Major Nations in a Global World: Brazil

Pelé jumps to avoid the Swedish goalkeeper during the 1958 World Cup final.

A 1969 stamp commemorating Pelé's 1,000 goals.

PELÉ PRIDE Perhaps no soccer player is as famous, loved, and revered as Pelé. Born in 1940 in Três Corações, Pelé became a superstar with his stunning performance in the 1958World Cup, leading Brazil to a 5–2 win against Sweden. Pelé was only seventeen years old when he scored three goals in a 5–2 semifinal win over France. He later scored two goals against Sweden in the championship game, the first time that Brazil won the World Cup. Pelé played for twenty years, leading Brazil to two World Cup victories. He then came to New York to play for the New York Cosmos, a professional soccer team. In 1999, soccer’s governing body named Pelé, Player of Century. Brazilians like to think of their country as the “spiritual home of football,” so it is no wonder that in 2014 they took great pride in hosting the World Cup, the most important and prestigious soccer tournament in the world. Ever since the British brought the game to Brazil in 1892, football has been regarded as a thing of immense joy, a combination of religion, music, and culture. The game has shaped Brazil’s identity, transforming what was an aristo- cratic, European sport into something with mass popularity. One sportswriter

42

MAJOR NATIONS IN A GLOBAL WORLD: BRAZIL