Tell about Pele ?

Pele made a cameo appearance in the film Mike Bassett: England manager, in which he was interiewed by the broadcaster Martin Bashir. He laughs off England's chances of winning the World Cup.

In March 2003, Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen was offered special intensive training in flag-waving in advance of the 32nd Brazilian Grand Prix. Why? Organisers wanted her to do a better job than Pele, the previous year's flag waver, who got "distracted" and failed to notice Michael Schumacher crossing the finish line!

His family gave him the nick-name "Dico". He did not get the nickname Pele until he started school, where he used to pronounce the name of the local Vasco da Gama goalkeeper Bile as Pile. Hence, a classmate of his gave him the nickname Pele.

Former Manchester City and England star Rodney Marsh once said of Pele: “Comparing Gascoigne to Pele is like comparing Rolf Harris to Rembrandt.

Pelé was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on October 23, 1940 in Três Corações, Brazil, the first child of João Ramos and Dona Celeste.

Pele on being a role-model: "Every kid around the world who plays soccer wants to be Pele. I have a great responsibility to show them not just how to be like a soccer player, but how to be like a man."

Pele has worked as a UNICEF Goodwill ambassador and as a United Nations ambassador, working to protect the environment and fight corruption in Brazil.

Pele came out of international retirement to play one last game for Brazil on October 6, 1976 against club side Flamengo, who won the match 2-0. His last international game for Brazil, however, was a 2-2 draw with Yugoslavia on July 18, 1971.

As an adolescent, Pelé joined a youth squad coached by Waldemar de Brito, a former member of the Brazilian national soccer team.

Pele made his first appearance for New York Cosmos on June 5, 1975, against Dallas Tornadoes. He managed to score on his debut, with the game ending in a 2-2 draw.

American forward Edson Buddle is named after the great Brazilian. "I thought naming him Pele would be too much pressure," his dad revealed. "Edson not many people would know."

As he prepared to kick off in a game during Mexico '70, Pele gestured to the referee that he needed to tie his laces. The cameras panned in to reveal the forward's Puma boots — the company subsequently experienced a huge sales boost

Pele's 1000th goal was a penalty. Romario, chasing his own 1000th strike in 2007, eventually reached the milestone in the same manner — although his tally is also disputed in some quarters.

Filming on Citizen Kane, widely viewed as one of the defining films in Western cinema, finished on the day of Pele's birth. In 2001, on Pele's birthday the world got its first glimpse at one of the defining gadgets of the modern era — the iPod.

Pele scored the first professional goal of his career before he turned 16, led the league in goals in his first full season and was recruited to play for the Brazilian national team.

The world was officially introduced to Pelé in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.

The young superstar received hefty offers to play for European clubs, and Brazilian President Jânio Quadros eventually had Pelé declared a national treasure, making it legally difficult for him to play in another country.

Pelé aggravated a groin injury two games into the 1962 World Cup in Chile, sitting out the final rounds while Brazil went on to claim its second straight title.

Despite the disappointment on the world stage, the legend of Pelé continued to grow. In the late 1960s, the two factions in the Nigerian Civil War reportedly agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire so they could watch Pelé play in an exhibition game in Lagos.

The 1970 World Cup in Mexico marked a triumphant return to glory for Pelé and Brazil. Headlining a formidable squad, Pelé scored four goals in the tournament, including one in the final to give Brazil a 4-1 victory over Italy.

Pelé announced his retirement from soccer in 1974, but he was lured back to the field the following year to play for the New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League, and temporarily helped make the NASL a big attraction.

Pele played his final game in an exhibition between New York and Santos in October 1977, competing for both sides, and retired with a total of 1,281 goals in 1,363 games.

In 1978, Pelé was awarded the International Peace Award for his work with UNICEF. He has also served as Brazil's Extraordinary Minister for Sport and a United Nations ambassador for ecology and the environment.

Pelé was named FIFA's "Co-Player of the Century" in 1999, along with Argentine Diego Maradona.

Pele scored a total of 1,283 first-class goals, including 77 for Brazil.