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Pele wasn't the only one his peers who appeared to have turned a blind eye to the repression, but none of them had his charisma.

Pele scored one and set up two more in that game, as Brazil won their - and his - third World Cup. That goal was one of more than 1,200 that he would score in his career. Unlikely national treasure He would also appear in soap operas and movies like Escape to Victory and even served as Brazil's Minister for Sport between 1995-98. It is said that, during the Nigerian Civil War in the late 1960s, the two sides agreed a 48-hour ceasefire so that they could watch Pelé play an exhibition match in the capital, Lagos! Pele hung his boots up for good in 1977 after a stint in the US' ill-fated first professional football league. That afternoon, he launched into a full-blown rant against everything and everyone who, in his opinion, was unfairly criticising him - including a certain Diego Maradona. It was pure gold for a bombastic article, but unfortunately one that would never see the light of day - the King had already made it clear: "You are here as a friend, not as a journalist".

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Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do." A Short Biography of Pelé We boast one of the largest football photograph catalogues online - take a browse of all your favourite Pelé moments, whether it be his trademark goal celebrations or your favourite on-pitch moment. Customise your photo Pelé first came to international attention in the 1958 World Cup, when the 17 year old stunned the world with 3 goals in the semi-final and 2 goals in the finals, helping Brazil win the competition.

Twelve years later, he was part of a Brazil side that won the title in Mexico with such flair that it still wins polls for the best team ever assembled. In his 82 years, Brazilian footballer Pelé (real name Edson Arantes do Nascimento) secured his status as one of the best footballers in the game. Not only was he the only player to have won three FIFA World Cups, he also holds the record for most goals scored in a single World Cup tournament, and was named FIFA Player of the Century to honour these accomplishments. With a career spanning two decades, Pelé revolutionised the sport we know and love. A year earlier, he had looked so frail during his appearance at football governing body Fifa's awards ceremony in Zurich that, like many other Brazilian journalists, I was genuinely worried he wasn't going to be around for much longer. Aged 11 Pelé joined a youth squad coached by an ex-Brazil player. When he was 15 his coach took him to try out for Santos, a professional Brazilian football club, telling the club "This boy will be the greatest soccer player in the world". He was signed up immediately, and scored his first professional goal before he even turned 16 years old! He was soon recruited into the Brazilian national team, too. He never went into management and his involvement with the game was largely limited to stints in TV punditry - the scenes of him jumping up and down still wearing his headset in the press box of the Rose Bowl stadium in Los Angeles when Brazil won the 1994 Men's World Cup still bring a tear to my eyes.At Sport Photo Gallery, we're always updating our photo library every week, and with thousands of photos to choose from, we're sure you won't have trouble finding what you're looking for.