The Life and Art of Pelé Trivia Quiz

Answer: Edson Arantes do Nascimento

Pelé is the nickname of Edson Arantes do Nascimento. Pelé's father, João Ramos do Nascimento, also a soccer player was a great admirer of Thomas Edison and decided to honor the inventor by naming his son after him. But, for some reason, at the registrar's office, it was agreed the name would be "Edson" and not "Edison".

However, confusion ensued and in his documents, both "Edison" and "Edson" are used. The nickname Pelé was given to him in his youth when he played for local teams.

Answer: 1940s

Pelé was born on October 23, 1940, in the city of Três Corações, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Later his family moved to Bauru, in the state of São Paulo. He was born and raised in a family without resources, had to work since he was a little boy, and was encouraged to play football by his father.

It should be said that at that time and to this day, playing soccer is one of the favorite games of Brazilian children. Pelé died in São Paulo, Brazil, at age 82 on December 29, 2022.

Answer: 16 years old

Pelé signed his first professional contract with Santos Futebol Clube on June 25, 1957, when he was 16 years old. He joined Santos' under-16 team at age 15 and debuted in the primary team in September 1956.

Answer: Three

During his career as a player for the Brazilian national team, Pelé participated in four World Cups. He made his debut for the Brazilian national team at the age of 17 and made football history by winning three FIFA World Cups: 1958, 1962, and 1970, being the only one to do so as a player. Brazilian Mario Zagallo also won three World Cups, but two as a player in 1958 and 1962 and once as a coach in 1970.

It is worth remembering that Pelé was part of the Santos team that won the Club's World Cup in 1962 and 1963.

Answer: 10

The numbers on players' jerseys are mainly used to identify the different positions on the soccer field. But some numbers became symbolic and associated with players rather than positions.

The number 10 jersey has great prestige and is undoubtedly linked to players who have worn or still wear it. Its fame started with Pelé when he was assigned the number 10 for the 1958 FIFA World Cup. As he had great success with the number 10, he started to use it for both his team Santos Futebol Clube and the Brazilian national team. Other great players also made their name with the shirt number 10, especially Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi. The number 7 is linked to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Answer: True

Pelé, in 1958, was the youngest player to participate in the cup's editions, aged 17 years, 234 days. This mark was broken by Norman Whiteside when he debuted for Northern Ireland aged 17 years and 41 days in the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
These following players were also younger than Pele when they participated in a World Cup - Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Femi Opabunmi (Nigeria), and Salomon Olembe (Cameroon).

Answer: True

In the sixth edition of the World Cup, held in Sweden in 1958, in the quarter-finals game Pelé, aged 17 years and 239 days, scored a goal for Brazil against Wales, becoming the youngest player to score in the competition. In the semi-final, Brazil beat France by a score of 5 to 2, with three goals from Pelé. Thus, Pelé, at age of 17 years and 244 days, became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup.

Answer: Santos

Until 1974, Pelé played professionally only for Santos Futebol Clube, commonly known as Santos and nicknamed "The Fish". It is a Brazilian sports club, based in Santos, a coastal city in the State of São Paulo, home to the largest port in South America.

Answer: New York Cosmos

After Pelé withdrew from Brazilian soccer, he signed a multi-million dollar contract with New York Cosmos that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL). His first game with Cosmos was on June 15, 1975, against the Dallas Tornado, when he scored one goal in a 2-2 draw. Pelé's move to the USA opened the doors for many other stars and certainly increased the public's interest in this sport. Pelé finished his official playing career by leading Cosmos to their second Soccer Bowl title.

On 1 October 1977, Pelé closed his career in a match between Cosmos and Santos. On this occasion, he played the first half with Cosmos and the second with Santos. The game ended with Cosmos winning 2-1, with a goal by Pelé, the last of his career. At the end of the game, it was raining and a newspaper came out with the headline the following day: "Even the skies were crying".

Answer: True

In 1997, Pelé received the title of Honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire from Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace. Honorary knighthoods are awarded to citizens of countries where the British sovereign - in this case, the Queen - is not the head of state.

Knighthoods are honors awarded to individuals by the sovereign of the UK in recognition of achievement in or services to a particular field. Select football figures have been knighted, including former Manchester United managers Matt Busby and Alex Ferguson, and England's World Cup-winning manager Alf Ramsey.