Ambassador
Pelé, widely regarded among football historians, former players and fans to be one of the best and most accomplished footballers in the game's history, is the ambassador of the Copa Libertadores, having won it with Santos twice. In 1999, he was voted as the Football Player of the Century by the IFFHS International Federation of Football History and Statistics. In the same year French weekly magazine France-Football consulted their former "Ballon D'Or" winners to elect the Football Player of the Century. Pelé came in first position. In 1999 the International Olympic Committee named Pelé the "Athlete of the Century".
In his career he scored 760 official goals, 541 in league championships, making him the top scorer of all time. In total Pelé scored 1281 goals in 1363 games. In his native Brazil, Pelé is hailed as a national hero. He is known for his accomplishments and contributions to the game of football. He is also acknowledged for his vocal support of policies to improve the social conditions of the poor (when he scored his 1,000th goal he dedicated it to the poor children of Brazil).
During his career, he became known as "The King" (O Rei).
Read more about this topic: Copa Libertadores
Famous quotes containing the word ambassador:
“An Ambassador is an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.”
—Sir Henry Wotton (1568–1639)
“I would like to be the first ambassador to the United States from the United States.”
—Barbara Mikulski (b. 1936)
“An ambassador is not simply an agent; he is also a spectacle.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)