RIP Pele

He was next thing to God in Football. Chief architect of Brazil's 3 time win in the World Cups of 1958, 1962 and 1970, his skills of passing and scoring was simply impeccable and insurmountable. Hailed from a soccer crazy nation he carved is niche as arguably the greatest football ⚽️ player of all time. 

In a country known to produce Soccer Stars he was undoubtedly the Superstar. In 1960s and 70s Soccer (called Football in the world outside United States) was synonymous with Pele. Though Brazil was a soccer nation even before he came to represent them as a 17 year old, he single handedly put his nation in forefront on the world map by being a major contributor to Brazil's victories. Come World Cup every 4 years, most fans all over the globe irrespective of their allegiance, want to watch Brazil play. Pele marked an era where Brazillians played the game in tandem with its Samba music. Watching Brazil play was akin to viewing poetry in motion. 

After retirement Pele joined Cosmos club in New York in 1975 to try promote Football, oops Soccer in America. He had limited success. America started qualifying in World Cups starting from 1998 (it played 1994 World Cup as the host nation). Now it is a much improved soccer nation though never came anywhere close to winning the Cup. 

In 1977 Pele arrived at the Dum Dum Airport in Calcutta on a  sultry August night to find to his surprise that thousands were waiting outside braving pouring rains to have a glimpse of him. Mesmerized by such adulation he was amazed at his fan following in a nation which forget about playing in World Cup, hardly got any closer to qualifying for the coveted tournament. 

While in Spain watching the 1982 edition of the World Cup as Brazil peaked early on a winning spree, juggernauting its way ahead, a confident Pele proclaimed - "Playing like this we are going to win the Cup". Everyone thought so. But Paolo Rossi of Italy crashed the Brazilian dream by scoring a hat trick and eliminating Brazil at a crucial stage of the tournament. It took 12 more years for Brazil to win a World Cup in 1994 edition held in the United States. Pele was seen openly dancing in the stadium with tears of joy in his eyes. 

Stars are born everyday, superstars once in a century. Pele was one of them who passed away today after a long tryst with illness. RIP Pele. You will forever be synonymous with World's most popular sports.