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He won three World Cups, scored tons of goals and became a global icon, but skin was not yet complete, so he moved to America and helped change the game of soccer in North America.
brazilian great Was convinced to come out of retirement, signing for the New York Cosmos in 1975 for three more seasons.
Pelé played his last professional game months before joining the North American Soccer League (NASL) side, hanging up his boots after making 638 appearances for his boyhood club Santos.
It was almost unfathomable that Pelé would ever play for a club other than Santos, but he joined the Cosmos in the middle of the 1975 season. $1.67-million-a-year contract, despite Soccer was struggling to generate much interest in North America at the time.
Pele came, saw and conquered, and till thenKing’ (“The King”) in 1977, he was a NASL champion who helped start the soccer boom.
“During three seasons with the Cosmos, Pele helped change the domestic landscape of the game of soccer,” the Cosmos said in a statement. statement after his death this week.
“Where there used to be baseball diamonds, there were now soccer pitches.
“The universe and their king not only started a sports revolution in America, but they also traveled the world spreading the gospel of the beautiful sport.”
Even now, nearly 50 years later, Pele’s influence is still being felt in both men’s and women’s sports in North America.
His move to the Cosmos paved the way for other legends such as Giorgio Chinaglia and Franz Beckenbauer to follow suit, and although the NASL eventually folded in 1984, it created a blueprint for Major League Soccer (MLS) when it was founded in 1993. Happened in
Superstars such as David Beckham, Gareth Bale, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have all followed in Pele’s footsteps by playing in MLS and helping to grow the sport in North America.
Soccer in America is now flourishing, with the US national men’s team impressing during the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
With scouts around the world now looking to North America to discover new talent, the sport is firmly entrenched in the fabric of society and naturally passed down through generations.
Much of the early work was done in the 1970s because of Pele’s natural ability and infectious smile.
CNN’s Don Riddell talks to supporters about Pele during Qatar 2022, with one American saying the legend changed his life.
“Watching him was the first professional game I saw in 1975, and because of that, it’s my 11th World Cup,” Clifton Bromond told CNN.
“Seeing him and his potential inspired me to come and watch football and the World Cup.”
In the season before Pelé joined Santos in 1975, the Cosmos’ biggest attendance for a match was just over 8,000 people.
During its final and most successful season in 1977, the average crowd for home games was 42,689, with attendance exceeding 70,000 on three occasions. Society for American Soccer History,
Pelé was 34 when he joined the Cosmos and scored a total of 37 goals in 64 NASL matches.
“Pele’s decision to bring his artistry to the United States in the 1970s with the New York Cosmos was a transformative moment for the sport in this country,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said in a statement.
“As Pele captivated fans across the United States and Canada, it demonstrated the power of sport and the limitless possibilities for sport.”
Pele’s life in pictures
Clive Toye, the Cosmos’ first general manager, was instrumental in getting the sport’s biggest superstars to join the Cosmos.
A former journalist who was heavily involved in the creation of the NASL, Toye had a vision for the future of soccer in America and believed that Pelé was the man to make that dream a reality.
However, Toei and the Cosmos faced some stiff opposition from around the world to the signing of Pelé.
Heavy political interference with Pele was also brought to bear Saying The then US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger helped persuade him to join Cosmos.
“At that time, I had a lot of offers to play in England, Italy, Spain, Mexico but I declined. After 18 years, I want to rest because I am going to retire,” Pele told CNN in 2011.
“Then came the offer to move to New York because they want to make football big in the United States. This was the reason. I started my mission.
It was suddenly nice to watch football.
Matches were broadcast globally and the star-studded Cosmos team was the hottest ticket in town. Comos and Pele even started traveling around the world.
Former Cosmos player Denis Tuarte, who was signed to replace Pelé, said “no matter what, we all around the world, in Asia, Australia, Europe, wanted Pelé,” although he did not agree with the Brazilian star. Played some exhibition matches, he said at Sky Sports.
“He had extraordinary vision, extraordinary athleticism […] He was undoubtedly the best in my opinion.
Pele’s presence remains in New York City today. The ‘Pele Soccer’ store was opened in 2019 and sits on the iconic Times Square, a place many fans flocked to following news of his death.
After the Cosmos won the NASL title in 1977, a farewell match was organized against Pelé’s former team Santos, in which the Brazilian would play half-centuries for both sides, in what would be his last official game.
After the testimonial, he addressed more than 70,000 people inside New York’s packed Giants Stadium, leading the crowd to chant “love, love, love”.
A fitting end, perhaps, for a man who spread joy wherever he went and who helped establish soccer as a way of life in North America.