History has been written, and his legacy will be eternal in the world of football. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, also known as Pelé, or affectionately as the King of football, however, left a question for many people: after all, how many goals did he score as a player?
Considering this, Sambafoot sought more concrete information regarding the number of times the King left his mark while enchanting those who watched him on the field. It is worth noting that FIFA, however, ‘discounts’ more than 500 of these goals and only ‘counts’ 767.
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Pelé a thousand times?
One truth must be told: the accounts are far from reaching a consensus to determine if Pelé really scored 1000 goals in his career or not. The reasons vary between historical issues and lack of documentation. For example, what the King himself considered the most beautiful goal he ever scored was not captured on film.
Main issues in counting
However, the biggest disagreements concern goals in club friendlies and also in matches where Pelé played for local teams (such as the São Paulo State Team) or even the Army team. Some only consider goals scored in so-called ‘official matches.’ However, some argue that it doesn’t make sense, considering the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
The King’s goals
Today, the argument stands that only goals in official matches count. However, it is impossible to compare eras. Pelé faced some of the great world squads of his time on his tours, for example, leaving his mark across the globe.
Teams Pelé faced
At that time, the King of football was on the field and scored goals against teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, River Plate, Boca Juniors, and the reigning champions of the time, Benfica, as well as national teams worldwide. However, it was not always against top teams that Pelé played against, yet he still captivated everyone with his unique talent.
Some ‘non-official’ goals from the eternal number 10
- 10 goals: Inter Milan (Italy) – 2 for the Brazilian national team
- 9 goals: Club América (Mexico) and Colo Colo (Chile)
- 8 goals: Hong Kong National Team, Congo National Team, and Universidad de Chile (Chile)
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
Watch the full series, available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel.
