Pele dies: CBF president hails 'eternal' legend as 'the greatest athlete of all time'

By Sports Desk December 29, 2022

Pele remains "eternal" and will be remembered as "the greatest athlete of all time", Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Ednaldo Rodrigues said after the 82-year-old's death.

The three-time World Cup winner's passing was confirmed on Thursday by his daughter after his battle with colon cancer.

Former forward Pele had been moved to palliative care early in December and his family travelled to be by his side at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in Sao Paulo before Christmas Day.

The hospital confirmed Pele died after suffering multiple organ failure.

Tributes have poured in from players, clubs and sporting organisations after Pele's legendary impact on football, with Rodrigues declaring official mourning for seven days.

"I am deeply moved by Pele's departure. The CBF will pay all possible tributes to the greatest athlete of all time," a CBF statement from Rodrigues read. 

"Pele is eternal and we will always work to preserve his history and perpetuate his legacy."

Pele helped Brazil to World Cup success in 1958, 1962 and 1970, with no player in the tournament's history winning it more than him.

His 77-goal haul at international level is yet to be surpassed by a Brazilian player, though it was matched by Neymar with his World Cup quarter-final goal against Croatia at Qatar 2022 this month.

Pele left a lasting legacy at Santos as well, scoring 643 goals in 659 matches over an 18-year period, and Rodrigues recalled first seeing the legend in action.

"I still remember today the emotion of seeing Pele in action in Ilheus when the city's national team faced Santos in 1967," he added. 

"I was only 13 years old and I was impacted. He scored one of the goals. Two years later, I travelled to Salvador to watch his 1,000th goal, which ended up not happening. 

"Nildo took the goal almost on the line. Practically the entire Fonte Nova and I booed the Bahia defender. Three days later, the King scored his 1,000th goal in Rio against Vasco."

Related items

  • Kane determined to continue for England beyond 2026 World Cup Kane determined to continue for England beyond 2026 World Cup

    Harry Kane does not expect the 2026 World Cup to be his final major tournament with England.

    Kane scored his 69th senior goal for the Three Lions as they crushed the Republic of Ireland 5-0 on Sunday to seal automatic promotion back to the top tier of the Nations League.

    However, interim coach Lee Carsley benched Kane for England's previous game, a 3-0 victory in Greece on Thursday, and the striker was roundly criticised for his performances at Euro 2024 despite earning a share of the Golden Boot with three goals as his team reached the final. 

    Now 31 years old, Kane does not expect the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada to be his final shot at international glory and is holding out hope of featuring on home soil at Euro 2028.

    Asked if the 2026 tournament could represent his international swansong, Kane told PA: "I don't think so.

    "I think there's a perception when you get to your 30s that you're coming to an end, but for me, I'm performing at the highest level I've ever performed and feel as good as I've ever felt, so it's about taking in the moment.

    "I don't like to look too far ahead and in my career, I never have. The World Cup is going to be exciting.

    "In America it will be an incredible occasion and ultimately it's about trying to win that, looking at where you are, where to improve and it will be no different in a couple of years."

     

    Kane has scored 61 goals in all competitions since joining Bayern Munich last August, at least eight more than any other player from Europe's top five leagues (Erling Haaland has 53).

    Kane scored 44 of those goals under former Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel, who will take charge of England on January 1.

    Only Haaland under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City (53) has more under a single manager in that span across Europe's big five leagues.

    Kane was speaking at the unveiling of a statue in his honour at the Peter May Sports Centre in east London, where he represented his first team as a five-year-old.

    "It's pretty special to be honest," Kane told BBC Newsround. "I played on these pitches as a five-year-old with dreams of playing for England, and I've been lucky enough to achieve that.

    "Hopefully the boys and girls will walk past and be inspired by the story of my journey, my life and hard work."

  • Germany's focus on developing for 2026 World Cup, says Nagelsmann Germany's focus on developing for 2026 World Cup, says Nagelsmann

    Nagelsmann will use Germany's final Nations League match against Hungary as the start of their 2026 World Cup preparation.

    Germany had already qualified for the quarter-finals of the Nations League coming into this international break, but a 7-0 thrashing of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday ensured they would top the pile in Group A3.

    In fact, that victory was the biggest by a team in the Nations League, while their 3.4 goals-per-game average in the current campaign is also the best by a team in a season in the competition.

    Though qualification for the World Cup has not yet started, Nagelsmann is keen to maintain their momentum in their bid to book a place at the tournament.

    "There is no great motivation as far as the group is concerned. We won the group. We get the motivation from wanting to develop," he told a press conference on Monday.

    "We do not have many matches until the World Cup but just a few. Little time to develop until the World Cup qualification and little time, if hopefully qualified, until the World Cup. So, there is limited time tolerance in terms of development."

    Germany enter the last eight of the Nations League hoping to win their first silverware since their World Cup win in 2014.

    They have exited the last two such tournaments in the group stage after disappointing campaigns, while they were knocked out of Euro 2024 at the quarter-finals stage on home soil.

    However, they have impressed in the Nations League, going unbeaten across their first five games with four wins and a draw. Their 17 goals scored is a competition high, while only Spain (two) have conceded fewer than their three goals in League A.

    "We don't have time to waste," Nagelsmann added. "That does not mean that everything has to work perfectly every time.

    "Wins are always important for us. Nothing will collapse if we don't win [on Tuesday]. The result is not as important as the way we will play.

    "We don't have the time we would like to develop, so we have to use it wisely."

  • Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona: Guijarro brace sets visitors up for Clasico glory Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona: Guijarro brace sets visitors up for Clasico glory

    Patri Guijarro's first-half brace set Barcelona on their way to a thumping 4-0 win over rivals Real Madrid in Liga F on Saturday.

    Claudia Pina and Alexia Putellas were also on target as Barcelona continued their perfect start to the season, extending their lead at the top of the table.

    The visitors dominated from the off, as Guijarro broke the deadlock inside the fourth minute, tapping in from Putellas' flick-on from a corner.

    Cata Coll was forced into a big save to deny Alba Redondo an equaliser shortly after, but Madrid's hope was soon dented as Guijarro picked out the bottom corner with a superb long-range strike for her second.

    Pina strengthened their lead six minutes before the break, clinically slotting past Misa with her low strike.

    Putellas added some more gloss to the scoreline with four minutes remaining of normal time, beating the Madrid keeper with a lovely dink to bring up her 199th goal for the club.

    Barcelona have won all 10 of their games, and now sit eight points clear of Madrid, who suffered their first league defeat of the campaign. 

    Data Debrief: Total dominance

    Madrid will have felt fairly confident coming into this game after a strong start to their season, but they once again failed to find a way past their Clasico rival.

    Los Blancos have lost every single game they have played against Barcelona in all competitions, with this their 15th such meeting.

    Barcelona smothered their attack early on, restricting their hosts to just one shot in the first half, while they had 10. 

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.