Leadership
Now with all of the fame Pele has, you would expect him to be an extreme leader in the soccer world. In fact Pele said himself, "I don't need to be a captain". Pele also never wanted to become a leader, but it came naturally to him. He advised his teammates not to give him every ball while in the game and also said they needed to work as a team. In 1995, Pele was named the minister of sports. Even after managing a public job and helping support his family, Pele still had time to play football. Pele is a large contributor to the United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) which is an organization for children's rights. Later in his career, Pele came to the United States to promote football on a larger scale. He was offered a couple of times to be a spokesman for things like cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs. Like the leader he is, he refused to any partnerships involving these things because it's bad for young people.
Legacy
Pele, otherwise known as the football ambassador of the world, is hailed as a national hero and a national treasure by the Brazilian government. The Brazilian culture has a history of forgetting their idols but Pele had the power to change that. Pele was also known as the man who stopped a war. During 1967 through 1970, a Nigerian Civil War was taking place. It was then later announced that Brazil's Santos F.C. where Pele played, would visit Lagos to play a couple of exhibition matches. Then Nigerian authorities called for a two-day truce in order to watch Pele's "football wizardry". Pele was also the first athlete to be featured on the front of a video game. Once, Pele scored a goal that many call, "Placa de gol". This took place in Rio de Janeiro Brazil in the Maracana stadium. A plaque was placed in the stadium to commemorate the fascinating goal that The Legend scored. The plaque reads, "On this pitch on 5/3/1961, Pele scored the finest goal in the history of the Maracana". Without a doubt, Pele is one of the most famous people out there. Even people who don't play or watch football, know or have heard of him. It also without a doubt that every footballer around the world knows who this living legend is and what he was capable of doing. To this day, Pele is known as the greatest football player who ever lived. There is also a close second to Pele and that person is known as Diego Maradona, the Argentine footballer. Although many journalists believe that Maradona was more incredible than Pele, it is clear that Pele comes second to no one. Pele was not only an amazing player on the pitch, but he was also an outstanding role model to the thousands of people who watched him play. To this day, Pele is still considered the greatest player to ever play football.