The End of a Legend

Luis Gaspar, Writer

Throughout the years of soccer, we have seen many great players. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Paul Pogba, Luka Modrić, Kylian Mbappé, and goalkeepers like Manuel Neuer, Guillermo Ochoa, Hugo Lloris, and Iker Casillas. But the list was smaller than before. Between the time of 1958-1970, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, or also known as Pelé, was one of the greatest players of all time. He was born in Três Corações, Brazil and he grew up in poverty. To this day he is still known as one of the greatest players in soccer history. At the age of 17 in 1958, Pelé won his first World Cup, beating Sweden 5-2 while being the youngest player to win a World Cup. He was also the first player to win the most World Cups, 1958, 1962, and 1970. As Pelé continued his career in soccer, 1970 being his last World Cup, he had his official last game on October 1st, 1977. He sadly passed away on December 29th, 2022, when he was admitted to the hospital due to a respiratory infection. He was also dealing with colon cancer which got worse over time. Many fans were shocked to hear the news of his death, and Pele had such an impact in the soccer world. But he did leave hope for many soccer players for this generation, and future generations, and the legend will never be forgotten.