Pele, the King of football, dies at 82

Sao Paulo (Brazil): Brazilian football legend Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento), who was part of three World Cup wins for the country, died on Thursday. He was 82.

He was battling colon cancer and was admitted to the hospital for a respiratory infection.

Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century.

Born on October 23, 1940, in Três Corações, Brazil, to Fluminense footballer Dondinho and Celeste Arantes, Pele grew up in poverty. Before breaking into the professional league, he used to play for several amateur teams and earned his name as a futsal (indoor football) player.

But at 15, he started playing for Santos and within a year, he was selected for Brazil's national team.

During his international career, he won three FIFA World Cups: 1958, 1962 and 1970, the only player to do so. Pelé is the all-time leading goalscorer for Brazil with 77 goals in 92 games.

At the club level, he is Santos' all-time top goalscorer with 643 goals in 659 games

Fifa, football's governing body, has labelled him the "greatest".

In 1999, he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and was included in the Time list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century.

In 2000, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century.

In Brazil, he is hailed as a national hero for his accomplishments in football and for his outspoken support of policies that improve the social conditions of the poor.

After retirement, he acted as the global ambassador for football and visited Kolkata.