‘Football in 4 letters’: World mourns death of King Pele
Hindustan TimesPele, regarded as one of the world’s greatest footballers and the sport’s original icon, passed away in Sao Paulo in Brazil on Thursday at the age of 82 due to multiple organ failure. During an illustrious career that saw Pele become football’s first superstar, he won three World Cup titles with Brazil — the only player to do so — scoring 77 goals in 92 matches for his country. Neymar, who equalled Pele’s tally of 77 goals for Brazil during the recent World Cup, said: “I would say that before Pele, football was just a sport. Rest in peace, King Pele.” Former Germany great Franz Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup as player in 1974 and as coach in 1990, said: “Football lost the greatest in its history today — and I lost a unique friend. Rest in peace, Pele.” Former England forward Geoff Hurst, who scored a hat-trick in the 1966 World Cup final against West Germany, said of his contemporary: “I have so many memories of Pele, without doubt the best footballer I ever played against.