Football is one of the most popular sports in America today. But do you know who the best football player of all time is? Pele is the best football player of all time for his remarkable performance in his key role in two of Brazil’s first three World Cup victories.

Some personal information about him is that Pele’s full name is Edson Arantes Do Nascimento. His childhood nickname was “Dico.” This great man was born on October 23, 1940 in Tres Coracoes, Brazil. He has humble beginnings. As a boy he helped his family’s financial condition by cleaning shoes at the local train station. In 1956 at the age of 16, he began playing soccer in Brazilian minor league teams such as Bauru Athletic Club and was coached by the former Brazilian international Waldemar de Brito, who played for Brazil during the 1934 World Cup.

Pele played for the clubs Santos and New York Cosmos and his best position is being striker. He had won 3 World Championships for Brazil, 2 Intercontinental Cups, 2 Copa Libertadores, and a Brazilian Championship for the club Santos and for the club New York Cosmos; he had won the US Championship once. This guy is honored as the IFFHS Player of the Century. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in the year 1993 and named as IOC Athlete of the Century in the year 1999.

There is no doubt that Pele is the best football player of all time because of his significant contributions in the world of football. Ney Blanco de Oliveira, Pele’s personal friend for more than 40 years, admires him for being a kind person who has the heart to help other people and organizations that help children around the world. He mentioned that, “Edson is not only the greatest soccer player the world will ever know, but he is also one of the most sensitive, generous and noble human beings that I have ever known.” Two of the famous lines from this great person: “I was born for soccer, just as Beethoven was born for music,” and, “Enthusiasm is everything. It must be taut and vibrating like a guitar string.”

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Soccer, the most watched and played sport in the world, has some amazing and weird facts that are truly fascinating! Here are some you might enjoy.

During the first World Cup in 1930 at Uruguay, the soccer balls used were monkey skulls wrapped in paper and leather!

Soccer as we know it originated in Britain.

Soccer shirt number 10, Diego Maradona, was just 16 when he made his debut for Argentina.

Talking about number 10, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious numbers in soccer. Number 10 soccer jerseys have been worn by legends of the game, such as Michel Platini, Pele, Zico, Zinadane Zidane, Rivaldo, Mario Kempes, including Maradona, of course.

Sheffield Wednesday’s goalkeeper Kevin Pressman was actually sent off after 13 seconds against Wolverhampton Wanderers, making it the fastest red card in English soccer!

Goalkeepers were not required to wear different colored soccer uniforms from their teammates until 1913.

Soccer became an Olympic sport in 1908.

Former England international, Paul Gascoigne, was arrested and sectioned under the Mental Health Act in Newcastle.

Sheffield FC is the world’s oldest club, going back to the year 1857!

Ronaldinho scored all 23 goals for his youth team, during which his team beat the opposition 23:0. He was only 13 at the time!

Italian goalie, Walter Zenga, holds the record for the longest unbeaten run in Cup history. He played 517 minutes without letting in a goal during the 1990 tournament!

Pele is the youngest player to score a goal in the World Cup. He was 17 years and 239 days old when he scored against Wales in 1958.

Cameroonian, Roger Milla, is the oldest player to play in the World Cup. He was all of 42 years and 39 days when he played against Russia in 1994! During that game, he also scored, making him the oldest goal scorer in the World Cup!

In 1990, the United Arab Emirates qualified for the World Cup for the first time. Although they were knocked out during the group stage, two players managed to score goals. Both of them received a Rolls Royce for the goals!

The 1970 World Cup held in Mexico was a landmark tournament since yellow and red cards were used for the first time in its history. Yellow cards were given as a warning, while red cards were used to eliminate players from matches. If a player received two yellow cards, it counted as a red card.

According to video evidence, one of the fastest ever goal scored was in 2.8 seconds by Uruguayan Ricardo Olivera in 1998!

Sweden has actually played against Brazil seven times in World Cup history. No other country has faced Brazil that often.

No host country has ever been eliminated during the first round of a World Cup tournament.

Pele scored as many as 589 goals in only 605 matches for his team Santos!

Pele, the king of football, is said to have stopped two factions fighting a civil war in Nigeria during the year 1967. Both sides actually held a 48 hour ceasefire to watch Pele play in Lagos! That’s the power of football and Pele!

Gerd Muller managed to score 68 goals out of the 62 games he played for West Germany.

