On December 29, 2022, the whole world said goodbye to Pelé, one of the most celebrated football players of all time. In addition to being a historic striker, he also excelled as a goalkeeper in official matches. Find out more about the extensive career of the also well-known ‘O Rei’ below.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known worldwide as skinbegan his football career at Santos de São Paulo, a sports club where he has scored 643 official goals since joining and also provided the goal on more than one occasion.
How many times has Pelé been a goalkeeper?
Pelé has been a goalkeeper four times, specifically in 1959, 1963, 1969 and 1973. It should be noted that probably the most memorable year was 1963, the year in which the Santos club won a Brazil Cup semi-final against Gremio de Porto Alegre denied .
By the 86th minute, Santos was leading 4-3 through a superb hat-trick from Pelé before Gilmar, his club’s historic goalkeeper, was sent off and the team were left with no chance of substitutions. Faced with this, ‘O Rei’ didn’t hesitate to put on his gloves and proceeded to defend Santos’ goal at all costs.
Pelé has been a goalkeeper four times. Photo: Twitter/@Pele
Santos vs. Porto Alegre competitor Grêmio took the opportunity to point out that Pelé was able to save the ball on two clear occasions. Ultimately, Santos won the game and qualified for the Brazilian Cup final where he eventually took home the trophy.
What did Pele die of?
Pele died at the age of 82 from complications from colon cancer. This was confirmed by his relatives after he had surgery on September 4th.
Pelé has been battling colon cancer since 2021. Photo: Composition/GLR