Throughout his illustrious career both on and off the pitch, Pele has remained a true ambassador of the game. Making his club debut for Santos at the age of 15 in 1956, he remained with the club until 1974. Although facts and figures could never do justice to the majesty that was Pele, his 1,281 goals in all competitions certainly serve to prove the point. He helped lead Santos to nine State Championships, and claimed two consecutive World Club Championships in 1962 and 1963.
There is no player who can claim greater success on the world stage. Pele made his international debut at the tender age of 16. A year later and his teammates pressured the national coaching staff to include the 17-yearold in the 1958 World Cup squad. Kept out of the majority of the tournament due to injury, Pele came on in Brazil ' s pool match against the Soviet Union. In the quarterfinals, Pele scored the winner against Wales, a hat trick in the semifinals against France, and two in the final against Sweden, Brazil won the 1958 World Cup... and a star was born. Out with injury for the 1962 World Cup, Pele returned to