The King bids farewell to Santos FC
By Guilherme Guarche, from the Memory Center
The image of King Pelé kneeling at the center of the pitch at Urbano Caldeira Stadium is one of the most striking when it comes to the career of the eternal Number 10. This photo, which has already gone down in history, shows the King with his arms open, crying. The moment saddened not only the 20,258 fans in the stands at Vila Belmiro, but also sports fans around the world watching the television broadcast that Wednesday night, October 2, 1974.
It was the King’s last official match wearing the Santos shirt, after 18 years defending the colors of the most famous black-and-white club in the world. It was the farewell of the greatest football player of all time. Santos’s opponent in that historic match was Ponte Preta, which was defeated 2–0, with goals by Cláudio Adão and Geraldo (own goal) in favor of Peixe.
The seaside team, which played in black-and-white shirts, was managed by coach Elba de Pádua Lima, Tim — the same coach who had tried to take the young Pelé to Bangu when the boy was only 14 years old. Tim was unsuccessful because Dona Celeste, the boy’s mother, did not authorize his departure to play for the Rio de Janeiro team. That night, Tim lined up Peixe with: Cejas, Wilson Campos, Vicente, Bianchi and Zé Carlos; Léo Oliveira and Brecha; Da Silva, Cláudio Adão, Pelé (Gilson) and Edu.
During the week, the city of Santos welcomed many journalists from various parts of Brazil and the world, all eager to witness the farewell of the Athlete of the Century. All anyone talked about was the final match of the Santos star.
And it was exactly in the 20th minute of the first half that Pelé took the ball and, without anyone expecting it, knelt in the middle of the center circle, opened his arms, and said goodbye to football. Right after that, he got up and, surrounded by reporters and photographers, took a lap of honor with the shirt in his hand, running and crying toward the Santos locker room. He left the stadium in a Military Police car that was waiting for him outside. In the King’s place came Gílson, popularly known as Beija-Flor.
From the first time he wore Peixe’s first-team shirt, on September 7, 1956, in Santo André (in a 7–1 victory), including the match played on December 7, 1975, against Bahia in the Gov. Roberto Santos tournament, there were 1,116 appearances and 1,091 goals scored for Alvinegro alone. Altogether, in his fantastic career, the King played 1,365 matches and scored 1,282 goals.
Pelé was the top scorer of the Campeonato Paulista from 1957 to 1965, then again in 1969 and, lastly, in 1973. In 1958, the King scored 58 goals in the regional competition, a record that remains unbeaten to this day.
For the Brazilian National Team, Pelé played 114 matches and scored 95 goals. He is a three-time world champion, having taken part in four World Cups (1958, 1962, 1966, and 1970).
After his farewell to Santos, Pelé returned to professional football in 1975, playing in the United States for the New York Cosmos, where he played until October 1, 1977.
The King’s main titles with Santos
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
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