The Brazilian, who turned 80 on Friday, is still considered as one of the greatest players to ever play the game and remains the only man in history to win three World Cups.
Even those who don’t follow football know his name; it’s synonymous with the sport — and his legacy remains as strong as ever.
But before he was Pele, he was Edson Arantes do Nascimento. Born in 1940 in Tres Coracoes, an inland city about 350 kilometers (220 miles) northwest of Rio de Janiero, he grew up poor, honing his craft playing barefoot with improvised balls made of coconuts or balls of socks.
Pele credits his…
