Super Soccer: World Cup Heroes

Super Soccer: World Cup Heroes — page 1 — CHAPTER 1 BRAZIL'S PELÉ Soccer or fútbol is the most popular sport in the world Although many talented players have come and gone Pelé is considered the best ever He was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento Most of the world knows him as Pelé No one knows where the Pelé nickname originated Pelé left home at the age of 15 to start his professional career with the Santos soccer club Pelé scored his first pro goal before his 16th birthday His rare combination of speed and foot eye coordination set him apart Pelé played on the Brazilian national team for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden At just 17 years old he was the youngest player to appear in a World Cup at the time He exploded onto Pelé is considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time

Super Soccer: World Cup Heroes — page 2

Super Soccer: World Cup Heroes — page 3 — the world stage in Sweden and wasted no time scoring an assist in his first national team game Brazil led 2 1 at halftime in the semifinal against France Pelé pushed the score with three goals in the second half to lead Brazil to a 5 2 win He was the youngest player ever to score a hat trick in a World Cup game Pelé followed up that performance with two more goals in the final against the host country Sweden Brazil defeated Sweden 5 2 to bring the World Cup home Pelé's six goals created one of the most memorable World Cup performances of all time He returned to the Brazilian national team for the 1962 World Cup He had a goal and an assist in Brazil's first match win against Mexico He injured his leg in the next game and would miss the rest of the tournament Brazil won a second straight World Cup title without him This disappointment would fuel Pelé in years to come Pelé agreed to join Brazil in the 1970 World Cup This would be his final World Cup The tournament took place in Mexico Brazil's 1970 team is considered one of the best ever The squad was formidable but Pelé was the brightest star Pelé scored

Super Soccer: World Cup Heroes — page 4 — Pelé's great game against Czechoslovakia in the 1970 World Cup was just the beginning of an amazing tournament for Brazil

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