From now on, every November 19th becomes a special date in Brazil. Starting this year, it will be King Pelé Day, dedicated to honoring who many consider the greatest soccer player in history. This was established by a law that was promulgated by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The regulation, of only two articles, does not specify the objective or the activities that will be carried out in the tribute. However, it does specify the reason for the chosen date, which does not coincide with his birth date (October 23, 1940) or his death date (December 29, 2022).
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“It is the date when he scored his 1,000th goal in 1969,” the law states, referring to the day when his Santos defeated Vasco da Gama 2-1 at the Maracanã stadium. This data revives the controversy over the number of goals scored by O Rei: according to his version, he scored 1,283, although FIFA officially counts 767.
These differences in figures modify the version of who is the all-time top scorer. For Pelé, Santos, and even the Guinness Book of Records, it is the Brazilian star, while the governing body of world soccer and other entities that handle statistics like the IFFHS attribute that record to Cristiano Ronaldo, with 895 goals and counting.
The fact is that the new law recognizes the first version and seeks to celebrate the 1,000th goal, one that provoked an invasion of dozens of Peixe supporters onto the field to celebrate Edson Arantes do Nascimento, who dedicated his goal “to the poor children of Brazil.”
The rest of the history is not debatable: in 1970, in Mexico, Pelé won his last World Cup with Brazil, becoming the only player to lift the trophy three times (1958, 1962 and 1970).