Tommy Docherty was sacked as Manchester United’s manager for sleeping with the physiotherapist’s wife!

Before he joined Barcelona, Luis Figo had actually signed illegal contracts with Parma and Juventus!

Brazil’s striker Ronaldo was declared the Most Valuable Player of the 1998 Cup, even though Brazil lost the championship final to France. Ronaldo has also been named World Player of the Year thrice!

Lilian Thuram is France’s most capped player with 137 caps and 2 goals.

Hungary has won the most gold medals in the Olympics for soccer since the year 1952!

Robbie Fowler signed for Manchester City from Leeds United with the understanding that his former team would continue to pay him a salary!

During the largest soccer tournament ever held, as many as 5,098 teams and 35,000 players competed for the second Bangkok League Seven-a-Side Competition in 1999!

Germany’s Oliver Kahn is the first goalie to win the Most Valuable Player of the World Cup in the year 2002.

Brazil happens to be the only country that has made an appearance in every single final! And it is also the only country to have lifted the trophy five times.

The fastest goal in a World Cup match was scored by Czechoslovakian Vaclav Masek after just 16 seconds into the game against Mexico in 1962!

American Bert Patenaude was the first to score a hat trick in World Cup history while playing against Paraguay in 1930.
Sweden’s Erik Nilsson and Switzerland’s Alfred Bickel are the only players to have played in a World Cup before and after World War II. They both wore their national team’s World Cup soccer jerseys in 1938 and 1950!

Germany lost two World Cup finals in 1982 and 1986, making soccer uniform number 11 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge the only captain to have lost two finals!

The first own goal during a World Cup was scored by Paraguay’s Ramon Gonzales in a first round match against the United States in 1930.

Soccer legend Eusebio scored as many as 46 goals in the European Cup for his team Benfica!

The fastest hat trick was made by Hungarian Laszlo Kiss during a match against El Salvador in 1982. He scored during the 70th, 74th and 77th minute of the game, which also makes him the only substitute to have ever scored a hat trick!

The largest attendance for a soccer match saw a whopping 199,854 fans turn up for a match played by Brazil and Uruguay during the 1950 World Cup at the Maracana Municipal Stadium at Rio de Janeiro!

Soccer, also known as football in some parts of the world is one of the most demanding sports in the world. Don’t let the simplicity of the game fool you.

A player is required to jog, sprint, twist, turn, jump and at times run backwards. The leg muscles must be primed for the ninety minutes of action.

Fitness and physical conditioning play a big part in your overall soccer performance. What about nutrition? Do you think nutrition is directly proportional to your performance?

Nutrition is a significant aspect of soccer. Without proper nutrition, the body cannot achieve peak performance and the body will take longer to recover. So what is proper soccer nutrition?

Soccer nutrition must be able to supply the body with enough energy to compete for ninety minutes. Carbohydrates are the best source of energy. All other foods such as fats and proteins require too much ingestion, making them less efficient and not available during peak energy usage.

Carbohydrates should be the key ingredients in any soccer diet. Carbohydrates get converted to glucose, fructose and galactose, which are simple sugars that the body can quickly absorb for energy.

The real benefit for soccer players comes from the conversion of glucose to glycogen. Glycogen is stored in muscles and in the liver and is a quick source of energy when the body requires it. Having adequate stores of glycogen in your muscles is a big advantage. Glycogen is like petrol is to a car. The more petrol you have, the greater distance you can travel.

Most professionals load up on carbohydrates before a match to replenish their glycogen levels. Carbohydrates come in two forms, simple and complex.

Simple carbohydrates are the sugars you find in fruit, lollies and energy drinks. Complex carbohydrates can be found in potatoes, pasta, bread and cereals. These complex carbohydrates are slow to break down and can be stored in muscles and the liver for later use. Complex carbohydrates are the best foods you could eat before a game.

Upon completion of a match, its a good idea to replenish your depleted glycogen levels by eating a well balanced diet of carbohydrates. This will increase your recovery time and prepare your muscles for the next training session.

Any soccer diet would be incomplete without carbohydrates. Make sure to eat enough carbohydrates to maintain your glycogen levels and to give you every chance of performing at your peak.

Do you want more in depth information about soccer nutrition? Soccer Mastermind is a site dedicated to the world of Soccer. Come and join us.