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Pelé, Brazil’s mighty king of ‘beautiful game,’ has died

FILE - Brazilian soccer star Pele, and New York Cosmos coach Julio Mazzei, embrace at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., April 16, 1982. Mazzei helped persuaded Pele to play in the United States and coached the Cosmos to a North American Soccer League title in 1982. Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died in Sao Paulo on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. He was 82. (AP Photo/Seth Rubenstein, File) FILE - Brazilian soccer legend Pele is pushed in a wheelchair as he arrives at the 2018 World Cup soccer draw at the Kremlin in Moscow, Dec. 1, 2017. Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died in Sao Paulo on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. He was 82. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File) FILE - Brazilian soccer star Pele, his wife Rosemeri pose for a photo with their daughter Kelly, and newborn son Edson, in an unknown location in Brazil in 1976. Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died in Sao Paulo on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. He was 82. (AP Photo File) FILE - Brazilian soccer star Pele and his wife Rosemeri pose for a photo with their daughter Kelly, in an unknown location, June 1967. Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died in Sao Paulo on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. He was 82. (AP Photo, File) FILE - Brazilian soccer star Pele waves to admirers, as he and his bride Rosemeri ride in a traditional horse-drawn carriage as they tour Salzburg, Austria, Feb. 25, 1966. Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died in Sao Paulo on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. He was 82. (AP Photo/Klaus Frings, File) FILE - Brazil's soccer star Pele bicycle kicks a ball during a game at unknown location, Sept. 1968. Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died in Sao Paulo on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. He was 82. (AP Photo File) FILE - Brazil's Pele wears his national team's jersey in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 25, 1962. Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died in Sao Paulo on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. He was 82. (AP Photo, File) FILE - Soccer superstar Pele, waving the flags of Brazil and the U.S., is carried off the field in driving rain by players of both teams at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., after his final game, Oct. 1, 1977. Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died in Sao Paulo on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. He was 82. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File) FILE - Argentine soccer star Diego Armando Maradona, left, rests in a hammock with Brazilian soccer star Pele, during a meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 13, 1995. Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died in Sao Paulo on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. He was 82. (AP Photo/G. Copolla, File) FILE - Brazil's soccer legend Pele greets the crowd ahead of a Spanish league soccer match, in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Jan. 16, 2005. Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died in Sao Paulo on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. He was 82. (AP Photo/Jasper Juinen, File) FILE - Brazilian soccer great Pele, and English soccer star David Beckham pose for photos during a U.S. Soccer Foundation fundraising gala, in New York, March 19, 2008. Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died in Sao Paulo on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. He was 82. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File) FILE - Brazil's soccer legend Pele attends the opening of an exhibit about his life titled King's Marks, in Brasilia, Brazil, June 25, 2008. Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died in Sao Paulo on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. He was 82. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
Pelé, Brazil’s mighty king of ‘beautiful game,’ has died