Tell about Pele ?

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Even if you weren’t born when Pelé last laced up a football boot in anger, you know who he is.

Everyone's seen the goals. We’ve watched the black and white footage of a teenager tearing apart the best defenders in the world. And we’ve also seen the blurry technicolour footage of a player at the height of his powers, leading one of the greatest football teams of all time to another World Cup.

Pelé was named after the inventor of the lightbulb, Thomas Edison. The young Edson “Pelé” Arantes do Nascimento certainly showed plenty of invention in his career and lit up many a football pitch with his skills.

Pelé signed for Santos at the tender age of 15 and proceeded to score four goals on his debut against FC Corinthians. That's one way to reward the scout's faith.

Pelé, byname of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, (born October 23, 1940, Três Corações, Brazil), Brazilian football (soccer) player, in his time probably the most famous and possibly the best-paid athlete in the world.

Pele was born in 1940 in the small Brazillian town of Tres Coracoes, “three hearts” in Portuguese.

He was part of the Brazilian national teams that won three World Cup championships (1958, 1962, and 1970).

The Brazil and Santos star wasn’t someone who was happy scoring just one goal. He scored 92 hat tricks, four goals on 31 occasions, five goals on six occasions and he once scored eight in a single match. If only Fantasy Football was around in those days.

Portuguese, the native language of Brazil, is Pele’s first language.

After playing for a minor league club at Bauru, São Paulo state, Pelé (whose nickname apparently is without significance) was rejected by major club teams in the city of São Paulo.

Pelé got his nickname after his mispronunciation of the name of the Brazilian goalkeeper, Bilé, as Pelé. One of his classmates started to call him “Pelé” to tease him and the name stuck. We’re pretty sure his classmate hasn’t won three World Cups so it’s safe to say that Pelé had the last laugh.

Pele was the oldest of three children in his family. His father, Joao Ramos do Nascimento, was a famous soccer player, too.

In 1956, however, he joined the Santos Football Club, which, with Pelé at inside left forward, won nine São Paulo league championships and, in 1962 and 1963, both the Libertadores Cup and the Intercontinental Club Cup.

Pelé scored his 1000th goal on 19 November 1969, causing the day to be simply known as Pelé Day in Santos. We wouldn’t begrudge the legend a day of his own, in fairness.

On October 1, 1977, in Giants Stadium, he played his last professional game in a Cosmos match against his old team Santos.

Sometimes called “Pérola Negra” (“Black Pearl”), he became a Brazilian national hero. He combined kicking power and accuracy with a remarkable ability to anticipate other players’ moves.

Pelé came close with four headed goals against Botafogo but his father managed at least one footballing feat that his son couldn’t emulate.

After the 1958 World Cup, Pelé was declared a national treasure by the Brazilian government in order to ward off large offers from European clubs and ensure that he would remain in Brazil.

During his long career, Pele scored 1,282 goals in 1,363 games. In 1978, Pele was given the International Peace Award and in 1993 he was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Pelé served as Brazil’s Extraordinary Minister of Sport between 1995 and 1998. He also served as a United Nations ambassador for Ecology and the Environment. We’re not sure what his qualifications were but we’d give him the job without a second thought. He is Pelé, after all.

Play like Pelé and win! Send a photo or video of you recreating one of Pelé’s iconic kicks and you could score yourself a trip to Barcelona to train with the legend himself. See the Snickers Facebook page for more information. T&C’s apply.

Pelé’s electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals made him a star around the world. His team Santos toured internationally in order to take full advantage of his popularity.

Early Childhood Pele was born on October 23, 1940 in Tres Coracoes, Brazil. His real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento.

In 1967 he and his team traveled to Nigeria, where a 48-hour cease-fire in that nation’s civil war was called to allow all to watch the great player.