![\"Pele\"](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pele-.png\" "\\"Pele\\"\/")
SuperSport viewers on DStv and GOtv will be counting down the days to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, with the tournament set to run from 21 November to 18 December and provide the most thrilling distillation of \u2018The Beautiful Game\u2019.<\/p>\n
DStv and GOtv are the only true home of football in Africa, offering a range and depth of action that no other rival can match \u2013 it\u2019s literally \u2018Unbeatable Football\u2019! If you\u2019re going to spend your money on something, it may as well be on the best football in the world.<\/p>\n
The 1958 World Cup in Sweden witnessed the arrival on the global stage of arguably the greatest football player of all time, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known simply as Pele. As a 17-year-old, the forward scored six goals \u2013 including two in a 5-2 victory over the hosts in the final in Solna \u2013 inspiring Brazil to their first ever World Cup title.<\/p>\n
Pele went on to win two more World Cups with Brazil \u2013 in 1962 and 1970 \u2013 and scored a total of 77 goals from 92 appearances for A Selecao. He remains Brazil\u2019s all-time leading goal scorer in men\u2019s international football (Neymar, on 70 goals, could surpass his record in the near future).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Yet the breakthrough showing for Pele in 1958 almost did not happen. Prior to the tournament, Brazil\u2019s team psychologist, Dr Joao Carvalhaes, was adamant that Pele \u2013 as well as fellow attacking star Garrincha \u2013 should not be included in the squad for the trip to Sweden.<\/p>\n
\u201cPele is obviously infantile. He lacks the necessary fighting spirit. He is too young to feel aggression and respond with appropriate force. In addition to that, he does not possess the sense of responsibility necessary for a team game,\u201d read part of a report compiled by Carvalhaes.<\/p>\n
READ ALSO<\/strong><\/p>\n Luckily coach Vicente Feola went with his gut, rather than the doctor\u2019s advice. As Pele recounted in his autobiography, \u201cFortunately for me and Garrincha, Feola was always guided by his instincts rather than experts. He just nodded gravely at the psychologist, and said, \u2018You may be right. The thing is, you don\u2019t know anything about football. If Pele\u2019s knee is ready, he plays.\u201d<\/p>\n That knee, and the injury he had sustained in a pre-tournament practice match, proved an even more immediate danger to the youngster\u2019s participation in Sweden than Carvalhaes\u2019 dire warnings. But Feola took the gamble and was repaid handsomely. In the process, World Cup history was made.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 1958 World Cup was my launching pad. I was on the front pages of newspapers and magazines all over the world. Paris Match ran a cover story immediately after the victory, saying there was a new king on the block. The name stuck, and very soon I started to be called King Pele. Or, more simply, the King,\u201d said Pele, who to this day remains an icon of the \u2018Beautiful Game\u2019 and one of the legends most closely associated with the FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n No rival can compete with SuperSport\u2019s coverage. Our viewers on DStv and GOtv enjoy an unrivalled selection of football from around the world!<\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss the New Football Season on SuperSport on DStv and GOtv. Visit www.dstv.com and www.gotvafrica.com to subscribe or upgrade, and join in on the excitement. And while you\u2019re on the move, you can stream matches on the DStv App.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n