This date in 1940 saw the birth of legendary Brazillian Football player, Pele. 10 facts about him:
His real name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento. He was named after light bulb pioneer Thomas Edison. Although his parents wanted to call him Edson rather than Edison, a typo on his birth certificate added the missing letter.
He was originally nicknamed "Dico" by his family. Pele was a nickname he gained at school, possibly, it’s been said, because he mispronounced the name of his favourite player, Vasco da Gama goalkeeper Bilé. Pele himself had no idea what the origin of the name was, and the word has no meaning in Portuguese. It does, however, mean "miracle" in Hebrew.
Growing up, Pele couldn’t afford a football or football boots. He’d play barefoot and use a stuffed Sock or a Grapefruit as the ball. He and his friends eventually formed a team called the Shoeless Ones. Barefooted games later became known as “pelada,” believed to be named after Pelé.
Aged 10, seeing his father devastated when Brazil lost the 1950 World Cup final to Uruguay, Pele said, ‘Don’t cry, dad — I’ll win the World Cup for you.’
Pelé only played for three teams: the Brazil national team, Santos FC, and New York Cosmos.
Pelé's first international match was a 2–1 defeat against Argentina on 7 July 1957 at the Maracanã. In that match, he scored his first goal for Brazil aged 16 years and eight months. He remains the youngest goalscorer for his country. He’s the holder of a number of world records, too. At at 17 years and 239 days he became the youngest player ever to score a goal in a World Cup match, against Wales in the quarter-finals. In the semis, against France, he scored a hat-trick, the youngest player to do so. His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which includes friendlies, is also a Guinness World Record.
He once stopped a war, temporarily, at least. He was due to play an exhibition match in Lagos, Nigeria in 1967, but the country was embroiled in a civil war at the time. Both sides called a 48-hour cease-fire so that the match (Brazil v Nigeria) could take place. Brazil won the game 2-1.
He’s often credited with popularising the term “The Beautiful Game” with respect to football.
He married three times: to Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi, Assíria Lemos Seixas and Marcia Aoki (he was 73 years old when he announced their engagement). He also had several affairs including TV presenter Xuxa. Between his wives and mistresses, he fathered seven children.
His last professional game was in 1977. It was an exhibition match between the New York Cosmos and Santos F.C., two of the three clubs he’d played for. Pele played for both teams. In the first half of the game, for Santos, scoring one goal; he then switched jerseys and played for the Cosmos in the second half. The Cosmos won the match 2-1.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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