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Pele Why Soccer Matters Essay

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Why Pele Matters “I ‘caught’ the ball with my chest, and then, without letting it touch the ground, I looped it over the outstretched foot of a Welsh defender- ‘cheekily,’ one announcer said. The ball bounced once, and I nimbly stepped around the defender and rifled it home into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal. Brazil 1, Wales 0. I screamed- a long, guttural roar” (Pele 104). Pele had just scored his first of many goals at the World Cup, at just seventeen. No one, when they first saw him entering that Swedish field, thought he would become one of the greatest soccer players the world would have ever known. Pele-Why Soccer Matters was written by Pele himself, long after his soccer career was over. Brian Winters helped organize the book. Pele, with …show more content…

The story, Pele-Why Soccer Matters mostly focuses on Pele’s life. It depict his life as a child, but the book eventually transitions into his career as a young World Cup player. Pele goes into great detail when describing how he played in the 1958, 1966, and 1970 World Cup. He also writes what it was like to grow up as a poor child in a small Brazilian town. Pele also describes his post-World Cup days and playing soccer in America. He expresses what it was like to play with the Cosmos. However, many people do not find Pele noteworthy. Some people dislike soccer, and find Pele’s career and fame quite boring. Other people may like soccer, but find other old soccer players more talented or more influential than Pele, players like Garrincha. Pele does deserve to have a book written about him, for he is both talented and noteworthy. Pele is one of the greatest soccer players (and one of the first great soccer players,) was one of the most important people in popularizing soccer in the United States, and is an inspirational role-model, especially for young children. Any fans of soccer will recognize Pele’s name, many will recognize him as a hero of soccer, but some may not know he was one of the

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