Pelé is an entry in the Portuguese dictionary: Enthusiasm in Brazil – Corriere.it

Passing away almost four months ago, it was December 29, 2022, at the age of 82, throwing Brazil and world football into turmoil, Pelé has also been made immortal in the Portuguese language since yesterday April 26th. As? Becoming a dictionary entry. O Rei, the only footballer in history to have won three World Cups (Sweden ’58, Chile ’62 and Mexico ’70), has already been included in the digital version and will be included in the next paper versions. In the dictionary in question Pele becomes: «something or someone who is out of the ordinary, who, by virtue of his quality, value or superiority, cannot be equaled by anything or anyone».

There’s an incredible enthusiasm in it Brazil for this event: the campaign to immortalize the King of Football in the dictionary, within a few weeks, has collected more than 125,000 signatures. The goal was to make the term “Pele” an adjective synonymous with exceptional, incomparable, unique. The daughter of the former champion made the news on Instagram after it was announced during the Summit Sports São Paulo, an event that brings together executives and leaders of world sport, held for the first time in Brazil and characterized by a tribute to the greatest athlete in green and gold football. Present at the tribute, the CEO of the Pelé Foundation, Joe Fraga, received a plaque with the meaning: «Thank you so much to everyone who made this campaign unique and amazing. It is a very important project for Pele’s legacy. Thank you for everything », his words of thanks. After all, that O Rei was exceptional is a fact that no one can have any doubts about. He played in two teams: Santos, the Brazilian club that launched him (between 1956 and 1974) and the American team of the Cosmos (between 1975 and 1977).

When Edson (as he seemed to prefer to be called by his friends) he retired on 1 October 1977 he had scored the beauty of 1,281 goals in all competitions (and friendlies) and with all shirts: 1,281 goals in 1,363 games, while in official competitions he had scored 761 goals in 825 matches (average: 0.92 goals per game). Pele was something unique. Which will now also exist as a term in the Portuguese dictionary to indicate someone or something exceptional. Just like him.