Origin of Pele .'s title 'Football King'

On February 26, 1958, Santos faced America-RJ in the first round of Torneio Rio-Sao Paulo, a tournament between the two states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. As a result, Pele scored four goals, helping Santos win 5-3.

After the match, the late Brazilian journalist Nelson Rodrigues commented: "Pele monopolizes the scoreboard, and decides the outcome of the match himself". Impressed by the performance of the 17-year-old striker, Rodrigues called Pele the "King of football".

"Pele's presence overwhelms the other players - it's the air of a king, from head to toe. When he receives the ball and dribbles past his opponent, it feels like a king chasing away an ignorant commoner. and mediocre," wrote the 1912-born journalist.

According to journalist Ruy Castro, in his autobiography O Anjo Pornografico published in 1992, this was the first time Pele was called "The King of Football".

According to Globo, when he discovered Pele was only 17 years old, Rodrigues exclaimed: "Look, he is definitely a genius. Whether it's Michelangelo, Homer or Dante, Pele can stand with them."

Three months after that article, Pele won the first World Cup with Brazil in 1958 in Sweden. It was also the tournament that made his name known to the world. Pele then won the World Cup twice more, in 1962 and 1970.

Pele's real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento. In an interview with Sky Sports, he revealed that his name was inspired by the American scientist Thomas Edison.

His playing name - Pele - is also a nickname. During his lifetime, the Brazilian legend explained: "In Portuguese, when we kick the ball with our feet, we call it Pe. I must have missed a lot of shots, so my teammates called it "Pe-le" which means shoot more. I don't like this nickname very much because my real name is Edson. But it stuck with me and is known by many people. My family and relatives still call me Dico. That's my name in the country. My home".