Pele

by omer puterman

Joined Jan 2021
Published Books 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TOPIC PAGES

Introduction 3-4

Biography & Timeline 5-7

Our Figure’s Influence on Us 8-9

Interview 10-13

Report on Presentation 14

Reflective Writing 15-16

Bibliography 17

Appendix 18-22

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INTRODUCTION by Omer Puterman

Throughout history, there have been people who have influenced the way we live. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, also known as Pele, is one of these people.

I chose to prepare this research project on Pele for several reasons. To begin with, Pele was one of the best football players in the world and he still is one of the best. I am a big football fan, and I would like to know more about him. Also, I chose him because I thought I could learn about how football was several decades ago.

There are several things that I already know about Pele.

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Firstly, I know that he was one of the best Brazilian football players in the world. In addition, I know that he is holding the record for most goals scored in a footballer career.

I expect to learn new and interesting things about Pele

First and foremost, I expect to find out what made him the best player in the world. Also, I want to learn how many achievements he achieved in his career. Finally, I would like to discover what type of player he used to be and what was his play style.

Pele has left his mark on the world. I am looking forward to finding out more about him.

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Pele biography

Pele was born on the 23 of October 1940 in Tres Coracoes, Brazil. He was the elder of two siblings. His full name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, he was named after Tomas Edison the inventor. He received his nickname “Pele” during his school days. He did not know what that name means apart from the fact that the name is Hebrew for “miracle”. Pele grew up in poverty in Bauru, Sao Paulo. He earned money by working in tea shops as a servant. His father, who was a local footballer, taught him how to play football. He could not afford a real football, so he had to play, usually, with a sock stuffed with newspaper and tied with a grapefruit. He played for several armature teams in his youth and led Bauru Athletic Club juniors to two championships.

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In 1956 at 15 years old he signed at Santos, his first professional club. A year later he was given a place in the first team, and at the age of 16, he became the top scorer in the league. Ten months later, the 16-year-old was called up to the Brazil national team. In 1961 Pele was declared “official national treasure” to prevent him to leave the country for other clubs. Pele won his first major title with Santos in 1958 as the team won the Campeonato Paulista, Pele would finish the tournament as top scorer with 58 goals, a record that stands today. After the 1974 season, Pele retired from Brazilian club football although he continued to occasionally play for Santos in official competitive matches.

n 1977 he retired from professional football Two years later he came out of his retirement

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to sign with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. In his international career, he won many trophies. In 1958 at the world cup he was injured and scored two goals in the final, leading Brazil to win the world cup and he was the youngest player to play at the world cup final. When the match was over, he passed out on the field. Later he was named the best young player of the tournament. In 1962 when the world cup started Pele was the best-rated player in the world and he got injured during the tournament, but Brazil still won the cup for the second time in a row. In 1970 at 30 years old Brazil’s world cup squad was considered the best squad in the world. Brazil won the world cup, it was the third world cup for Pele making him the only player with three world cup trophies to this day. Pele has married three times and had several affairs, producing several children.

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My figure’s influence on me

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do” – Pele.

I agree with him. You cannot succeed in anything without hard work. I think that in order to achieve something great in life you must work hard and never give up. If you set yourself a goal you must have the right mindset to reach the goal. Pele grew up in poverty, he had a tough life, but he worked hard and never gave up and now he is one of the best football players of all time. I am lucky, I do not live in poverty, so I need to take advantage of what I have been given and make the most of it.

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Interview

I chose to interview Salva Barzilai. He is a football commentator, sports journalist, musician, and Israeli-Brazilian theater actor. He works at “Sport 1” which is a sports TV channel. There are several reasons why I chose to interview this person. First, he grew up in Brazil and watched Pele play when he was active. Moreover, he knows a lot about football, especially Brazilian football.

Q – How did Pele influence you as a kid?

A – Pele was my hero, I used to have posters of him on my wall. He was the one that made me love football.

Q – How was football for people back then?

A – Football back then was thrilling. I remember the level of excitement before a match. Every man and woman found their way to watch a game.

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The stadium and every pub and restaurant were full of people shouting and cheering. It was amazing.

Q – Was Pele the best player in the world back then or there were other great players playing?

A – Obviously, there were other great players back then, but Pele was special. He could do things no one else could. His talent made him the best.

Q – If you could tell Pele one thing what would it be?

A – I would thank him for all the great memories he gave me.

Q – what is the greatest memory you have from watching him play?

A – If I had to choose one, I would probably choose the Final of the 1970 world cup.

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It was one of the greatest moments of my life.

Q – Is football today better than back then?

A – It is hard to say but I think football 50-40 years ago was better than modern football. It was much simpler and free where today players cannot express themselves on the pitch.

Q – Do you feel Pele contributed to modern football?

A – Yes, in my opinion, Pele invented new styles of play, and players use them to this day.

Q – if Pele played today as he played in the past would he be as good as back then?

A – I truly do not know, there are great players today, but I think he suited an old-style football rather than modern football.

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Salva talking to Romario at the brazil national team training, 1997.

PRESENTATION

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Reflection

I found the preparation of this project worthwhile for several reasons. I really enjoy football so being able to learn about something I like was fun. Another reason is that Pele is one of my favourite football players and I have learnt a lot of things I did not know about him. I have also learnt a lot about old-style football and that is good to know the history behind the game.

I learnt many things while working on the project. For example, I have learnt about life in the favelas of Brazil and Peles early life and struggles as a poor young boy with a big dream.

developed many skills during my work on this project. Such as how to talk better in front of an audience. One more skill that I developed is how to create a Kahoot game.

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I enjoyed working on my own for several reasons. One reason is the ability to express my feelings and thoughts as I want to. Another reason is the challenge of learning things by myself and learning about things I enjoy.

On the one hand, there were things I enjoyed while preparing this project. Such as watching the movie about Pele to get to know him better.

On the other hand, there were things I enjoyed less while working on the project. Such as doing the interview in times of coronavirus, was very challenging and personally, I had a lot of trouble finding someone who is willing to be interviewed.

In conclusion, I am grateful that I had the opportunity to prepare for this project. It was a fun and challenging experience but in the end, I think it was worth it.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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APPENDIX

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