Pele, Brazil football legend and one of the iconic personalities to play football, passed away on Thursday, December 29, after a battle with cancer at the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo.
Born in Edson Arantes do Nascimento to a poor family in Sao Paulo, he broke the jinx to win the 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cups with Brazil.
But away beyond sports, Pele remains an oasis of boundless influence both on and off the pitch, with his iconic presence said to have brought peace to some countries including Nigeria.
In 1969, during the height of the Nigerian civil war, the football legend came to Nigeria with Santos FC to play a friendly with the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
The match ended in a 2-2 stalemate with the Brazilian netting the two goals for his side and receiving a loud ovation from the home fans.
According to Memorial Tricolour, an online history archive, the Brazilian later visited Nigeria after the Civil War, precisely in 1978 where he was adorned with Nigeria’s popular traditional wear, a free-flowing Babariga in Kaduna state.
The football icon scored 1,281 goals in 1,363 games for club and country during his career, ended his playing days at New York Cosmos and retired from football in 1977.
