The story of a poor boy from Brazil who became the greatest soccer player of all time and one of the most important athletes of the twentieth century! His parents may have named him Edson Arantes do Nascimento, but to the rest of the world, he was known as Pelé. The soccer forward stunned Brazil when he began playing for the Santos soccer club at age fifteen. He then went on to captivate the world when he joined his country's national soccer team and helped them win three World Cup championships. Although he was hailed as a national hero for his accomplishments in soccer, Pelé was also an influential person both on and off the pitch. His work with organizations like UNICEF helped improve conditions for children around the world. Young readers can learn more about the man who connected soccer with the phrase "The Beautiful Game."

Even people who don't know football know Pelé. The best of a generation of Brazilian players universally acknowledged as the most accomplished and attractive group of footballers ever to play the game, he won the World Cup three times and is Brazil's all-time record goalscorer. But how did this man -- a sportsman, a mere footballer, like many others -- become a global icon? Was it just by being the best at what he did, or do people respond to some other quality? The world's greatest footballer now gives us the full story of his incredible life and career. Told with his characteristic grace and modesty, but covering all aspects of his playing days and his subsequent careers as politician, international sporting ambassador and cultural icon, PELE: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY is an essential volume for all sports fans, and anyone who admires true rarity of spirit.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known to his schoolmates as Pelé, grew up in poverty in the Sao Paulo region of Brazil. He was too poor to afford a real soccer ball, so he played with a ball of newspaper tied together with string. Yet he dominated the youth leagues and signed his first professional soccer contract at the age of fifteen. Within two years he was celebrated internationally, when he led Brazil to victory at the world cup. Known by his fans as "O Rei" (The King), Pelé is widely regarded as the greatest soccer player of all time. But he's more than just an athlete: he also traveled the world as goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. Pelé is the living symbol of a sport he dubbed "the beautiful game"—a game that brings people together regardless of race or nationality. In the graphic novel Pele: The King of Soccer, Eddy Simon and Vincent Brascaglia beautifully depict Pele's rise from the slums of Brazil to the national stage.

While kicking a ball through the dusty streets of his Brazilian hometown, young Edson Arantes do Nascimento was given the nickname Pelé so casually that no one remembers its meaning. Today, the name is famous worldwide as belonging to history's greatest soccer player. Here, in Pelé's own words, is his incredible life story: his five goals in the last two games of the 1958 World Cup at the tender age of 17, his glory years with his Brazilian club FC Santos, his role in four World Cup tournaments, his comeback as a member of the storied New York Cosmos, and his lifelong role as goodwill ambassador for the world's favorite sport. Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Arcade, Good Books, Sports Publishing, and Yucca imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Our list includes biographies on well-known historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Nelson Mandela, and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as villains from history, such as Heinrich Himmler, John Wayne Gacy, and O. J. Simpson. We have also published survivor stories of World War II, memoirs about overcoming adversity, first-hand tales of adventure, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Pelé—legendary footballer and humanitarian—explores the sport’s recent history and shares his most inspiring experiences, heartwarming stories, and hard-won wisdom. “I know in my heart that soccer was good to me, and great to the world....I saw, time and again, how the sport improved countless millions of lives, both on and off the field. For me, at least, that’s why soccer matters.” The world’s most popular sport goes by many names—soccer, football, the beautiful game—but fans have always agreed on one thing: The greatest player of all time was Pelé. Before Messi, before Ronaldo, before Beckham, Pelé had a stunning twenty-year career, where he was heralded as an international treasure. His accomplishments on the field proved to be pure magic: an unprecedented three World Cup championships and the all-time scoring record, with 1,283 goals. Since retiring, he has traveled the world as soccer’s global ambassador, relentlessly promoting the positive ways soccer can transform young men and women, struggling communities, even entire nations. This is Pelé’s legacy, his way of passing on everything he’s learned and inspiring a new generation. In Why Soccer Matters, Pelé details his ambitious goals for the future of the sport and, by extension, the world.

Part of the best-selling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, Pelé tells the inspiring story of this world-renowned soccer player.

Think you know all there is to know about Pelé? Well, did you know that Pelé played in his first World Cup tournament at the age of seventeen? Did you know that in 1967, both sides in Nigeria's civil war called a 48-hour cease-fire so Pelé could play an exhibition match in the capital of Lagos? Did you know that Pelé has scored more than 1,200 goals in his professional career? Born into poverty in Três Corações, Brazil, Edson Arantes do Nascimento (aka Pelé) fell in love with soccer at a young age. When he was ten, Pelé and some friends started a soccer team. A year later, a coach took notice of his talent and began to train him. By the time he was just fifteen, Pelé had joined a professional team. This was the beginning of a long career in which Pelé led Brazil to victory in three World Cup tournaments. Pelé became an international celebrity whose name was synonymous with soccer. His fame allowed him to raise awareness of his beloved game around the world.