Football icon Pelé is dead, aged 82.
On Thursday evening Swedish time, the three-time world champion fell asleep at the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paulo after a period of illness.
– He was a sensational goalscorer and winner. There will be national mourning in Brazil. He will be celebrated and honored, comments Olof Lundh, columnist on the Football Channel.
Had his breakthrough in Sweden
Pelé had his breakthrough in Sweden when, as a 17-year-old, he was part of Brazil’s first World Cup gold. The national team career then continued with WC gold in 1962 and 1970.
Apart from two final years in the American New York Cosmos, Pelé remained loyal to his home club Santos throughout his career. In total, he scored 77 goals in 92 international matches and a whopping 1,284 goals in 1,375 matches including training matches and a few matches for the Brazilian army team.
Svennis: “He was as big as anything”
Last year, Pelé had surgery to remove a tumor in his colon, and since then his health has declined.
Now a whole football world mourns Edson Arantes do Nascimento – one of the greatest in the history of the sport.
– He was as big as could be, says Sven-Göran “Svennis” Eriksson in a comment to TV4 Nyheterna.
In the player above: Olof Lundh comments on the legend’s death.