Pele celebrates his 80th birthday today. Perhaps the most long-lived sportsman to fill the reports throughout history - of course, no longer scoring goals and enchanting the public, but always participating in some way in football events.

The world became aware of Pele at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Time is cruel for everyone. Not even the Athlete of the Century would be able to overcome it. Even so, with the same refined technique with which he overcame his markers, Pele is avoiding his health problems and is there.

Even those who have not seen him performing in the stadiums are excited to see the brilliant moves that his talent has produced, whether in the mythical Maracana or in a small stadium in the interior of Sao Paulo.

Pele, according to the so-called statistics, scored 1,281 goals in 1,363 matches (including friendly, unofficial matches). For the Brazilian soccer team, he won three World Cups (Sweden, 1958; Chile, 1962; and Mexico, 1970) - the only player to achieve this feat. For Santos, his only team in Brazil, he won twice the Libertadores da América (1962 and 1963) and the Intercontinental de Clubs.

Among his numerous awards, the Player of the Century was chosen by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), and the Best Player of the Century by FIFA. The International Olympic Committee chose him too as the Athlete of the Century. All this in 1999. The citizen Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele himself makes this distinction in his speeches) was Minister of Sport in Brazil.