On October (today), the great Brazilian footballer Edson Arante do Nascimento, popularly known as 'Pele', celebrates his 80th birthday.The world-renowned former athlete remains one of the most recognizable figures in the world despite retiring from the game of football in 1977.Among the yellow male and female athletes, he is the only player to have led Brazil to three World Cups and this is one of the main reasons for his fame. He set a world record by scoring 1281 goals in 1363 matches for his club and country.His fame extended beyond sports even before his retirement, yet there are many stories that people may not know about this iconic figure who made history.
Pele sends a referee off the groundP
Pele's club Santos FC played a friendly against the Colombian Olympic squad in Bogotá on 18 June 1968.When Pele fouled a rival player, referee Guillermo Velasquez asked Pele to leave the ground. The fans in the whole stadium gave a deep sigh on this decision of the referee. The red card was introduced in football a few years later in the 1970s. According to the referee Velasquez, Pele insulted the opponent player 
Then a storm broke out in the stadium. Santos players surrounded the referee in anger and as a result, in pictures taken at the scene, a nail can be seen around the eye of referee Velasquez.The fans also protested against this decision.In an interview in 2010, the referee said that on that occasion he was asked to leave the match and hand over the duties of referee to a linesman, while Pele was immediately recalled to the match.
Did Pele really stop the war?
In the 1960s, Pele's Santos FC was one of the most famous football teams in the world and they took advantage of this fame to play friendly matches around the world which were very profitable.One of these matches was played in war-torn Nigeria on February 4, 1969, with Santos defeating the local XI in Benin City by one goal to two.Nigeria was at that time in the grip of a bloody civil war as a result of the attempted secession of the state of Biafra.According to Santos FC historian Guillermo Garche, the Brazilians were concerned about the safety of their delegation, so a truce was agreed between the two sides. 
The story has been controversial over the years and was not mentioned in Pele's first autobiography, released in 1977, but in another autobiography released 30 years later, the Brazilian star mentioned the incident.He said that the players were told that "the civil war will be stopped for their exhibition match".Pele wrote: 'Well, I'm not sure it's entirely true but Nigeria made sure the Biafrans didn't attack while we were there.'
How Paley 'Ignored The Beatles'
Pele moved to New York in 1975 to play for the New York Cosmos in an attempt to form America's first professional soccer league.He learned English at a school and bumped into John Lennon of the Beatles during a break.Lenin was learning Japanese in the same school. Paley mentioned this in his autobiography written in 2007.Pele claims that he was told by Lennon that he and other Beatles tried to get into the Brazil team's hotel during the 1966 World Cup in England.The musician's attempts to meet him and the rest of the team were rebuffed by the conservative directors of the Brazilian Football Association," Pele wrote. 
Why has he never played for a European club?
Pele's critics claim that because he didn't play club football in Europe, it made life easier for him.The problem is that unlike many other Brazilian players, whether famous or not, Pele was barred from going abroad during his prime.Santos FC turned down offers from clubs like Real Madrid and AC Milan in an era when players had little say in deciding which club they would play for.Pressure to keep them in Brazil also came from top government officials. In 1961, then-President Genevieve Codros issued a decree declaring Pele a 'national treasure' that could not be exported.The Brazilian legend finally played for a foreign club but only in 1975 when he joined American team New York Cosmos.Captained the Brazil team for the first time at the age of fiftyYou read exactly right. Pele wore the Brazilian armband only once in his career. He always refused to captain both club and country.This happened when he played for Brazil at the age of 50. This incident took place in 1990, 19 years after he retired from the duties of the national team. 
On his 50th birthday, he took part in a Brazil vs Rest of the World friendly in Milan, in which Pele played the first 45 minutes of the match. Brazil lost 2-1, but the reason for this was something else. It was Fluminense striker Ronaldo who had a chance to pass Pele and easily score a goal, but in the match held in Pele's honour, Ronaldo attempted an own goal which he failed to score."He was a bit angry with me at first," Ronaldo told Brazilian website Globo Esporte in 2010.
When Paley was 'kidnapped' in the CaribbeanSantos FC players were not happy to play in Trinidad and Tobago on September 5, 1972.
Defender Oberdan told Brazilian newspaper Zero Hora in 2010, "There was a lot of unrest and we saw tanks on the streets."He further said in his statement that 'we all agreed to end this match as soon as possible so that we can reach the plane as soon as possible.'But when Pele scored in the 43rd minute, the team had no idea what the fans' reaction would be.Fans stormed the pitch at the Port of Spain stadium and soon began marching through the streets of the city with Pele on their shoulders in a celebratory parade.When scored in place of Sylvester StalloneWhen the shooting of 'Escape to Victory' began in 1980, Sylvester Stallone was quite popular in the film industry due to the success of the first two Rocky films.Escape to Victory tells the story of a mock match between the Nazi XI and a team of prisoners during World War II.Pele was there along with other active and retired professional footballers such as World Cup winner Bobby Moore and Ossie Ardile, while Stallone played the role of goalkeeper but did not have much success.There's even one scene where Pele does an acrobatic bicycle kick and the ball hits the target in the first shot. 
Interestingly, Pele told Brazilian website UOL in a video interview earlier this month that Stallone was actually supposed to score the goals.
"In the original script, Stallone was the striker and I was supposed to be Golly."But he couldn't kick a ball his whole life," Pele laughed, talking about Stallone. The fact is that Pele was a good goalkeeper Pele would certainly not have disappointed if he had played the role of goalkeeper in the escape to victory.In real life Pele was also a designated player to play as a goalkeeper for club and country. In the era when teams could only make one change per match.He has actually been the goalkeeper for Santos FC four times in his career.This includes the semi-final of the Brazilian Cup in 1964. The team won all the matches and Pele did not concede a single goal.
But not the only yellow one
Fans used to chant 'only one yellow' and be happy to chant it, but not really, at least not to the extent of the words.Pele's achievements mean that there are players named after him all over the world.A famous African footballer whose birth name was Abedi Ayew but became known as Abedi Pele for Ghana and several European clubs.In England, Cape Verdean defender Pedro Montero, who joined Southampton in 2006, was also known as Pele and was given the nickname as a child.
