Why Soccer Matters
These days, it’s difficult to appreciate the fame of Edson Arantes do Nascimento—or Pelé. The soccer prodigy who helped Brazil win three World Cups became a global sports superstar at the dawn of the TV era, and like the Beatles, he was famous when there weren’t really rules for it yet. His first-person account will please sports fans with its tales of his quick success for the Santos football club, magical World Cup moments, and victory lap with the New York Cosmos. But it’s the personal insights that make it worthwhile. Interestingly, he never liked his nickname but came to use the persona of Pelé as a shield against celebrity. Describing his growth as a person and player, he comes across as a thoughtful, humble, self-deprecating man well aware of his talents, his failings, and his good fortune. And his frequent observations on how different things were back then—at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, Brazil’s team shirts were bought at a Stockholm department store—provide a fascinating contrast to the corporate world of sports today. --Keir Graff