Edison "Edson" do Nascimento, popularly known as Pele, was a great Brazilian football player. He is considered the greatest player in the history of football. In 1999, he was voted the Footballer of the Century. Pele played 1363 matches in his career and scored 1281 goals, which is the highest goal scorer of all time. Pele is considered a national hero in Brazil. Along with football, he also worked to help poor children. He was known as the "King of Football". He started playing professional football at the age of 15 and won the first World Cup at the age of 17.
Pele also participated in the South American Championship. In 1959, he scored the most goals in this tournament, eight. The Brazilian team finished second that year. Pele is Brazil's all-time top scorer and the only player to win the World Cup three times. He started in the 1962 World Cup, but was injured in the second match and missed the rest of the matches. Later, in November 2007, FIFA awarded him the 1962 medal, making him the only player to win three World Cup medals. He is currently the honorary president of the New York Cosmos club.