Near the opponent’s penalty box, Pele is handed a pass. The Santos attacker quickly and briefly bursts past the first defender while lifting the ball with his right leg. He then raises it above two more advancing defenders. Pele deceives his opponents with a cunning body fake, pretending that he’s heading left before dropping his shoulder, switching directions, and lunging between them as the ball appears to be hanging in mid-air. Pele heads the ball past the goalkeeper before he gets a chance to react.
Pele referred to this goal, which he scored in a Sao Paulo state league game in 1959, as his “greatest” of the 1,281 goals he scored in his career. According to a technical perspective, “I guess it was my greatest goal,” he said, according to a 1966 Sports Illustrated interview. “Because it wasn’t significant enough, I can’t declare that it was my biggest thrill. At the time, we had a 4-0 lead and didn’t really need a goal. But I have to admit, it was unique.
Despite the lack of visual proof, it’s difficult to contest Pele’s assertion for the straightforward reason that he was a unique artist who, with his instinct, intelligence, and imagination, could make all the strategies and patterns that complicate a straightforward sport look unnecessary.
Johan Cruyff reportedly remarked that Pele was the only footballer who defied reason. Cruyff is the expert. After all, Pele made the Cruyff turn in 1960, many years before the legendary Dutch player would adopt it. Just as he performed “La Croqueta” decades before Andres Iniesta made it his signature move, shuffle the ball with lightning speed from one foot to the other before utilising the second foot to drive away from the defender.
Or how, after thousands of bicycle kick goals, Bicicleta do Pele continues to be the industry standard. The Brazilian legend posted the famous photo of him defying gravity to meet the ball at a 90-degree angle mid-air with his back to the goal on Twitter in 2013 along with the statement, “This photo of my bicycle kick, also known as Bicicleta do Pelé, became one of the most important photos of my career.”
Pele, the legendary Brazilian soccer player who rose from barefoot poverty to become one of the greatest and best-known athletes in modern history passed away at the age of 82 due to multiple organ failures resulting from the progression of colon cancer associated with his previous medical condition.
May his soul rest in power.
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