The King of Soccer, Pelé (贝利)

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known to the world as Pelé, has died. The Brazilian soccer star was 82 years old and had colon cancer (直肠癌). Pelé was known far beyond Brazil’s playing fields where he developed his skills. In 1967, for example, the two sides of a war in Nigeria ________ to a cease-fire (停火) so that he could play a friendly game there. In 1986, the leader of the United States said this when he met the Brazilian soccer star: “My name is Ronald Reagan, president of the United States of America…________ you don’t need to introduce yourself because everyone knows who Pelé is.”

In 1958, Pelé played in the championship game (总决赛) of the World Cup against Sweden in Stockholm. He scored two goals, one so smartly that it was almost unbelievable for the audience (观众) to see. After that, in both 1962 and 1970, Pelé helped Brazil to ________ the World Cup. No ________ soccer player has taken three World Cup championships.

Later, he helped to make soccer ________ in America by joining the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League and more people came to know and fell in love with this sport. In his final game, he played for 77,000 people in a match ________ the Cosmos (宇宙队) and his old Brazilian club team.

With Pelé and Brazil, the sport became “the beautiful game”. And Pelé became known as the King of Soccer. The International Olympic Committee named him “Athlete of the ________” because it takes so many years to have such a talented soccer player in the world. The Brazilian government saw ________ as a national treasure (珍宝).

The famous star was also known for his humble (谦虚的) way of speaking. In 2013, Pelé told Reuters: “God gave me this ability ________ one reason: To make people happy.” He added: “No matter what I did, I tried ________ that.”