Brazilian football superstar Pele, who won the FIFA World Cup three times, passed away on Thursday at the age of 82 in Sao Paulo, Brazil with his bicycle kick goal viral
With his unique playing style, the former Santos and Brazil football player is recognised for permanently altering modern football. Many of the manoeuvres we currently associate with elite players were passed down to them by illustrious players.
Pele Scoring The Bicycle Kick Goal In The World Cup, Video Goes Viral
That time Pele had the bicycle kick goal against the Nazis. pic.twitter.com/f3Q31exdJj
— CapitaLOLs (@capitaLOLs) December 31, 2022
Pele’s iconic bicycle kick scene from the 1981 film ‘Victory’
pic.twitter.com/t2T0bmp5Qt— Justin Pooni (@justinpooni_) December 29, 2022
Pele. 3 World Cups. 1283 Goals. And star in one of greatest sports photos ever. Bicycle kick vs. Belgium. 1968. https://t.co/FIMzXvqgQ9 pic.twitter.com/UwMhLzLoaI
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) December 29, 2022
Damn, RIP Pele.
The first thing I ever knew about soccer, the bicycle kick, I knew because of Pele.
Rest in Power, King.👑⚽️ pic.twitter.com/gAYFlLeycS
— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) December 29, 2022
Pelé's bicycle kick against the Miami Toros in 1976. In the outfield at Yankee Stadium, he scored one of the most beautiful goals in the history of American soccer. RIP, O Rei. pic.twitter.com/4J4dR8kcln
— Pablo Iglesias Maurer (@MLSist) December 29, 2022
One such invention is the bicycle kick, which is widely regarded as the football game’s most spectacular moment. Though another former Brazilian football player, Leonidas da Silva, created the kick, Pele is credited with popularising it. He scored a bicycle kick goal against Belgium back in 1968, and after that, other players began copying the move.
Watch the illustrious goal here:
Since then, many prominent footballers have given it a shot and scored noteworthy goals. There have also been a few spectacular bicycle kick misses, but the great man’s charm persisted in every one of them.
Pele about his bicycle goals
The footballer Pele discussed the legacy of the kick and how challenging it is to score with a bicycle kick in his autobiography, Pele: The Autobiography. The Brazilian has scored 1283 goals for club and country over the course of a legendary career, just a small portion of which were bicycle kicks.
“Only three to four of my 1,283 goals have been bicycle kicks. In his book, he stated, “It’s challenging, and my biggest regret is that I’ve never scored a bicycle kick goal in a World Cup.
The footballing career of Pele
The forward made his debut on the international stage at the 1958 World Cup held in Sweden. The 17-year-old was the youngest player to compete in the World Cup when he initially left Brazil, and upon his return, he had already established himself as a national hero by scoring twice in the final game.
According to information found on the FIFA website, Pele scored 1281 goals in 1366 games. He scored 757 goals in 812 games, including some friendlies and games he had to play in due to his military obligations. Pelé set a record by scoring 95 goals in the 114 games he played as a representative of Brazil, 77 of which were in competitive contests.