
Pele is in a match and he is having a hard time with a defender the defender is liping to him that he isnt all great etc etc then Pele scores beating the defender and gives the ball to him and replies "here, give this to your mother and tell her its from the King".
Thats Pele.